UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY

ASSIGNMENT
MKT 3020
KUNAL RAJESH SHAH
ID NO:627444

LECTURER:PATRICK AFUNDI

11/9/2011

Telecommuting it is the practice of working from home for a business and communicating through the use of a personal computer equipped with modem and communications software. The need for telecommuting comes with the increased population as there will be less space for all the people to go to offices. Not all the people are required to check into the office but just get the assigned work done. Advantages of telecommuting 1. Conserving Energy Although energy utilization will continue to grow as we expand our industry and improve our standard of living, efficient use of energy will always be of prime importance. By telecommuting to work instead of using more conventional methods, there is a great potential to save energy. The three major areas where energy can be conserved are:
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Vehicle-related materials and resources; Highway-related materials and resources; and Office-related materials and resources.

2. Preserves Our Environment by reducing land use requirements for highway expansion and by reducing slow-moving automobile emissions. Highways and parking lots are continuing to consume large quantities of our land surface area. If a larger percentage of people telecommuted to work, existing highways could be reduced in size and parking lots could be converted to parks. One of the largest sources of pollution is the automobile. This is especially true of slow-moving automobiles that often exist in heavy, congested rush hour traffic. Of course, one solution to this problem is increasing the size and number of our roads, but an even better solution is to encourage those who can to telecommute, so we will not need additional highways, parking lots, and airports in the future. And, when we do choose to drive our cars, it will be in fresh air, on less crowded streets, when we are not in a hurry to get somewhere. 3. Promotes Safety by reducing highway use by people rushing to get to work. There are thousands of traffic-related deaths every year and thousands more people severely injured trying to get to work. In addition there is substantial property loss associated with traffic accidents that occur as people take chances in order to make the mad dash from home to the office. Often times people have made the trip so often that they are not really alert, often fall asleep and frequently become impatient by traffic jambs and slower travelers. More and more people are becoming frustrated by the insistence that they come into the office every day, when, in fact most, if not all of their work could be accomplished from their home or sites much closer to their home. 4. Improves Health by reducing stress related to compromises made between Family and Work. The stress associated with commuting back and forth to work away from the home is real, and telecommuting offers a renewed opportunity for workers to rediscover the joys of working from

their homes. This is a rediscovery, because centuries ago it was commonplace for "cottage industries" to exist where work was produced in ones home, often times incorporating the talents of the entire family in producing a product. With advanced telecommunications technology a large segment of our workers can return to this mode of "work-at-home" productivity not compromising either their Family living or their Job productivity. 5. Allows closer proximity to and involvement with family. Working in the home offers people a greater opportunity to share quality time with family members, to promote family values and develop stronger family ties and unity. Also, time saved through telecommuting could be spent with family members constructively in ways that promote and foster resolution of family problems. The strength of a society derives from the strength of its individuals and the strength of its individuals often times derives from the strength of their families. 6. Allows proximity to extended family (location where employee has "roots"). There are a wide range of scenarios that constitute what is best for any given individual or any given family. However, often times people are forced to leave a community where they grew up and have a large extended family of parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles and all sorts of family relations. Many people long for the opportunity to return "home" where they can spend their lives with old friends and family. While this is not true for some people, there are a large number of people who stand to enhance the quality of life through the flexibility that telecommuting offers. Through telecommuting, a person can work for a company in one part of the world, while living in another. 7. Allows selection of a remote worksite that is mutually acceptable to all family members and allows spouse an opportunity to pursue his/her career. How many times have you seen the situation where a husband or wife has a job opportunity in another town and must choose between the new opportunity and no opportunity, because their spouse does not want to or cannot change employment? If either person could telecommute, the decision is much easier, allowing for a more congenial relationship and reducing the potential stress and possible breakup of a relationship. 8. Allows employee freedom to choose an environment that is more suitable from a social and economic standpoint and to live in an area with people of common interests. For couples as well as singles, people who can telecommute do not have to quit their jobs and move, when they determine they are not compatible with the town they are living in. This occurs often, following a divorce or when a single person discovers an incompatibility with the area surrounding his or her employers business. Telecommuting affords an employee the freedom to look for another place to live, where he or she can feel comfortable both from a social, as well as an economic standpoint and live near people that have common interests. All this, while remaining loyal and productive for their employer.

9. Improves Productivity: Time saved can be used to improve productivity. Much time is spent on unnecessary activities by people who commute back and forth to work in the conventional manner. Time is wasted from the minute one gets up to go to work until the minute one goes to bed after returning from work. With telecommuting, one no longer needs to be always preparing for the commute and for being "presentable". One can go to work simply by tossing on a robe and slippers, grabbing a cup of coffee and sitting down to the terminal. You no longer worry if the car will start, if your clothes are neat, or if you're perfectly groomed. That may still be important to you, but it no longer has to be. And you no longer are interrupted by all the idle chatter that inevitably takes place at the central work place - some of it useful for your work, but a lot of it just a waste of time and a perpetual interruption. (Now you can stay up on latest rumors at your convenience using electronic mail.) For persons with health problems or handicapped persons, working from home may offer some comforting and productive opportunities, as well. 10. Reduces number of people "job hopping"; decreasing training requirements. Many people job hop each year, and much of this "job hopping" is because people want to move to a new location. They enjoy their work, and they would keep working for their present employer, but they do not like their present location. If people could move without losing their jobs, because they could telecommute, the amount of retraining would be reduced substantially. This would increase overall employee productivity while keeping loyal and productive employees on board. Limitations of telecommuting 1. Lack of oversight. Direct supervision of teleworkers is not possible. 2. Diminished productivity. Some people are unable to be productive in at-home work settings, either because of family distractions or their own limited capacity to focus on tasks when more pleasurable activities (bicycling, gardening, watching television, etc.) beckon. 3. Security problems. "The remote access needs of telecommuters and other mobile staff create a hole in security walls with every connection," cautioned Kevin McNeely in Providence Business News. "Procedures should be implemented to allow employee access while keeping out unwanted intruders. This includes periodically updated password protection and informing employees concerning the need for remote access security." 4. Isolation. "The freedom of working alone comes with a pricethe burden of solitude," commented one executive in Association Management. "We all have wished for days where people would just leave us alone, and with telework, we get our wishin spades."

Partial teleworking arrangements, in which the employee spends a portion of each week (1-3 days) in the office and the remainder working from home, can sometimes be an effective means of addressing this problem. 5. Erosion of company culture and/or departmental morale. Many businesses include certain employees who have a major positive impact on the prevailing office environment. When these employees enter into telecommuting programs, their absence is often deeply felt by the staff members left behind. In some cases, this departure from the company's everyday operations can even have a deleterious effect on the operation's overall culture. 6. Loss of "brainstorming" ability. "Given that much of the value added to the production process in Western economies is at the 'knowledge' end of the spectrum, the dispersal of brains could be a problem," wrote Richard Thomas in Management Today. "The informal bouncing around of ideas is difficult, or even impossible, without the face-to-face contact of a shared workplace." 7. Perceived damage to career. A common perception among employees of businesses that embrace teleworking options is that telecommuters are placed at a disadvantage in terms of career advancement and opportunity. Certainly, some professional avenuessuch as supervisor positionsmay be shut off to workers who want to continue telecommuting, but employers should make every effort to avoid an "out of sight, out of mind" perspective from taking shape. 8. Legal vulnerability. Some analysts have expressed concern that some employer liability issues regarding telecommuting practices have yet to be completely settled. They cite issues such as employer liability for home-office accidents under common law; applicability of the employer's insurance coverage when they work at home; and responsibility for equipment located in the home as particular concerns.

situations where telecommuting cant be used it cannot be used where the employee is required constantly at the office for any reason. It can also not apply where IT is unavailable, like in the rural areas of developing nations. Some industries like agriculture dont need telecommuting as such is the nature of the work. Business values of the internet and telecommuting
Communication: The foremost target of internet and telecommuting has always been the communication.

Telecommuting and internet has excelled beyond the expectations .Still; innovations are going on to make it faster, more reliable. By the advent of computer's Internet, our earth has reduced and has attained the form of a global village. The cost of communication has drastically reduced making it easier for businesses to diversify. Information Information is probably the biggest advantage internet is offering. The Internet is a virtual treasure trove of information. Any kind of information on any topic under the sun is available on the Internet. It makes researching very easy and efficient for organizations. E-Commerce Ecommerce is the concept used for any type of commercial maneuvering, or business deals that involves the transfer of information across the globe via Internet. It has become a phenomenon associated with any kind of shopping, almost anything. You name it and Ecommerce with its giant tentacles engulfing every single product and service will make you available at your door steps.