EBusiness in the Services Sector

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E-Business in the Services Sector

• Week 6 Other Broker-Based Services

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Learning Outcomes

• By the end of the lecture, and having studied the
  recommended reading, students should be able to
• describe the online broker based services of real
  estate and job placement, their drivers and
  benefits
• discuss the impact of e-business on the real
  estate and job markets

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The Employment Placement Market

• Job Markets
• Next to travel services, career services is one
  of the Internets most successful online services
• Employers are looking for employees with specific
  skills, and individuals are looking for a job
• Very volatile market
• Millions of job seekers, hundred of thousands of
  jobs

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The Employment Placement Market (cont.)

• Shortcomings of the Non-Internet Job Market
• Cost - classified ads are expensive - a per word
  charge
• Life cycle - unless renewed at an additional
  cost, the life of the ads is only days or weeks
• Place - most ads are local, nationwide ads are
  very expensive (international ads are even more
  expensive)

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The Employment Placement Market (cont.)

• Shortcomings of the Non-Internet Job Market
• Minimum information - because of the high cost,
  the information provided is minimal and may not
  appeal to some job seekers
• Search - it is very time consuming for
  individuals to find all relevant newspapers. A
  trip to the library results in finding only major
  out of town newspapers.

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The Employment Placement Market (cont.)

• Finding Applicants
• Most job seekers, in the pre Internet era, did
  not place ads about their availability. Some
  sent unsolicited letters with resumes. This
  situation made it difficult for companies to find
  employees with special skills. They had to use
  employment agencies and pay them high
  commissions.

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The Employment Placement Market (cont.)

• Lost and Dated Material
• Some applications or letters or response tended
  to get lost, or arrive late, particularly in
  large city areas.
• Speed
• Communication by post is slow and so is the
  processing of a large number of applications.
• Frequently, employers lose good employees, since
  by the time the application is processed, the
  applicant had taken another job. Similarly,
  applicants accept less desirable jobs because
  they are afraid to wait too long.

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The Employment Placement Market (cont.)

• Online Recruitment Sites
• Monster.com - general job searches
• HotJobs.com - general job searches
• Jobline.com - primarily northern Europe
• FlipDog.com - Web bot scours employer sites free
  service, advertising model

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The Employment Placement Market (cont.)

• The Internet Job Market
• The Internet offers a perfect environment it is
  especially effective for technology oriented jobs
• The hiring process is information intensive that
  requires the matching of individuals skills and
  salary requirements with available jobs
• Internet automates the flow of information,
  reducing search time and costs for various
  parties
• Job seekers
• Job offerers
• Recruiting firms
• Government agencies and institutions

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Advantages of the Internet Job Market

• For Job Seekers
• Ability to find very detailed and timely
  information on a large number of jobs world-wide
• Ability to quickly communicate with potential
  employers
• Ability to post resumes for large-volume
  distribution

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Advantages of the Internet Job Market (cont.)

• For Job Seekers (cont.)
• Ability to search for jobs quickly from any place
  at any time
• Obtain several support services at no cost
• writing resume ? career development ? how to
  interview
• Find employer profile industry guides
• www.valuereports.com

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Advantages of the Internet Job Market (cont.)

• For Employers
• Ability to advertise to a large number of job
  seekers
• Ability to save on advertisement costs
• Lower the cost of processing (using electronic
  application forms)
• Ability to provide greater equal opportunity
  for job seekers
• Ability to find highly skilled employees

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Advantages of the Internet Job Market (cont.)

• For Employers (cont.)
• Ability to conduct tests quickly, online
• Ability to change and update ads quickly
• Ability to fill up positions rapidly

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The Limitations of the Internet Job Market

• Many people do not use the Internet
• Security
• Privacy
• Lack of face-to-face contact

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Development of Online Job Market

• Development of Services - now more than just
  electronic ads
• Skills assessment
• Personality assessment questionnaires
• Personalised account management
• Organisational culture assessments
• Job search tools
• Employer and employee blocking
• Email notification
• Educational services

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Development of Online Job Market (cont.)

• Major Services Available on the Net
• Finding a job
• e.g. specialist positions (www.reed.co.uk)
• Writing and posting resumes
• www. resumelink.com
• www.jobweb.com
• Career planning
• www.smartbiz.com
• Newsgroups
• e.g. discussion about employment, workplaces,
  careers (www.misc.job.misc)

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Development of Online Job Market (cont.)

• Major Services Available on the Net (cont.)
• The Intranet Job Market
• Companies may organize an internal electronic job
  market
• Openings are posted for employees to look at, and
  search engines enable managers to identify
  talents even if the people were not actively
  looking for a job change

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Online Market Segments

• Market Segments
• General job recruitment - largest segment
• Executive search segment - online firms moving
  into this market
• Specialised job placement service

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Online Real Estate

• Increasing international property market
• Traditional real estate costs and fees
• Complexity of the service

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Online Real Estate (cont.)

• You can view many properties on the screen
• You can sort and organize properties
• You can find detailed information about the
  properties
• You can search, compare and apply for loans

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Online Real Estate (cont.)

• Estate agents advertising property online, either
  through their own websites, or general sites such
  as Homes On-Line (www.homes-on-line.co.uk)
• Advantages include a national and even
  international audience at a minimal cost
• Many sites now offer virtual tours of properties
  (e.g. www.hamptons.co.uk)

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Online Real Estate (cont.)

• Many sites but not enough property content
• There are about 350,000 properties for sale at
  any one time in the UK and about 100,000 sales
  each month.
• One of the biggest property websites, Home
  Directory (www.homedirectory.com) offers access
  to 75,000 properties
• Consolidation activity likely if the market is to
  reach its potential

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Real Estate Applications

• International Real Estate Directory and News is
  the most comprehensive Web site
• www.ired.com
• National listing of real estate properties
• www.UKpropertyshop.co.uk
• www.redrow.co.uk
• www.cyberhomes.com

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Real Estate Applications (cont.)

• Commercial real estate directory
• www.compropregister.co.uk
• www.comspace.com
• Mortgage comparisons and calculations and other
  financing information mortgage application
• www.eloan.com
• www.homeshark.com

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Real Estate Applications (cont.)

• Searching residential real estate in multiple
  databases
• www.homescout.com
• Real estate related maps are available on
• www.mapquest.com
• Automating the closing of real estate
  transactions, which is overwhelmed by paperwork

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Real Estate Applications (cont.)

• The National Association of Realtors,
  www.realtor.com has links to property listings in
  all major US cities
• Mortgage brokers can pass on loan applications
  over the Net and receive bids from lenders that
  want to issue the mortgages
• To find how much house you can afford, consult
  www.replace.com/links.html

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Real Estate Applications (cont.)

• To find mortgage interest rates online use
• www.bankrate.com
• www.eloan.com
• www.quickenmortgage.com
• To rent an apartment or a house try www.rent.net
  Several additional services are available
  including a virtual walk through of some listings

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Disintermediation in the Property Market

• Selling property online and avoiding estate
  agents. Sites such as
• Loot (www.loot.com)
• Houseweb (houseweb.co.uk)
• ITL homesearch (www.itlhomesearch.co.uk)
• Property Show Room (www.propertyshowroom.com)

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Summary

• Rapid growth in the online job market
• Major driving forces include the ability to reach
  large number of job seekers at low cost
• Intelligent agents allow resumes to be checked
  and matches are made quickly
• Benefits for employers, job seekers, government
  agencies and successful employment agencies

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Summary (cont.)

• The online real estate market is basically
  supporting rather than replacing existing agents
• Time savings for both buyer and seller
• Commissions on regular transactions will decline

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Discussion

• What other broker based services are you aware
  of? Can they be provided online? Why or why not?