Media Communication, Consumption and Use: The Changing Role of the Designer

Consumers are changing the way in which they create, experience and consume media. User Generated Content (UGC) marks a shift in the way in which ordinary people are now able to contribute to the creation of media. They have become active citizens in what is now a two way conversation. The advent of UGC has created new challenges for communication designers who now need to take on the role of a facilitator in this process. The challenge for communication design is not only to identify appropriate methods for communication, but to understand how best to facilitate connections between users such that they create structures that they can inhabit. This paper explores the changing role of design in UGC rich media communication and presents a Decision Making Framework (DMF) that engages designers in the consideration of the user in the development process. In-depth interviews with leading industry proponents ensure currency of the insights gained. Keywords: Design Process, User Generated Content, Communication Design, Fraimwork</p

Impact of Employee Empowerment on Job Satisfaction in First Bank Nigeria PLC, Nigeria

This paper examined the impact employee empowerment has on job satisfaction with specific reference to First Bank of Nigeria PLC.  Employee empowerment is instrumental in achieving organizational performance because employees render the service. Investing in them is investing in the improvement of the services provided. The objective of this study is to determine the impact employee empowerment has on job satisfaction in First Bank of Nigeria PLC. The study also investigated the level of job satisfaction between male and female employees. The study covered nine branches out of the fifteen branches of First Bank in Kaduna State. This is because the nine branches are within Kaduna State metropolis and so, there was easy access. The sample size consisted of all the staff in the various branches with the exception of contract (in sourcing) staff. The study used primary and secondary data. Questionnaires were distributed to two hundred employees across the branches of First Bank and fifteen were not returned. Multiple regression analysis was used to analyze the data. The study found out that employee empowerment has positive and significant impact on job satisfaction. It recommends that First Bank should continue to promote teamwork amongst employees so that every staff irrespective of gender would work towards a common vision of achieving the objectives of the Bank. A more enabling environment for the female employees should also be encouraged so that there will be a balance in enhancing productivity. Keywords: Employee, Empowerment, Job satisfaction, First Bank

Understanding the Internet of Things: A Conceptualisation of Business-to-Thing (B2T) Interactions

The Internet of Things is widely regarded as one of the most disruptive technologies as it integrates Internet-enabled physical objects into the networked society and makes these objects increasingly autonomous partners in digitised value chains. After transforming internal processes and enhancing efficiency, the Internet of Things yields the potential to transform traditional business-to-customer interactions in a way previously not thought of. Remote patient monitoring, predictive maintenance, and automatic car repair are only some innovative examples. This paper contributes to the conceptualisation of the emerging business relationships based on such empowered smart things by proposing a series of core and advanced business-to-thing (B2T) interaction patterns. The core patterns named C2T-Only, B2T-Only, Customer-Centred, Business-Centred, Thing-Centred, and All-In B2T classify alternative interactions between businesses, customers, and smart things, using the connected car as an ongoing case and Uber as an example to demonstrate how patters can be composed. The proposed patterns demonstrate the affordances of integrating smart things into the networked society and sensitise for the emergence of B2T interactions

The impact of generational differences on the workplace

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to explore workplace implications of the changing workforce demographic. Design/methodology/approach – The author identifies the different generations in today's workforce. The workplace expectations of the different generations are explored. Findings – Corporate real estate (CRE) managers need to establish the different needs of the different generations. In addition, the CRE manager needs to create an environment that allows all generations to coexist in the same workplace. Practical implications – CRE managers can use the information to assist in alignment of their workplace to the different generational expectations of the workforce. Originality/value – The paper fills a void by evaluating office occupiers' workplace preferences based on age.</p

Internet of things support for marketing activities

Internet enabled consumer devices are beginning to be developed by manufacturers. In this paper, we examine how the internet of things can support marketing activities including customer relationship management, business intelligence and product design. In particular, the research reported in this paper examines how the internet of things can provide communication channels to support targeted marketing for product owners and enhance customer relationship management and product support. In addition, in this paper we examine how data gained from the operational use of internet-enabled devices can support business intelligence in terms of how consumers actually use a product, and can also support new product design in terms what features of current internet enabled products are most commonly used, and how they are used