A paradigm change in underway to handle customer. The concept of picking and handing over the goods has vanished and the customer is allowed to pick and choose his goods. Everybody would have observed the operations of a super market. A customer wheels his trolly through the supermarket, to pick up goods. He is taken through an experience of ambiance and esthetics with permissions to select his goods.
Looking at a garment store, the customer spends his time to look at a variety of material, may be uses a trial room and then selects what he wants. Looking at a train reservation center, the customer is no more a part of the long queue which is a normal scene in India. He sits out of his house or office and plans his journey and or books his tickets. The same is true for reservations through Road transport. It is also true for hotel reservations. Buying a book or reading a news paper is over electronics. The emergence of IPTV is changing the face of entertainment industry. The various television stations have started digital transmissions calling for a set-top box thus enabling a stronger bottom line. The advent of video conferencing had enabled the consumers to logically carry on with a meeting at some other location and save a lot of time. The Banking system has changed its methods of operation with the advent of core banking and the customer is expected to manage his own cash through the use of ATM. The customer is expected to manage his journal accounts. The hotel industry has started reducing hospitality services and is expecting the customer to opt for self service to the extent possible. The government has taken the cue from this and have shifted their operations to e-Governance mode allowing the citizen to sit out of his house and request for essential services. Virtual money through not very popular is being spoken today.
Looking at a garment store, the customer spends his time to look at a variety of material, may be uses a trial room and then selects what he wants. Looking at a train reservation center, the customer is no more a part of the long queue which is a normal scene in India. He sits out of his house or office and plans his journey and or books his tickets. The same is true for reservations through Road transport. It is also true for hotel reservations. Buying a book or reading a news paper is over electronics. The emergence of IPTV is changing the face of entertainment industry. The various television stations have started digital transmissions calling for a set-top box thus enabling a stronger bottom line. The advent of video conferencing had enabled the consumers to logically carry on with a meeting at some other location and save a lot of time. The Banking system has changed its methods of operation with the advent of core banking and the customer is expected to manage his own cash through the use of ATM. The customer is expected to manage his journal accounts. The hotel industry has started reducing hospitality services and is expecting the customer to opt for self service to the extent possible. The government has taken the cue from this and have shifted their operations to e-Governance mode allowing the citizen to sit out of his house and request for essential services. Virtual money through not very popular is being spoken today.
Principles of management are rewritten to accommodate this change which defines the end user to stay put and the wheels of business start rolling to satisfy the customer. This concept is explicitly discussed by the management guru Prahalad. It is evident that the customer is made to be more intelligent and self supportive. The next generation is slowly emerging to be a self supportive. The same is emerging within the folds of lifelong education. How long is it going to take to witness virtual universities, virtual learning environments, virtual laboratories, virtual offices, virtual theaters.
Author-IT for management, Oxford Press
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