[Current and Future Directions of Multimedia Technology in Letting Agents Management]

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Acknowledgement

I would take this opportunity to thank my research supervisor, family and friends for their support and guidance without which this research would not have been possible.

DECLARATION

I, [type your full first names and surname here], declare that the contents of this dissertation/thesis represent my own unaided work, and that the dissertation/thesis has not previously been submitted for academic examination towards any qualification. Furthermore, it represents my own opinions and not necessarily those of the University.

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ABSTRACT

This survey of current and future directions of multimedia technology in letting agent's management covers three areas: (a) what are the applications of multimedia technology in property management industry? (b) what are the implications of speculation for the productivity and market structure within the property market? and (c) the impact which multimedia technology has on the management of letting agents. It is expected that the implementation of multimedia technology will result in improvement in productivity and information flow for letting agents. This will change the overall market structure of real estate, on one side and on the other the whole business processes and technology adoption trends will be changes. The change brought by multimedia technology will overhaul the system dynamics and the allocative efficiency of letting agents.

Table of Contents

ABSTRACT4

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION6

Background6

Aims and Objectives6

Limitations7

CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW8

Brief overview of the real estate industry8

Letting Agents & Multimedia Technology8

360 Virtual Tours12

Google Street View13

Twitter and Social Networking Sites14

Summary18

CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY19

Mixed Research19

Data Collection19

Sample Size20

Instrument for data collection20

Data analysis20

Reliability/Dependability20

Validity22

Ethical Considerations23

CHAPTER IV: DISCUSSION24

Discussion24

Google Street View25

Virtual tour 360 Map & Street Map26

CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION33

Conclusion33

Advantages of appointing a Letting agent33

Disadvantages of appointing a Letting agent37

REFERENCES41

APPENDIX44

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION

Background

The use of multimedia technology has allowed advancements in productivity and efficiencies within organisations. These advancements do not come without a price. Multimedia technology implementations can often be expensive, time intensive, and complex. With such extreme variables at work, it is not surprising to learn that a large number of implementations fail to meet the objectives of the organisation. Davis and Venkatesh (2004) found that 2,747 out of 6,700 projects were either cancelled, or experienced cost overruns. Often cited reasons for these failures are weak executive support, poor planning, and low user acceptance. This study focused on the issue of low user acceptance and the factors involved in defining the level of user acceptance.

Obtaining a higher level of end user acceptance is a challenge for any multimedia technology implementation. With the rapid changes in workforce characteristics, this issue is certainly to grow in scope. These changes in workforce characteristics include a rise in ethnic diversity, range of educational training, and age dispersion. These are but a few of the reasons organisations are facing in gaining a higher level of user acceptance for new technologies.

Aims and Objectives

The aim of this research project is to identify multimedia techniques currently used by Letting Agents. This involved creating a semi-structured interview with local letting agent manager, to ascertain their perception of LAM and the use multimedia marketing tools ...