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One Simple Strategy to Organize your Online Business

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One Simple Strategy to Organize your Online Business By Abe

Cherian Copyright ? 2005

Recently a survey showed that most online businesses are not

organized. In fact many organizations throw up an expensive web

site using all the latest "bells and whistles" only to find it a

generally unsatisfying experience.

Apart from the technical vs. sales and marketing issues of the

web site itself many organizations both in terms of appropriate

organizational behaviors as well as of effective organizational

designs has been sadly neglected by many established retailers.

You may have a business site with dedicated staff and webmaster,

yet it is poorly integrated within your parent organization and

tasked with ill defined roles. A simple question needs to be

asked. Do you have a central internet group (CIG) directed by a

chief Web officer and composed of dedicated staff for each

business function?

If not then depending upon your organizations size and abilities

you need to implement a CIG or outsource those functions.

Typically, many conventional retailers have acquired

organizational habits that are not well aligned to the needs of

eCommerce. It should be noted that four undesirable traits or

behaviors found in many organizations must be guarded against.

You might find that increasing complexity in your company has

resulted in inflexibility and slow decision making processes.

There is also a tendency towards internal conflict and

stratification as well as a leadership that would tend to

emphasize capital investment as a solution to all problems.

The movement towards centralized control, which characterizes a

typical consumer goods business, will carry with it limited

coordination among your departments and divisions resulting in a

weakened sense of market trends and increased dissatisfaction.

These features are in direct conflict with what you should know

about the cultural characteristics of pure successful

e-businesses. An e-business is predominantly a flat organization

with quick decision making where risk taking is encouraged and

failure is merely education.

Employees tend to work long hours at the office by choice and

are very self disciplined. Typically such companies use guiding

principles rather than procedures and tend to lead by example.

When these two types of cultural environment are brought

together, unexpected and perhaps dysfunctional behaviors must be

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expected to emerge. Given the cultural and organizational

differences between "new" and "old" economy businesses, the way

in which you as an established retailer should set up and manage

Internet operations is therefore extremely important.

One factor to consider is that small businesses are more

flexible organizationally. You should consider that e-commerce

has provided greater "e-quality" for smaller businesses in

relation to their larger competitors.

You will need an increased willingness to seek appropriate

alliances and partnerships, plus consider organizational

designs, company spin-offs, etc., that will provide convergence

to the integrated business model required to overcome these

mismatches in culture and outlook.

The many advantages derived from the Internet must be exploited

both within and between existing sectors of your bricks and

mortar business. With the ways in which networked organizations

are evolving, it should be realized that only those retaining an

Internet culture in a parallel or centralized Internet group

(CIG) style of operation closely identified with the eCommerce

aspects of a business's overall objectives will be successful.

About the author:

Abe Cherian is the founder of Multiple Stream Media, a company

that helps online businesses find new leads and more customers

without spending a fortune. http://www.multiplestreammktg.com