Business Integration in the Insurance Industry

Author(s):  
V. Amorim ◽  
S. Santana

The insurance business bases heavily on data, information and knowledge processing. Hence, entities in the business need great connectivity and articulation between themselves. Information and Communication Technologies and Information Systems can provide that connectivity, both intra- and interorganizations, making it possible for participants to come closer and dialog better, reducing response times and costs, improving service to clients and, possibly, creating new business opportunities. In this chapter, we investigate, by means of a case study, how far the business of an intermediary integrates with other entities, using an electronic business platform built on Internet technologies. The conclusions drawn cannot be generalized to the whole industry. However, we firmly believe that they expose the problems faced by intermediaries and insurance companies in this industry all over the world when trying to integrate their business, and offer how the problems can be overcome so partners can fully benefit from the opportunities identified.

Author(s):  
Silvina Santana ◽  
Vítor Amorim

Data, information and knowledge are the heart of the insurance business. Each policy is composed of a set of data that can vary substantially. Risk management is a complex process that implies the availability of rich and accurate information and knowledge. In our fast moving world, connectivity and articulation between insurance industry players is therefore mandatory. Information and communication systems and technology (ICST) can provide this connectivity, allowing insurance partners to become closer and able to reach better negotiation, reducing response time and costs and probably creating new business opportunities (Strazewski, 2001). Insurance intermediaries (brokers and agents) are important players in this scenario. They act as consultants operating independently from insurance companies, being specialists in providing services to their clients, gathering the best solutions thanks to their vast knowledge of insurance companies’ products. Consequently, they achieve the best insurance contracts at the least cost (APROSE, 2005a, 2005b). Being a great value-adding activity, insurance mediation is also very complex. To operate in an effective and efficient way, intermediaries need to establish a good connection with all entities in the industry and electronic business can help insurance intermediaries’ business model in both business- to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) dimensions. In B2B, intermediaries establish relations with insurance companies, agents, banks and official entities. In B2C, intermediaries establish relations with their clients, giving them all the necessary assistance in a customized and fast way, since the first contact and during the policy’s whole life cycle, offering the best solutions according to their needs. However, in spite of all the apparent and potential benefits, intermediaries are not grasping all the advantages that electronic business can provide. This definitely relates to a very important issue, the integration level between the different players’ information systems. Analysing the situation from the intermediary perspective, this article exposes the problems faced by intermediaries and insurance companies all over the world when trying to integrate their business electronically and how these can be overcome so that partners can fully benefit from the opportunities here identified. The methodology used includes a deep case study involving a Portuguese intermediary having a significant level of integration with an insurance company. Results are compared with situations reported in other countries, leading to the conclusion that most of the problems and barriers here identified are being experienced worldwide. Conclusions bring significant implications for information science and technology (IS&T) and add important contribution and knowledge to research in this area.


Author(s):  
Burak Pak

This paper aims at discussing the potentials of bottom-up design practices in relation to the latest developments in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) by making an in-depth review of inaugural cases. The first part of the study involves a literature study and the elaboration of basic strategies from the case study. The second part reframes the existing ICT tools and strategies and elaborates on their potentials to support the modes of participation performed in these cases. As a result, by distilling the created knowledge, the study reveals the potentials of novel modes of ICT-enabled design participation which exploit a set of collective action tools to support sustainable ways of self-organization and bottom-up design. The final part explains the relevance of these with solid examples and presents a hypothetical case for future implementation. The paper concludes with a brief reflection on the implications of the findings for the future of architectural design education.


Author(s):  
Marco Ardolino ◽  
Nicola Saccani ◽  
Federico Adrodegari ◽  
Marco Perona

Businesses grounded upon multisided platforms (MSPs) are found in a growing number of industries, thanks to the recent developments in Internet and digital technologies. Digital MSPs enable multiple interactions among users of different sides through information and communication technologies. The understanding of the characteristics and constituents of MSPs is fragmented along different literature streams. Moreover, very few empirical studies have been carried out to date. In order to fill this gap, this paper presents a three-level framework that describes a digital MSP. The proposed framework is based on literature analysis and multiple case study. On the one hand, the framework can be used to describe MSP as it provides an operationalization of the concept through the identification of specific dimensions, variables and items; on the other hand, it can be used as an assessment tool by practitioners, as exemplified by the three empirical applications presented in this paper.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuliya Romanova ◽  
Pavel Muzychkin ◽  
Nataliya Zhenova ◽  
Lyudmila D'yakonova ◽  
Galina Eydlina ◽  
...  

The textbook contains a verified set of materials about the opportunities and technologies of doing business on the global Internet. Technologies and means of the electronic market, electronic cash flows and possibilities of their management are considered. Special attention is paid to the issues of site construction: tips and step-by-step instructions are given for the direct creation of a site, setting a task and implementing it to order, as well as numerous opportunities and tools for promoting a site on the web. The basics of the security of electronic business activity are presented. The material is presented in a clear and accessible form. For students and undergraduates of various profiles, studying in the fields of "Economics" and "Management", graduate students, as well as entrepreneurs who want to promote their business via the Internet.


2012 ◽  
Vol 02 (04) ◽  
pp. 20-25
Author(s):  
Anantha Raj A. Arokiasamy

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the integration of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in higher education for imparting easily accessible, affordable and quality higher education leading to the uplift of Malaysia. The focus of the paper is on the benefits that ICT integration in education can provide, right from breaking time and distance barriers to facilitating collaboration and knowledge sharing among geographically distributed students. ICT increases the flexibility of delivery of education so that learners can access knowledge anytime and anywhere. It can influence the way students are taught and how they learn as now the processes are learner driven and not by teachers. This in turn would better prepare the learners for lifelong learning as well as to contribute to the industry. We will also analyze if ICT does indeed improve or hinder the quality of learning among higher education students. This paper reports on the changing trends in use of ICTs for instruction in higher education institutions (HEIs) and discusses a mini-case study of how ICTs are being used by lecturers in one university in Malaysia.


2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 55-62
Author(s):  
M. V. Bikeeva ◽  
K. V. Belash

Purpose of the study. Information and communication technologies are becoming a powerful tool for the development of electronic business. Today, the leaders in the global economic and political space are precisely those countries that have learned to determine the vector of development of information technologies and use new opportunities for their application. The development of innovative digital technologies in Russia and in the world is widely discussed in the framework of various discussion platforms. In particular, at the International Forum “The Digital Future of the Global Economy” (January 31, 2020 Almaty), digitalization of trade processes between the EAEU membercountries became one of the main topics. The annual Tech Week conference (Moscow) is becoming a traditional place for discussing the implementation of innovative technologies in business, as well as for the exchange of experience of leading Russian and world corporations in the field of electronic business. In this regard, there is a need for a comprehensive statistical assessment of the development level of electronic business of the territory.Materials and methods. The research was based on the data of the Federal State Statistics Service for 2018 for the regions of the Volga federal district, and the results of monitoring the development of the information society in the Russian Federation. As a tool for assessing the degree of digitalization of business in the regions of the Volga federal district, the graphic polygon (radar) method is used.Results. The article provides a retrospective analysis of the stages of development of electronic business in Russia. Among the characteristic features of the modern stage of its development are the mass introduction of Internet technologies and the transformation of traditional business methods. The introduction of advanced information and communication technologies contributes to greater involvement of the business sector in electronic business. In terms of the level of development of information and communication technologies (ICT Development Index), Russia ranks 45th among the countries of the world. For the period 2010 - 2018 the development of electronic business in Russia has a positive trend. According to the results of 2018, the volume of the Russian e-commerce market amounted to 1280 billion rubles, or 4.1% of the total trade turnover. According to forecast estimates, by 2023 the volume of Russian e-commerce market will grow to 8.5% of the total turnover and amount to 2780 billion rubles. An integrated assessment of the development level of electronic business was carried out according to sixteen local criteria. As a result of calculating the private and local ranks of the values of the relevant criteria, fourteen polygons of the level of development of electronic business were constructed by the number of regions of the Volga federal district. The results obtained allow us to state the existence of a high degree of heterogeneity of the regions of the Volga federal district according to the integral indicator under study. Among the leading regions in terms of electronic business development are the Republic of Tatarstan, Perm krai and Nizhny Novgorod region. Outsider regions – the Mari El Republic, the Republic of Mordovia, and the Kirov region – are characterized by a low percentage of organizations that used the capabilities of the Intranet and Extranet, the absence of special software for managing sales of goods (works, services), and limited use of software, in particular ERP, CRM and SCM systems.Conclusion. The widespread use of information and communication technologies entails the expansion of opportunities and improving the quality of coordination of business activities. We should remember that if modern business cannot quickly adapt to the new requirements of the digital economy, then it risks becoming uncompetitive. The results of the study revealed a differentiation in the development of electronic business in the regions of the Volga federal district. A similar situation is observed in most constituent entities of the Russian Federation and is due in many respects to specific reasons for each region. The timely fulfillment of the goals and objectives of digital transformations in the Russian Federation reflected in the Digital Economy of the Russian Federation Program and other regulatory documents will help to smooth out the existing imbalances.


Author(s):  
Kaj-Kolja Kleineberg ◽  
Dirk Helbing

AbstractA multidimensional financial system could provide benefits for individuals, companies, and states. Instead of top-down control, which is destined to eventually fail in a hyperconnected world, a bottom-up creation of value can unleash creative potential and drive innovations. Multiple currency dimensions can represent different externalities and thus enable the design of incentives and feedback mechanisms that foster the ability of complex dynamical systems to self-organize and lead to a more resilient society and sustainable economy. Modern information and communication technologies play a crucial role in this process, as Web 2.0 and online social networks promote cooperation and collaboration on unprecedented scales. Within this contribution, we discuss how one dimension of a multidimensional currency system could represent socio-digital capital (Social Bitcoins) that can be generated in a bottom-up way by individuals who perform search and navigation tasks in a future version of the digital world. The incentive to mine Social Bitcoins could sustain digital diversity, which mitigates the risk of totalitarian control by powerful monopolies of information and can create new business opportunities needed in times where a large fraction of current jobs is estimated to disappear due to computerization.


2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 249
Author(s):  
Rosana Souza de Vargas ◽  
Fabiana Diniz Kurtz

O objetivo do presente trabalho é investigar e analisar os discursos estabelecidos de futuros professores de um curso de licenciatura em Letras - Português e Inglês, de uma universidade comunitária, componente do COMUNG-RS, localizada no Rio Grande do Sul, buscando entender como ocorre a formação dos futuros docentes em língua inglesa e os processos de ensino-aprendizagem que a envolvem, com ênfase para a articulação pedagógica com as tecnologias de informação e comunicação (TIC) de modo integrado. É um estudo de caso, enquanto método de cunho qualitativo, empregando a análise textual discursiva como método de análise de dados. Dessa forma, como resultado, os discursos revelam que a formação dos futuros professores envolvidos engloba a discussão acerca das TIC, mas não de forma satisfatória, revelando em suas práticas, que os futuros profissionais tendem a uma perspectiva técnica de ensino sobre as TIC. O meio pelo qual tal viés possa ser abandonado, é que a formação de professores considere um ensino transversal a partir das TIC, não apenas em disciplinas isoladas e ainda que seja realizado por meio de todos os profissionais envolvidos.Palavras-chave: Formação de professores. Ensino de língua inglesa como língua estrangeira. Tecnologias de informação e comunicação (TIC). Análise textual discursiva (ATD).INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES: case study with future language teachers Abstract The aim of this paper is to investigate and analyze the established discourses of future teachers of a degree course in Letters - Portuguese and English, from a community university, component of COMUNG-RS, located in Rio Grande do Sul, seeking to understand how occours the formation of future teachers in English language and the teaching-learning processes that involve it, with emphasis on the pedagogical articulation with information and communication technologies (ICT) in an integrated way. It is a case study, as a qualitative method, using discursive textual analysis as a data analysis method. Thus, as a result, the speeches reveal that the formation of the future teachers involved encompasses the discussion about ICT, but not satisfactorily, revealing in their practices that future professionals tend to a technical perspective of teaching about ICT. The means by which such bias can be abandoned is for teacher education to consider cross-sectional education based on ICT, not only in isolated subjects and even though it is carried out by all the professionals involved.Keywords: Teacher training. Teaching English as a foreign language. Information and communication technologies (ICT). Discursive textual analysis (DTA). TECNOLOGÍAS DE LA INFORMACIÓN Y LA COMUNICACIÓN: un estudio de caso con futuros profesores de idiomasResumenEl objetivo de este trabajo es investigar y analizar los discursos de futuros profesores de un curso de grado en Letras - Portugués e Inglés, de una universidad comunitaria, componente de COMUNG-RS, ubicado en Rio Grande do Sul, buscando entender cómo formación de futuros docentes en lengua inglesa y los procesos de enseñanza-aprendizaje que lo involucran, con énfasis en la articulación pedagógica con las tecnologías de la información y la comunicación (TIC) de manera integrada. Es un estudio de caso, como método cualitativo, que utiliza el análisis textual discursivo como método de análisis de datos. Por lo tanto, como resultado, los discursos revelan que la formación de los futuros maestros involucrados abarca la discusión sobre las TIC, pero no de manera satisfactoria, revelando en sus prácticas que los futuros profesionales tienden a una perspectiva técnica de la enseñanza sobre las TIC. El medio por el cual se puede abandonar este sesgo es que la formación del profesorado considere la educación transversal basada en las TIC, no solo en asignaturas aisladas y aunque sea realizada por todos los profesionales involucrados.Palabras clave: Formación de profesores. Enseñanza de inglés como lengua extranjera. Tecnologías de la información y la comunicación (TIC). Análisis textual discursivo (ATD). 


2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-12
Author(s):  
NATALYA YASKOVA ◽  

The pandemic has become the reason for structural reforms as well as for discussing many issues by the expert community. In this regard, the Gaidar Forum – 2021 became the very platform where experts in various fields of knowledge could meet. Specialists discussed such issues as sustainable development problems, the innovative focus of development, the introduction of IT technologies, restructuring of national economies, new business models, etc. Most of the questions, one way or another, concern the problem of the evolution of the living environment. These are the questions that were presented by the experts of the “Building together” discussion platform. Analyzing the results of the construction complex, which ensures the implementation of the national project “Housing and the Urban Environment”, made it possible to identify the nature of further measures taken by the Government of the Russian Federation in order to create a competitive living environment. Experts systematized the prospects for business models of investment and construction activities involved in the development of territories, identified new tools for enhancing investment activity, and focused the attention of the authorities on information and communication technologies used in modeling the living environment.


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