I've always disliked when speakers read directly from their PowerPoint. I like to keep the slides only to the main points, so I've included in-depth notes so that any teacher can look at this lesson plan and be able to teach the class no problem, without reading right off the slides.
Slide 1
Title
Slide 2 (5 mins.)
-The Internet is becoming more and more important in the economy, especially as globalization occurs. The Internet allows the CEO of a company in the Chicago to talk directly with IT professionals in India, manufacturers in China, designers in Germany, and distributors in Alabama for instance—all at the same time. Never before has the world seen something like this: we’re all completely integrated and connected, and the Internet (and technology in general) is the source of this.
Slide 3 (10 mins.)
-So, let’s break up into groups real quick and each group is going to take 5 minutes and come up with a definition for what they think a global economy is and what some different aspects of it are. Then we’ll report back. (5 mins.)
-Discussion for 5 minutes or so.
Slide 4 (5 mins.)
-Since Columbus came to the Americas in 1492, the floodgates have been opened for a global economy. Even back in Columbus’ day, there was a global exchange of ideas and goods. Developments like the telephone helped bolster this later on, but it wasn’t until the advent of the Internet in the 1950’s that things really began to take off. Companies began to realize that they needed to keep up and in order to be competitive, they had to start utilizing technology and reaching out to people all around the world. They were able to find places in the world where things could be done better, and through technology, they were able to stay connected with these people and run an efficient business.
-For the purpose of today’s lesson, we will focus on two main components of a global economy driven by the Internet: Outsourcing and Offshoring. There are definitely more aspects to this, but for the purpose of today’s lesson, these are the main players, which are all sprung from the advent of global technology standards which allowed machines to talk to one another without any problems.
Slide 5 (5 mins.)
-Let’s start with Outsourcing. I’m sure most of you have heard of this term before, but does anyone know what it actually is? Well, essentially outsourcing is when a company, say Microsoft, takes one specific operation within their company and moves that one operation to another country. So, there will be a private company in India for instance, that Microsoft will hire to do all of their customer service operations. Here is where we find things like call centers, and this Indian company gets hired on to perform one single operation for Microsoft. Let’s watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnhTQFHkgmw&feature=related (Only play from beginning to 1:31).
-Outsourcing is happening everywhere, and it is all made possible with the Internet. By utilizing the Internet, companies can upload all of their essentials to the Net and then a call center worker in India can simply go to the web and pull up all of that data. So, obviously outsourcing is really good for businesses, right? They can take a few of their operations and send them to overseas companies and have them done at a fraction of what it would cost here in the United States, saving companies (and sometimes consumers) thousands, maybe millions of dollars every year. Does anyone see any problems with this, though? Loss of US jobs is the big one.
Slide 6 (5 mins.)
-Offshoring is very similar to outsourcing, but instead of using an overseas company to perform one aspect of a business operation, offshoring is where a company will move one of their operations entirely overseas. One example of this might be if Apple opened their own factory in China to assemble all of their products. In this instance, Apple would essentially no longer have any factories assembling their products in the USA; instead, all of the assembly would be done in their Chinese factory, owned and operated by Apple. This has become popular in recent years, as countries outside the US often have less strict labor laws, lower minimum wages, or far lower taxes—all of these things provide incentives for US companies to move entire operations to other countries. The Internet has obviously provided the gateway for this as well, as CEOs in the US can hold video conferences with the heads of their factories in other countries, and can communicate instantly via email, to give reports, check the welfare of the operations, send orders or blueprints, and a number of other things that make it seem as though the factory is right next door. The effects of offshoring are often very similar to those of outsourcing and result in cheaper prices for consumers and higher profits for companies.
Slide 7 (1 min.)
-These tactics—outsourcing and offshoring—are important on the production side of business, but what about actually delivering the products to consumers? The Internet has had a profound impact on the way that people shop, and the options for businesses to get their products to consumers all over the world.
Slide 8 (2 mins.)
-Ecommerce has sprung up in recent years, and is slowly becoming a dominant form of shopping for and selling products. With sites like Amazon, eBay, and craigslist, not only are retail stores in real life slowly becoming obsolete, so are banks, money transactions, and commerce in general. Real money and real retail stores are definitely on their way out. Let’s do a case study of this phenomenon, focusing on PayPal and how it has revolutionized ecommerce.
Slide 9 (4 mins.)
-PayPal was founded in 1998 and eBay purchased it in 2002. By 2009, just 11 years after it was founded, PayPal posted revenues of $2.23 billion! PayPal, as some of you may know, is essentially an online service that allows consumers to pay for things digitally, and for online businesses to accept money—all through a safe, secure website. This means that consumers don’t even have to see a store clerk anymore and hand over their cash to them, they do it all online from the comfort of their homes, and it is quick and easy for both consumers and businesses alike. PayPal also offers online bank accounts, into which users can deposit and withdraw money, pay for things, etc.—all just like a real bank, but all digitally.
Slide 10 (3 mins.)
-Another perk for PayPal users is that consumers can purchase products from all around the world, with PayPal doing the currency exchange instantly and online, and businesses are able to sell their products worldwide as well. PayPal, due to its inexpensive and accessible nature, also allows small businesses to set up online stores very easily, flattening the playing field between large online retailers and the little guys.
Slide 11 (7 mins.)
-Let’s break up into groups again, and discuss how you have used ecommerce, if your parents use it, etc. and what you think the future looks like for online shopping and business, then we’ll report back quickly.
Slide 12 (3 mins.)
-Finally, we’ll end with this short video on ecommerce.
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