Appendix

Financial Destiny ou have been introduced to Microsoft Excel and are ready to begin using it to help track your monthly expenses and take charge of your financial destiny. The first step is to create a personal budget so you can see where you are spending money and if you need to decrease your monthly expenses or increase your monthly income. Project Focus Create a template for a monthly budget of your income and expenditures, with some money set aside for savings (or you can use the data file, AYK1_Data.xlsx, we created). Create variations of this budget to show how much you could save if you cut back on certain expenses, found a roommate, or got a part-time job. Compare the costs of a meal plan to costs of groceries. Consider how much interest would be earned if you saved $100 a month, or how much debt paid on student loans or credit card bills. To expand your data set, make a fantasy budget for 10 years from now, when you might own a home, have student loan payments, and have a good salary. Data File: AYK1_Data.xlsx

Cash Flow Gears is a five-year-old company that specializes in bike components. The company is having trouble paying for its monthly supplies and would like to perform a cash flow analysis so it can understand its financial position. Cash flow represents the money an investment produces after subtracting cash expenses from income. The statement of cash flows summarizes sources and uses of cash, indicates whether enough cash is available to carry on routine operations, and offers an analysis of all business transactions, reporting where the firm obtained its cash and how it chose to allocate the cash. The cash flow statement shows where money comes from, how the company is going to spend it, and when the company will require additional cash. Gears would like to project a cash flow statement for the next month. Project Focus Using the data file AYK2_Data.xlsx complete the cash flow statement for Gears using Excel. Be sure to create formulas so the company can simply input numbers in the future to determine cash flow. Data File: AYK2_Data.xlsx

Technology Budget Tally is a start-up website development company located in Seattle, Washington. The company currently has seven employees and is looking to hire six new employees in the next month. Project Focus You are in charge of purchasing for Tally. Your first task is to purchase computers for the new employees. Your budget is $250,000 to buy the best computer systems with a scanner, three color printers, and business software. Use the web to research various products and calculate the costs of different systems using Excel. Use a variety of Excel formulas as you analyze costs and compare prices. Use the data file AYK3_Data.xlsx as a template. Data File: AYK3_Data.xlsx

Tracking Donations Lazarus Consulting is a large computer consulting company in New York. Pete Lazarus, the CEO and founder, is well known for his philanthropic efforts. Pete knows that most of his employees contribute to nonprofit organizations and wants to reward them for their efforts while encouraging others to contribute to charities. Pete began a program that matches 50 percent of each employee donation. The only stipulations are that the charity must be a nonprofit organization and the company will match only up to $2,000 per year per employee. Project Focus Open the data file AYK4_Data.xlsx and determine the following: What was the total donation amount per organization What were the average donations per organization Data File: AYK4_Data.xlsx

Convert Currency You have decided to spend the summer traveling abroad with your friends. Your trip is going to take you to France, England, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Norway, and Ireland. You want to use Excel to convert currencies as you travel around the world. Project Focus Locate one of the exchange rate calculators on the Internet (www.xe.com or www.x-rates.com). Find the exchange rates for each of the countries listed above and create formulas in Excel to convert $100, $500, and $1,000. Use the data file AYK5_Data.xlsx as a template. Data File: AYK5_Data.xls

Cost Comparison You are thinking about purchasing a new computer because the machine you are using now is four years old, slow, not always reliable, and does not support the latest operating system. Your needs for the new computer are simple: anti-virus software, email, web browsing, word processing, spreadsheet, database, iTunes, and some lightweight graphical tools. Your concern is what the total cost of ownership will be for the next three years. You have to factor in a few added costs beyond just the initial purchase price for the computer itself, such as: added hardware (this could include a new printer, docking station, or scanner), software (purchase of a new operating system), training (you're thinking about pursuing web training to get an internship next term), subsequent software upgrades, and maintenance. Project Focus It is useful to think about costs over time-both direct as well as indirect costs. Part of the reason this distinction is important is that a decision should rest not on the nominal sum of the purchase, but rather on the present value of the purchase. A dollar today is worth more than a dollar one year from now. The relevant discount rate (interest rate) is your marginal cost of capital corresponding to a level of risk equal with the purchase. Use the data file AYK6_Data.xlsx as a template. Data File: AYK6_Data.xlsx

Time Management You have just been hired as a business analyst by a new start-up company called Multi- Media. Multi-Media is an interactive agency that constructs phased and affordable website marketing, providing its clients with real and measurable solutions that are supported by easy-to-use tools. Because the company is very new to the business arena, it needs help in creating a project management plan for developing its own website. The major tasks for the development team have been identified but you need to create the timeline. Project Focus 1. The task names, durations, and any prerequisites are: Analyze and plan-two weeks. Cannot start anything else until done. Create and organize content-four weeks. Can start to develop "look and feel" before this is done. Develop the "look and feel"-four weeks. Start working on graphics and HTML at the same time. Produce graphics and HTML documents-two weeks. Create working prototype after the first week. Create a working prototype-two weeks. Give to test team when complete. Test, test, test-four weeks. Upload to a web server and test again-one week. Maintain. 2. Using Microsoft Excel or Microsoft Project, create a Gantt chart using the information provided above.

Maximize Profit Books, Books, Books is a wholesale distributor of popular books. The business buys overstocked books and sells them for a discount of more than 50 percent to local area bookstores. The owner of the company, BK Kane, would like to determine the best approach to boxing books so he can make the most profit possible. The local bookstores accept all shipments from Books, Books, Books because of BK's incredibly low prices. BK can order as many overstocked books as he requires, and this week's options include: Project Focus When packing a single box, BK must adhere to the following: 20 books or less. Books by three different authors. Between four and eight books from each author. Weight equal to or less than 50 pounds. BK has come to you to help him determine which books he should order to maximize his profit based on the above information. Using the data file AYK8_Data.xlsx, determine the optimal book order for a single box of books. Data File: AYK8_Data.xlsx

Security Analysis SecureWorks Inc. is a small computer security contractor that provides computer security analysis, design, and software implementation for the U.S. government and commercial clients. SecureWorks competes for both private and U.S. government computer security contract work by submitting detailed bids outlining the work the company will perform if awarded the contracts. Because all of the work involves computer security, a highly sensitive area, almost all of SecureWorks tasks require access to classified material or company confidential documents. Consequently, all of the security engineers (simply known as "engineers" within the company) have U.S. government clearances of either Secret or Top Secret. Some have even higher clearances for the 2 percent of SecureWorks work that involves so-called "black box" security work. Most of the employees also hold clearances because they must handle classified documents. Leslie Mamalis is SecureWorks' human resources (HR) manager. She maintains all employee records and is responsible for semiannual review reports, payroll processing, personnel records, recruiting data, employee training, and pension option information. At the heart of an HR system are personnel records. Personnel record maintenance includes activities such as maintaining employee records, tracking cost center data, recording and maintaining pension information, and absence and sick leave record keeping. While most of this information resides in sophisticated database systems, Leslie maintains a basic employee worksheet for quick calculations and ad hoc report generation. Because SecureWorks is a small company, Leslie can take advantage of Excel's excellent list management capabilities to satisfy many of her personnel information management needs. Project Focus Leslie has asked you to assist with a number of functions (she has provided you with a copy of her "trusted" personnel data file, AYK9_Data.xlsx): 1. Copy the worksheet Data to a new worksheet called Sort. Sort the employee list in ascending order by department, then by last name, then by first name. 2. Copy the worksheet Data to a new worksheet called Autofilter. Using the Autofilter feature, create a custom filter that will display employees whose birth date is greater than or equal to 1/1/1965 and less than or equal to 12/31/1975. 3. Copy the worksheet Data to a new worksheet called Subtotal. Using the subtotal feature create a sum of the salary for each department. 4. Copy the worksheet Data to a new worksheet called Formatting. Using the salary column, change the font color to red if the cell value is greater than or equal to 55000. You must use the conditional formatting feature to complete this step. Data File: AYK9_Data.xlsx

Gathering Data You have just accepted a new job offer from a firm that has offices in San Diego, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. You need to decide which location to move to. Because you have not visited any of these three cities and want to get in a lot of golf time, you determine that the main factor that will affect your decision is weather. Go to www.weather.com and locate the box in which you can enter the city or zip code for which you want information. Enter San Diego, CA, and when the data appear, click the Averages and Records tab. Print this page and repeat this for Los Angeles and San Francisco. You will want to focus on the Monthly Average and Records section on the top of the page. Project Focus 1. Create a spreadsheet to summarize the information you find. 2. Record the temperature and rainfall in columns, and group the cities into four groups of rows labeled Average High, Average Low, Mean, and Average Precipitation. 3. Fill in the appropriate data for each city and month. 4. Because rain is your greatest concern, use conditional formatting to display the months with an average precipitation below 2.5 inches in blue and apply boldface. 5. You also want to be in the warmest weather possible while in California. Use conditional formatting to display the months with average high temperatures above 65 degrees in green and apply an italic font face. 6. Looking at the average high temperatures above 65 degrees and average precipitation below two inches, to which city do you think you should relocate Explain your answer.

Scanner System FunTown is a popular amusement park filled with roller coasters, games, and water features. Boasting 24 roller coasters, 10 of which exceed 200 feet and 70 miles per hour, and five water parks, the park's attendance remains steady throughout the season. Due to the park's popularity, it is not uncommon for entrance lines to exceed one hour on busy days. FunTown would like your help to find a solution to decrease park entrance lines. Project Focus FunTown would like to implement a handheld scanner system that can allow employees to walk around the front gates and accept credit card purchases and print tickets on the spot. The park anticipates an overall increase in sales of 4 percent per year with online ticketing, with an expense of 6 percent of total sales for the scanning equipment. FunTown has created a data file for you to use, AYK11_Data.xlsx, that compares scanning sales and traditional sales. You will need to create the necessary formulas to calculate all the assumptions including: Tickets sold at the booth. Tickets sold by the scanner. Revenues generated by booth sales. Revenues generated by scanner sales. Scanner ticket expense. Revenue with and without scanner sales. Three year row totals. Data File: AYK11_Data.xlsx

Competitive Pricing Bill Schultz is thinking of starting a store that specializes in handmade cowboy boots. Bill is a longtime rancher in the town of Taos, New Mexico. Bill's reputation for honesty and integrity is well-known around town, and he is positive that his new store will be highly successful. Project Focus Before opening his store, Bill is curious about how his profit, revenue, and variable costs will change depending on the amount he charges for his boots. Bill would like you to perform the work required for this analysis and has given you the data file AYK12_Data.xlsx. Here are a few things to consider while you perform your analysis: Current competitive prices for custom cowboy boots are between $225 and $275 a pair. Variable costs will be either $100 or $150 a pair depending on the types of material Bill chooses to use. Fixed costs are $10,000 a month. Data File: AYK12_Data.xlsx

Adequate Acquisitions XMark.com is a major Internet company specializing in organic food. XMark.com is thinking of purchasing GoodGrow, another organic food Internet company. GoodGrow has current revenues of $100 million, with expenses of $150 million. Current projections indicate that GoodGrow's revenues are increasing at 35 percent per year and its expenses are increasing by 10 percent per year. XMark.com understands that projections can be erroneous, however; the company must determine the number of years before GoodGrow will return a profit. Project Focus You need to help XMark.com determine the number of years required to break even, using annual growth rates in revenue between 20 percent and 60 percent and annual expense growth rates between 10 percent and 30 percent. You have been provided with a template, AYK13_Data.xlsx, to assist with your analysis. Data File: AYK13_Data.xlsx

Customer Relations Schweizer Distribution specializes in distributing fresh produce to local restaurants in the Chicago area. The company currently sells 12 different products through the efforts of three sales representatives to 10 restaurants. The company, like all small businesses, is always interested in finding ways to increase revenues and decrease expenses. The company's founder, Bob Schweizer, has recently hired you as a new business analyst. You have just graduated from college with a degree in marketing and a specialization in customer relationship management. Bob is eager to hear your thoughts and ideas on how to improve the business and help the company build strong lasting relationships with its customers. Project Focus Bob has provided you with last year's sales information in the data file AYK14_Data.xlsx. Help Bob analyze his distribution company by using a PivotTable to determine the following: 1. Who is Bob's best customer by total sales 2. Who is Bob's worst customer by total sales 3. Who is Bob's best customer by total profit 4. Who is Bob's worst customer by total profit 5. What is Bob's best-selling product by total sales 6. What is Bob's worst-selling product by total sales 7. What is Bob's best-selling product by total profit 8. What is Bob's worst-selling product by total profit 9. Who is Bob's best sales representative by total profit 10. Who is Bob's worst sales representative by total profit 11. What is the best sales representative's best-selling product (by total profit) 12. Who is the best sales representative's best customer (by total profit) 13. What is the best sales representative's worst-selling product (by total profit) 14. Who is the best sales representative's worst customer (by total profit) Data File: AYK14_Data.xlsx

Assessing the Value of Information Recently Santa Fe, New Mexico, was named one of the safest places to live in the United States. Since then, housing development projects have been springing up all around Santa Fe. Six housing development projects are currently dominating the local market-Pinon Pine, Rancho Hondo, Creek Side, Vista Del Monte, Forest View, and Santa Fe South. These six projects each started with 100 homes, have sold all of them, and are currently developing phase two. As one of the three partners and real estate agents of Affordable Homes Real Estate, it is your responsibility to analyze the information concerning the past 600 home sales and choose which development project to focus on for selling homes in phase two. Because your real estate firm is so small, you and your partners have decided that the firm should focus on selling homes in only one of the development projects. From the New Mexico Real Estate Association you have obtained a spreadsheet file that contains information concerning each of the sales for the first 600 homes. It contains the following fields: The following numbers have been assigned to each of the housing development projects: It is your responsibility to analyze the sales list and prepare a report that details which housing development project your real estate firm should focus on. Your analysis should be from as many angles as possible. Project Focus 1. You do not know how many other real estate firms will also be competing for sales in each of the housing development projects. 2. Phase two for each housing development project will develop homes similar in style, price, and square footage to their respective first phases. 3. As you consider the information provided to you, think in terms of what information is important and what information is not important. Be prepared to justify how you went about your analysis. 4. Upon completing your analysis, please provide concise, yet detailed and thorough, documentation (in narrative, numeric, and graphic forms) that justifies your decision. Data file: AYK15_Data.xlsx

Growth, Trends, and Forecasts Founded in 2002, Analytics Software provides innovative search software, website accessibility testing software, and usability testing software. All serve as part of its desktop and enterprise content management solutions for government, corporate, educational, and consumer markets. The company's solutions are used by website publishers, digital media publishers, content managers, document managers, business users, consumers, software companies, and consulting services companies. Analytics Software solutions help organizations develop long-term strategies to achieve web content accessibility, enhance usability, and comply with U.S. and international accessibility and search standards. You manage the customer service group for the company and have just received an email from CIO Sue Downs that the number of phone calls from customers having problems with one of your newer applications is on the increase. This company has a 10-year history of approximately 1 percent in turnover a year, and its focus had always been on customer service. With the informal motto of "Grow big, but stay small," it takes pride in 100 percent callbacks in customer care, knowing that its personal service was one thing that made it outstanding. The rapid growth to six times its original customer-base size has forced the company to deal with difficult questions for the first time, such as, "How do we serve this many customers " One option might be for the company to outsource its customer service department. Before deciding to do that, Analytics Software needs to create a growth, trend, forecast analysis for future predictions. Project Focus 1. Create a weekly analysis from the data provided in AYK16_Data.xlsx. 2. The price of the products, the actual product type, and any warrantee information is irrelevant. 3. Develop a growth, trend, and forecast analysis. You should use a three-day moving average; a shorter moving average might not display the trend well, and a much longer moving average would shorten the trend too much. 4. Upon completing your analysis, please provide concise yet detailed and thorough documentation (in narrative, numeric, and graphic forms) that justifies your recommendations. Data File: AYK16_Data.xlsx

Shipping Costs One of the main products of the Fairway Woods Company is custom-made golf clubs. The clubs are manufactured at three plants (Denver, Colorado; Phoenix, Arizona; and Dallas, Texas) and are then shipped by truck to five distribution warehouses in Sacramento, California; Salt Lake City, Utah; Chicago, Illinois; Albuquerque, New Mexico; and New York City, New York. Because shipping costs are a major expense, management has begun an analysis to determine ways to reduce them. For the upcoming golf season, the output from each manufacturing plant and how much each warehouse will require to satisfy its customers have been estimated. The CIO from Fairway Woods Company has created a data file for you, AYK17_Data. xlsx, of the shipping costs from each manufacturing plant to each warehouse as a baseline analysis. Some business rules and requirements you should be aware of include: The problem presented involves the shipment of goods from three plants to five regional warehouses. Goods can be shipped from any plant to any warehouse, but it costs more to ship goods over long distances than over short distances. Project Focus 1. Your goal is to minimize the costs of shipping goods from production plants to warehouses, thereby meeting the demand from each metropolitan area while not exceeding the supply available from each plant. To complete this project it is recommended that you use the Solver function in Excel to assist with the analysis. 2. Specifically you want to focus on: Minimizing the total shipping costs. Total shipped must be less than or equal to supply at a plant. Total shipped to warehouses must be greater than or equal to the warehouse demand. Number to ship must be greater than or equal to 0. Data File: AYK17_Data.xlsx

Formatting Grades Professor Streterstein is a bit absentminded. His instructor's grade book is a mess, and he would like your help cleaning it up and making it easier to use. In Professor Streterstein's course, the maximum possible points a student can earn is 750. The following table displays the grade equivalent to total points for the course. Project Focus Help Professor Streterstein rework his grade book. Open the data file AYK18_Data.xlsx and perform the following: 1. Reformat the workbook so it is readable, understandable, and consistent. Replace column labels, format and align the headings, add borders and shading as appropriate. 2. Add a column in the grade book for final grade next to the total points earned column. 3. Use the VLookup Function to automatically assess final grades based on the total points column. 4. Using the If Function, format the workbook so each student's grade shows a pass or fail-P for pass, F for fail-based on the total points. Data File: AYK18_Data.xlsx

Moving Dilemma Pony Espresso is a small business that sells specialty coffee drinks at office buildings. Each morning and afternoon, trucks arrive at offices' front entrances, and the office employees purchase various beverages such as Java du Jour and Café de Colombia. The business is profitable. Pony Espresso offices, however, are located north of town, where lease rates are less expensive, and the principal sales area is south of town. This means the trucks must drive across town four times each day. The cost of transportation to and from the sales area plus the power demands of the trucks' coffee brewing equipment are a significant portion of variable costs. Pony Espresso could reduce the amount of driving and, therefore, the variable costs, if it moved the offices closer to the sales area. Pony Espresso presently has fixed costs of $10,000 per month. The lease of a new office, closer to the sales area, would cost an additional $2,200 per month. This would increase the fixed costs to $12,200 per month. Although the lease of new offices would increase the fixed costs, a careful estimate of the potential savings in gasoline and vehicle maintenance indicates that Pony Espresso could reduce the variable costs from $0.60 per unit to $0.35 per unit. Total sales are unlikely to increase as a result of the move, but the savings in variable costs should increase the annual profit. Project Focus Consider the information provided to you from the owner in the data file AYK19_Data.xlsx. Especially look at the change in the variability of the profit from month to month. From November through January, when it is much more difficult to lure office workers out into the cold to purchase coffee, Pony Espresso barely breaks even. In fact, in December, the business lost money. 1. Develop the cost analysis on the existing lease information using the monthly sales figures provided to you in the data file. 2. Develop the cost analysis from the new lease information provided above. 3. Calculate the variability that is reflected in the month-to-month standard deviation of earnings for the current cost structure and the projected cost structure. 4. Do not consider any association with downsizing such as overhead-simply focus on the information provided to you. 5. You will need to calculate the EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes). Data File: AYK19_Data.xlsx

Operational Efficiencies Hoover Transportation Inc. is a large distribution company located in Denver, Colorado. The company is currently seeking to gain operational efficiencies in its supply chain by reducing the number of transportation carriers that it is using to outsource. Operational efficiencies for Hoover Transportation, Inc., suggest that reducing the number of carriers from the Denver distribution center to warehouses in the selected states will lead to reduced costs. Brian Hoover, the CEO of Hoover Transportation, requests that the number of carriers transporting products from its Denver distribution center to wholesalers in Arizona, Arkansas, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Washington be reduced from the current five carriers to two carriers. Project Focus Carrier selection should be based on the assumptions that all environmental factors are equal and historical cost trends will continue. Review the historical data from the past several years to determine your recommendation for the top two carriers that Hoover Transportation should continue to use. 1. Analyze the last 24 months of Hoover's Transportation carrier transactions found in the data file AYK20_Data.xlsx. 2. Create a report detailing your recommendation for the top two carriers with which Hoover Transportation should continue to do business. Be sure to use PivotTables and PivotCharts in your report. A few questions to get you started include: Calculate the average cost per carrier. Calculate the total shipping costs per state. Calculate the total shipping weights per state. Calculate the average shipping costs per pound. Calculate the average cost per carrier. Data File: AYK20_Data.xlsx

Too Much Information You have just landed the job of vice president of operations for The Pitt Stop Restaurants, a national chain of full-service, casual-themed restaurants. During your first week on the job, Suzanne Graham, your boss and CEO of the company, has asked you to provide an analysis of how well the company's restaurants are performing. Specifically, she would like to know which units and regions are performing extremely well, which are performing moderately well, and which are underperforming. Her goal is to identify where to spend time and focus efforts to improve the overall health of the company. Project Focus Review the data file AYK21_Data.xlsx and determine how best to analyze and interpret the data. Create a formal presentation of your findings. A few things to consider include: Should underperforming restaurants be closed or sold Should high-performing restaurants be expanded to accommodate more seats Should the company spend more or less on advertising In which markets should the advertising budget be adjusted How are The Pitt Stop Restaurants performing compared to the competition How are units of like size performing relative to each other Data File: AYK21_Data.xlsx

Turnover Rates Employee turnover rates are at an all-time high at Gizmo Manufacturing's plants. The company is experiencing severe worker retention issues, which are leading to productivity and quality control problems. The majority of the company's workers perform a variety of tasks and are paid by the hour. The company currently tests potential applicants to ensure they have the skills necessary for the intense mental concentration and dexterity required to fill the positions. Because significant costs are associated with employee turnover, Gizmo Manufacturing wants to find a way to predict which applicants have the characteristics of being a short-term versus a long-term employee. Project Focus 1. Review the information that Gizmo Manufacturing has collected from two of its different data sources. The first data file, AYK22_Data_A.xlsx, contains information regarding employee wages. The second data file, AYK22_Data_B.xlsx, contains information regarding employee retention. 2. Using Excel analysis functions, determine the employee characteristics that you would recommend Gizmo Manufacturing look for when hiring new personnel. It is highly recommended that you use PivotTables as part of your analysis. 3. Prepare a report based on your findings (which should include several forms of graphical representation) for your recommendations. Data Files: AYK22_Data_A.xlsx and AYK22_Data_B.xlsx

Vital Information Martin Resorts Inc. owns and operates four Spa and Golf resorts in Colorado. The company has five traditional lines of business: (1) golf sales, (2) golf lessons, (3) restaurants, (4) retail and rentals, and (5) hotels. David Logan, director of marketing technology at Martin Resorts Inc., and Donald Mayer, the lead strategic analyst for Martin Resorts, are soliciting your input for their CRM strategic initiative. Martin Resorts' IT infrastructure is pieced together with various systems and applications. Currently, the company has a difficult time with CRM because its systems are not integrated. The company cannot determine vital information such as which customers are golfing and staying at the hotel or which customers are staying at the hotel and not golfing. For example, the three details that the customer Diego Titus (1) stayed four nights at a Martin Resorts' managed hotel, (2) golfed three days, and (3) took an all-day spa treatment the first day are discrete facts housed in separate systems. Martin Resorts hopes that by using data warehousing technology to integrate its data, the next time Diego reserves lodging for another trip, sales associates may ask him if he would like to book a spa treatment as well, and even if he would like the same masseuse that he had on his prior trip. Martin Resorts is excited about the possibility of taking advantage of customer segmentation and CRM strategies to help increase its business. Project Focus The company wants to use CRM and data warehouse technologies to improve service and personalization at each customer touch point. Using a data warehousing tool, important customer information can be accessed from all of its systems either daily, weekly, monthly, or once or twice per year. Analyze the sample data in AYK23_Data.xlsx for the following: 1. Currently, the quality of the data within the above disparate systems is low. Develop a report for David and Donald discussing the importance of high-quality information and how low-quality information can affect Martin Resorts' business. 2. Review the data that David and Donald are working with from the data warehouse in the data file AYK23_Data.xlsx. a. Give examples from the data showing the kind of information Martin Resorts might be able to use to gain a better understanding of its customers. Include the types of data quality issues the company can anticipate and the strategies it can use to help avoid such issues. b. Determine who are Martin Resorts' best customers, and provide examples of the types of marketing campaigns the company should offer these valuable customers. c. Prepare a report that summarizes the benefits Martin Resorts can receive from using business intelligence to mine the data warehouse. Include a financial analysis of the costs and benefits. Data File: AYK23_Data.xlsx

Breaking Even Mountain Cycle specializes in making custom mountain bikes. The company founder, PJ Steffan, is having a hard time making the business profitable. Knowing that you have great business knowledge and solid financial sense, PJ has come to you for advice. Project Focus PJ would like you to determine how many bikes Mountain Cycle needs to sell per year to break even. Using Goal Seek in Excel solve using the following: Fixed cost equals $65,000 Variable cost equals $1,575 Bike price equals $2,500

Profit Scenario Murry Lutz owns a small shop, Lutz Motors, that sells and services vintage motorcycles. Murry is curious how his profit will be affected by his sales over the next year. Project Focus Murry would like your help creating best, worst, and most-likely scenarios for his motorcycle sales over the next year. Using Scenario Manager, help Murry analyze the information in the data file AYK25_Data.xlsx. Data File: AYK25_Data.xlsx

Electronic Résumés Résumés are the currency of the recruitment industry. They are the cornerstone of communication between candidates, recruiters, and employers. Technology is automating elements of the recruitment process, but a complete solution requires proper handling of the actual development of all the pieces and parts that comprise not just a résumé, but also an erésumé. Electronic résumés, or erésumés, have moved into the mainstream of today's job market at lightning speed. Erésumés have stepped up the efficiency of job placement to such a point that you could get a call from a recruiter just hours after submitting your erésumé. With this kind of opportunity, you cannot afford to be left in the dark ages of using only a paper résumé. Project Focus In the text or HTML editor of your choice, write your résumé as though you were really putting it online and inviting prospective employers to see it. We recommend typing in all the text and then later adding the HTML tags (rather than trying to type in the tags as you go). Use the following checklist to make sure you're covering the basics. You do not need to match it exactly; it just shows what can be done. Add structural tags. Add paragraphs and headings. Find an opportunity to include a list. Add inline styles. Play with the alignment of elements. Add appropriate font selection, font size, and color.

Gathering Feedback Gathering feedback from a website's visitors can be a valuable way of assessing a site's success, and it can help build a customer or subscriber database. For example, a business could collect the addresses of people who are interested in receiving product samples, email newsletters, or notifications of special offers. Project Focus Adding form elements to a web page is simple: They are created using a set of HTML form tags that define menus, text fields, buttons, and so on. Form elements are generally used to collect information from a web page. In the text or HTML editor of your choice, create a web page form that would collect information for a customer ordering a customized bicycle. Use proper web page design and HTML tools to understand the process and function of form elements. Be sure to pay attention to: Form layout and design. Visual elements, including labels, alignment, font selection, font size, color. Required versus nonrequired fields. Drop-down boxes, text fields, and radio buttons.

Daily Invoice Foothills Animal Hospital is a full-service small animal veterinary hospital located in Morrison, Colorado, specializing in routine medical care, vaccinations, laboratory testing, and surgery. The hospital has experienced tremendous growth over the past six months due to customer referrals. While Foothills Animal Hospital has typically kept its daily service records in a workbook format, it feels the need to expand its reporting capabilities to develop a relational database as a more functional structure. Foothills Animal Hospital needs help developing a database, specifically: Create a customer table-name, address, phone, and date of entrance. Create a pet table-pet name, type of animal, breed, gender, color, neutered/spayed, weight, and comments. Create a medications table-medication code, name of medication, and cost of medication. Create a visit table-details of treatments performed, medications dispensed, and date of the visit. Produce a daily invoice report. Figure AYK.2 displays a sample daily invoice report that the Foothills Animal Hospital accountants have requested. Foothills Animal Hospital organizes its treatments using the codes displayed in Figure AYK.3. The entities and primary keys for the database have been identified in Figure AYK.4. The following business rules have been identified: 1. A customer can have many pets but must have at least one. 2. A pet must be assigned to one and only one customer. 3. A pet can have one or more treatments per visit but must have at least one. 4. A pet can have one or more medications but need not have any. Project Focus Your job is to complete the following tasks: 1. Develop and describe the entity-relationship diagram. 2. Use normalization to assure the correctness of the tables (relations). 3. Create the database using a personal DBMS package (preferably Microsoft Access). 4. Use the data in Figure AYK.3 to populate your tables. Feel free to enter your own personal information. 5. Use the DBMS package to create the basic report in Figure AYK.2 FIGURE AYK.2 Foothills Animal Hospital Daily Invoice Report FIGURE AYK.3 Treatment Codes, Treatments, and Price Descriptions FIGURE AYK.4 Entity Names and Primary Keys Foothills Animal Hospital

Billing Data On-The-Level Construction Company is a Denver-based construction company that specializes in subcontracting the development of single-family homes. In business since 1998, On-The-Level Construction has maintained a talented pool of certified staff and independent consultants providing the flexibility and combined experience required to meet the needs of its nearly 300 completed projects in the Denver metropolitan area. The field of operation methods that On-The-Level Construction is responsible for includes structural development, heating and cooling, plumbing, and electricity. The company charges its clients by billing the hours spent on each contract. The hourly billing rate is dependent on the employee's position according to the field of operations (as noted above). Figure AYK.5 shows a basic report that On-The-Level Construction foremen would like to see every week concerning what projects are being assigned, the overall assignment hours, and the charges for the assignment. On-The-Level Construction organizes its internal structure in four different operations-Structure (500), Plumbing (501), Electrical (502), and Heating and Ventilation (503). Each of these operational departments can and should have many subcontractors who specialize in that area. On-The-Level Construction has decided to implement a relational database model to track project details according to project name, hours assigned, and charges per hour for each job description. Originally, On-The-Level Construction decided to let one of its employees handle the construction of the database. However, that employee has not had the time to completely implement the project. On-The-Level Construction has asked you to take over and complete the development of the database. The entities and primary keys for the database have been identified in Figure AYK.6. The following business rules have been identified: 1. A job can have many employees assigned but must have at least one. 2. An employee must be assigned to one and only one job number. 3. An employee can be assigned to work on one or more projects. 4. A project can be assigned to only one employee but need not be assigned to any employee. Project Focus Your job is to complete the following tasks: 1. Develop and describe the entity relationship diagram. 2. Use normalization to assure the correctness of the tables (relations). 3. Create the database using a personal DBMS package (preferably Microsoft Access). 4. Use the DBMS package to create the basic report in Figure AYK.5. 5. You may not be able to develop a report that looks exactly like the one in Figure AYK.5. However, your report should include the same information. 6. Complete personnel information is tracked by another database. For this application, include only the minimum: employee number, last name, and first name. 7. Information concerning all projects, employees, and jobs is not readily available. You should create information for several fictitious projects, employees, and jobs to include in your database. FIGURE AYK.5 On-The-Level-Construction Detail Report FIGURE AYK.6 Entity Classes and Primary Keys for On-The-Level Construction

Inventory Data An independent retailer of mobile entertainment and wireless phones, iToys.com has built its business on offering the widest selection, expert advice, and outstanding customer service. However, iToys.com does not use a formal, consistent inventory tracking system. Periodically, an iToys.com employee visually checks to see what items are in stock. Although iToys.com does try to keep a certain level of each "top seller" in stock, the lack of a formal inventory tracking system has led to the overstocking of some items and understocking of other items. On occasion, a customer will request a hot item, and it is only then that iToys.com realizes that the item is out of stock. If an item is not available, iToys.com risks losing a customer to a competitor. Lately, iToys.com has become concerned with its inventory management methods. The owner of iToys.com, Dan Connolly, wants to better manage his inventory. The company receives orders by mail, by telephone, or through its website. Regardless of how the orders are received, Dan needs a database to automate the inventory checking and ordering process. Project Focus Dan has provided you with a simplified version of the company's current system (an Excel workbook) for recording inventory and orders in an Excel spreadsheet data file AYK30_Data.xlsx. 1. Develop an ERD diagram before you begin to create the database. You will need to use the information provided here as well as the data given in the Excel workbook. 2. Create the database using a personal DBMS package (preferably Microsoft Access) that will track items (i.e., products), orders, order details, categories, suppliers, and shipping methods. 3. In addition to what is mentioned above, the database needs to track the inventory levels for each product, according to a reorder level and lead time. 4. At this time, Dan does not need information stored about the customer; he simply needs you to focus on the inventory structure. 5. Develop a query that will display the products that need to be ordered from their supplier. To complete this, you will want to compare a reorder level with how many units are in stock. 6. Develop several reports that display: a. Each product ordered by its supplier. The report should include the product name, quantity on hand, and reorder level. b. Each supplier ordered by shipping method. c. Each product that requires more than five days lead time. (Hint: You will want to create a query for this first). d. Each product ordered by category. 7. Here are some additional business rules to assist you in completing this task: a. An order must have at least one product, but can contain more than one product. b. A product can have one or more orders, but need not have any orders. c. A product must belong to one and only one category, but a category may contain many different products. d. A product can only be stocked by one supplier, but a supplier can provide more than one product. e. A supplier will use one type of shipping method, but shipping methods can be used by more than one supplier. Data File: AYK30_Data.xlsx

Call Center A manufacturing company, Teleworks, has been a market leader in the wireless telephone business for the past 10 years. Other firms have imitated its product with some degree of success, but Teleworks occupies a dominant position in the marketplace because it has a first-mover advantage with a quality product. Recently Teleworks began selling a new, enhanced wireless phone. This new phone does not replace its current product, but offers additional features, greater durability, and better performance for a somewhat higher price. Offering this enhanced phone has established a new revenue stream for the company. Many sales executives at Teleworks seem to subscribe to the-more-you-have, themore- you-want theory of managing customer data. That is, they believe they can never accumulate too much information about their customers, and that they can do their jobs more effectively by collecting infinite amounts of customer details. Having a firm grasp on a wide range of customer-focused details-specifically reports summarizing call center information-can be critical in enabling your company to successfully manage a customer relationship management (CRM) solution that creates a positive impact. To continue to provide excellent customer support, and in anticipation of increased calls due to the release of its new product, Teleworks needs a database that it can use to record, track, and query call center information. Teleworks CIO KED Davisson has hired you to develop this database. Project Focus 1. Teleworks has provided you with a data file AYK31_Data.xlsx; its current approach for recording cell center information is a spreadsheet file. 2. Develop an ERD diagram before you begin to create the database. 3. Create the database using a personal DBMS package (preferably Microsoft Access) that will allow data analysts to enter call center data according to the type of issue and the customer, assign each call to a consultant, and prioritize the call. 4. Develop a query that will display all issues that are "open." 5. Develop a screen form to browse all issues. 6. Develop several reports that display: a. All closed issues. b. Each issue in detail ordered by issue ID. c. Each issue in detail ordered by consultant. d. Each issue in detail ordered by category. e. Each issue in detail ordered by status. 7. Here are some additional business rules to assist you in completing this task: a. An issue must have at least one customer. b. A customer can have more than one issue. c. Each issue must be assigned to one consultant. d. Each consultant can be assigned to more than one issue. e. An issue can only belong to one category. f. An issue must be assigned only one status code. g. An issue must be assigned a priority code. 8. Priorities are assigned accordingly: 9. Status is recorded as either open or closed. 10. The categories of each issue need to be recorded as: Data File: AYK31_Data.xlsx

Sales Pipeline Sales drive any organization. This is true for every for-profit business irrespective of size or industry type. If customers are not buying your goods or services, you run the risk of not having a business. This is when tough decisions have to be made like whether to slash budgets, lay off staff, or seek additional financing. Unfortunately, you do not wield ultimate power over your customers' buying habits. While you can attempt to influence buying behavior through strategic marketing, smart businesses remain one step ahead by collecting and analyzing historical and current customer information from a range of internal and external sources to forecast future sales. In other words, managing the sales pipeline is an essential ingredient to business success. You have recently been hired by RealTime Solutions, a new company that collects information to understand, manage, and predict specific sales cycle (including the supply chain and lead times) in the automobile business. Having an accurate forecast of future sales will allow the company to increase or decrease the production cycle as required and manage personnel levels, inventory, and cash flow. Project Focus Using a personal DBMS package (preferably Microsoft Access) create a sales pipeline database that will: 1. Track opportunities from employees to customers. Opportunities should have a ranking, category, source of opportunity, open date, closed date, description. 2. Create a form for inputting customer, employee, and opportunity data. 3. Create a few reports that display: All open opportunities, including relevant customer and employee information. Closed opportunities, including relevant customer and employee information. All customers. 4. Create your own data to test the integrity of the relationships. Use approximately 10records per table

Online Classifi ed Ads With the emergence of the Internet as a worldwide standard for communicating information, The Morrison Post, a medium-size community newspaper in central Colorado, is creating an electronic version of its paper-based classified ads. Advertisers can place a small ad that lists items that they wish to sell and provide a means (e.g., telephone number and email) by which prospective buyers can contact them. The nature of a sale via the newspaper's classified system goes as follows: During the course of the sale, the information flows in different directions at different stages. First, there is a downstream flow of information (from seller to buyer): the listing in print in the newspaper. (Thus, the classified ad listing is just a way of bringing a buyer and seller together.) When a potential purchaser's interest has been raised, then that interest must be relayed upstream, usually by telephone or by email. Finally, a meeting should result that uses face-to-face negotiation to finalize the sale, if the sale can be agreed. By placing the entire system on the Internet, the upstream and downstream communications are accomplished using a web browser. The sale becomes more of an auction, because many potential buyers, all with equal status, can bid for the same item. So it is fairer for all purchasers and gets a better deal for the seller. Any user who is trying to buy an item can: View items for sale. Bid on an item they wish to purchase. Any user who is trying to sell an item can: Place a new item for sale. Browse a list of the items that he or she is trying to sell, and examine the bids that have been made on each of those items. Accept a bid on an item that he or she is selling. Your job is to complete the following: 1. Develop and describe the entity-relationship diagram for the database that will support the listed activities. 2. Use normalization to ensure the correctness of the tables. 3. Create the database using a personal DBMS package. 4. Use Figure AYK.7 as a baseline for your database design. Data File: AYK33_Data.xlsx FIGURE AYK.7

Battle of the Toys-FAO Schwarz Is Back! German immigrant Frederick Schwarz established FAO Schwarz, a premier seller of fine toys, in 1862. After moving between several store locations in Manhattan, the growing company settled at 745 Fifth Avenue in 1931. FAO Schwarz soon became a toy institution, despite the impending Depression. Unfortunately, the New York institution closed its doors in 2004 after its owner, FAO Inc., filed for bankruptcy twice in 2003. The company ran into trouble because it could not compete with the deep discounts offered on toys at chain stores like Walmart and Target. All the stores in the FAO chain were closed. Some people believe that FAO Schwarz was its own worst enemy. The company sold Sesame Street figures for $9 while the same figure at a discount store went for less than $3. In 2004, the New York investment firm D. E. Shaw Co. bought the rights to the FAO Schwarz name and reopened the Manhattan and Las Vegas stores. The grand reopening of the New York store occurred on November 25, 2004, during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. It appears that the company has learned from its previous mistakes and is moving forward with a new business strategy of offering high-end, hard-to-find toys and products along with outstanding customer service. Jerry Welch, FAO chief executive officer, states the company based its new business strategy on offering customers-local, visitors, and Internet-a unique shopping experience in which they can spend thousands of dollars or just twenty, but still purchase an exclusive item. The store no longer carries any items from top toymakers Hasbro Inc. or Lego. The only toys it carries from Mattel Inc. are Hot Wheels and limited-edition Barbie dolls, starting at $130 for the Bridal Barbie dressed in a Badgley Mischka designer wedding gown and chandelier earrings. A few of the items the store is offering include: $20 made-to-order Hot Wheels car that a child can custom design via a computer. $50,000 miniature Ferrari with a full leather interior, fiberglass body, three-speed transmission, and working sound system that travels up to 24 kilometers an hour and is not recommended for children six and under. $15,000 stuffed elephant. $150,000 6.7-meter-long piano keyboard, which premiered in the Tom Hanks movie Big. Baby dolls that are arranged in incubators and sold by staff wearing nurses' uniforms. Welch said, "FAO is a 142-year-old brand that, because of our location on Fifth Avenue, people all over the world know. So we start out with great recognition and what we've done here is pull together something that you just can't find anywhere else in the world. Everything here is made by small, unique manufacturers from all over the world." Welch is confident the stores will be richly profitable for its new owners because they have stopped offering mainstream products found in rival stores to generate sales volume. The new owners have returned to a business strategy focusing on quality and exclusivity that were the hallmark of the original store. The Future of the Toy Store Playing Field Toys 'R' Us began slashing prices during the 2004 holiday season in a last-ditch effort to fight off intense price competition from big discounters like Walmart and Target. Toys 'R' Us CEO John Eyler stated the company would not be outdone on pricing, during the holiday sales rush, though he cautioned he was not planning to engage in a price war. There have been several reports that the company might leave the toy business to focus on its more profitable Babies 'R' Us unit. Toys 'R' Us lost $25 million for the three months ended in October 2004. The company lost $46 million in the same period the year earlier. The decrease in losses can be attributed to a big cost-cutting effort. Kurt Barnard of Barnard's Retail Trend Report stated that Toys 'R' Us is destined for oblivion-it cannot stand up to the discounters. Toymakers like Mattel and Hasbro, whose profits have also suffered from Walmart's market power, have given Toys 'R' Us a hand by offering it 21 exclusive items not available at other stores. Toy manufacturers fear that greater monopoly power from Walmart will force them to slash their profit margins. Walmart carries fewer items than toy stores like Toys 'R' Us, which could lead to fewer choices for consumers. FAO's new owners believe that Walmart cannot compare with the atmosphere now offered at FAO Schwarz, a true toy heaven. The company is hoping that its new business strategy will allow it to move beyond the battle of the toy stores. Toys 'R' Us will need to find new ways to compete with discounters like Walmart and Target. Why did FAO Inc. have to declare bankruptcy

Battle of the Toys-FAO Schwarz Is Back! German immigrant Frederick Schwarz established FAO Schwarz, a premier seller of fine toys, in 1862. After moving between several store locations in Manhattan, the growing company settled at 745 Fifth Avenue in 1931. FAO Schwarz soon became a toy institution, despite the impending Depression. Unfortunately, the New York institution closed its doors in 2004 after its owner, FAO Inc., filed for bankruptcy twice in 2003. The company ran into trouble because it could not compete with the deep discounts offered on toys at chain stores like Walmart and Target. All the stores in the FAO chain were closed. Some people believe that FAO Schwarz was its own worst enemy. The company sold Sesame Street figures for $9 while the same figure at a discount store went for less than $3. In 2004, the New York investment firm D. E. Shaw Co. bought the rights to the FAO Schwarz name and reopened the Manhattan and Las Vegas stores. The grand reopening of the New York store occurred on November 25, 2004, during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. It appears that the company has learned from its previous mistakes and is moving forward with a new business strategy of offering high-end, hard-to-find toys and products along with outstanding customer service. Jerry Welch, FAO chief executive officer, states the company based its new business strategy on offering customers-local, visitors, and Internet-a unique shopping experience in which they can spend thousands of dollars or just twenty, but still purchase an exclusive item. The store no longer carries any items from top toymakers Hasbro Inc. or Lego. The only toys it carries from Mattel Inc. are Hot Wheels and limited-edition Barbie dolls, starting at $130 for the Bridal Barbie dressed in a Badgley Mischka designer wedding gown and chandelier earrings. A few of the items the store is offering include: $20 made-to-order Hot Wheels car that a child can custom design via a computer. $50,000 miniature Ferrari with a full leather interior, fiberglass body, three-speed transmission, and working sound system that travels up to 24 kilometers an hour and is not recommended for children six and under. $15,000 stuffed elephant. $150,000 6.7-meter-long piano keyboard, which premiered in the Tom Hanks movie Big. Baby dolls that are arranged in incubators and sold by staff wearing nurses' uniforms. Welch said, "FAO is a 142-year-old brand that, because of our location on Fifth Avenue, people all over the world know. So we start out with great recognition and what we've done here is pull together something that you just can't find anywhere else in the world. Everything here is made by small, unique manufacturers from all over the world." Welch is confident the stores will be richly profitable for its new owners because they have stopped offering mainstream products found in rival stores to generate sales volume. The new owners have returned to a business strategy focusing on quality and exclusivity that were the hallmark of the original store. The Future of the Toy Store Playing Field Toys 'R' Us began slashing prices during the 2004 holiday season in a last-ditch effort to fight off intense price competition from big discounters like Walmart and Target. Toys 'R' Us CEO John Eyler stated the company would not be outdone on pricing, during the holiday sales rush, though he cautioned he was not planning to engage in a price war. There have been several reports that the company might leave the toy business to focus on its more profitable Babies 'R' Us unit. Toys 'R' Us lost $25 million for the three months ended in October 2004. The company lost $46 million in the same period the year earlier. The decrease in losses can be attributed to a big cost-cutting effort. Kurt Barnard of Barnard's Retail Trend Report stated that Toys 'R' Us is destined for oblivion-it cannot stand up to the discounters. Toymakers like Mattel and Hasbro, whose profits have also suffered from Walmart's market power, have given Toys 'R' Us a hand by offering it 21 exclusive items not available at other stores. Toy manufacturers fear that greater monopoly power from Walmart will force them to slash their profit margins. Walmart carries fewer items than toy stores like Toys 'R' Us, which could lead to fewer choices for consumers. FAO's new owners believe that Walmart cannot compare with the atmosphere now offered at FAO Schwarz, a true toy heaven. The company is hoping that its new business strategy will allow it to move beyond the battle of the toy stores. Toys 'R' Us will need to find new ways to compete with discounters like Walmart and Target. Describe the issues with FAO's original business model.

Battle of the Toys-FAO Schwarz Is Back! German immigrant Frederick Schwarz established FAO Schwarz, a premier seller of fine toys, in 1862. After moving between several store locations in Manhattan, the growing company settled at 745 Fifth Avenue in 1931. FAO Schwarz soon became a toy institution, despite the impending Depression. Unfortunately, the New York institution closed its doors in 2004 after its owner, FAO Inc., filed for bankruptcy twice in 2003. The company ran into trouble because it could not compete with the deep discounts offered on toys at chain stores like Walmart and Target. All the stores in the FAO chain were closed. Some people believe that FAO Schwarz was its own worst enemy. The company sold Sesame Street figures for $9 while the same figure at a discount store went for less than $3. In 2004, the New York investment firm D. E. Shaw Co. bought the rights to the FAO Schwarz name and reopened the Manhattan and Las Vegas stores. The grand reopening of the New York store occurred on November 25, 2004, during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. It appears that the company has learned from its previous mistakes and is moving forward with a new business strategy of offering high-end, hard-to-find toys and products along with outstanding customer service. Jerry Welch, FAO chief executive officer, states the company based its new business strategy on offering customers-local, visitors, and Internet-a unique shopping experience in which they can spend thousands of dollars or just twenty, but still purchase an exclusive item. The store no longer carries any items from top toymakers Hasbro Inc. or Lego. The only toys it carries from Mattel Inc. are Hot Wheels and limited-edition Barbie dolls, starting at $130 for the Bridal Barbie dressed in a Badgley Mischka designer wedding gown and chandelier earrings. A few of the items the store is offering include: $20 made-to-order Hot Wheels car that a child can custom design via a computer. $50,000 miniature Ferrari with a full leather interior, fiberglass body, three-speed transmission, and working sound system that travels up to 24 kilometers an hour and is not recommended for children six and under. $15,000 stuffed elephant. $150,000 6.7-meter-long piano keyboard, which premiered in the Tom Hanks movie Big. Baby dolls that are arranged in incubators and sold by staff wearing nurses' uniforms. Welch said, "FAO is a 142-year-old brand that, because of our location on Fifth Avenue, people all over the world know. So we start out with great recognition and what we've done here is pull together something that you just can't find anywhere else in the world. Everything here is made by small, unique manufacturers from all over the world." Welch is confident the stores will be richly profitable for its new owners because they have stopped offering mainstream products found in rival stores to generate sales volume. The new owners have returned to a business strategy focusing on quality and exclusivity that were the hallmark of the original store. The Future of the Toy Store Playing Field Toys 'R' Us began slashing prices during the 2004 holiday season in a last-ditch effort to fight off intense price competition from big discounters like Walmart and Target. Toys 'R' Us CEO John Eyler stated the company would not be outdone on pricing, during the holiday sales rush, though he cautioned he was not planning to engage in a price war. There have been several reports that the company might leave the toy business to focus on its more profitable Babies 'R' Us unit. Toys 'R' Us lost $25 million for the three months ended in October 2004. The company lost $46 million in the same period the year earlier. The decrease in losses can be attributed to a big cost-cutting effort. Kurt Barnard of Barnard's Retail Trend Report stated that Toys 'R' Us is destined for oblivion-it cannot stand up to the discounters. Toymakers like Mattel and Hasbro, whose profits have also suffered from Walmart's market power, have given Toys 'R' Us a hand by offering it 21 exclusive items not available at other stores. Toy manufacturers fear that greater monopoly power from Walmart will force them to slash their profit margins. Walmart carries fewer items than toy stores like Toys 'R' Us, which could lead to fewer choices for consumers. FAO's new owners believe that Walmart cannot compare with the atmosphere now offered at FAO Schwarz, a true toy heaven. The company is hoping that its new business strategy will allow it to move beyond the battle of the toy stores. Toys 'R' Us will need to find new ways to compete with discounters like Walmart and Target. Identify the toy retailer's new business model. Do you believe it will keep the new company in business Why or why not

Battle of the Toys-FAO Schwarz Is Back! German immigrant Frederick Schwarz established FAO Schwarz, a premier seller of fine toys, in 1862. After moving between several store locations in Manhattan, the growing company settled at 745 Fifth Avenue in 1931. FAO Schwarz soon became a toy institution, despite the impending Depression. Unfortunately, the New York institution closed its doors in 2004 after its owner, FAO Inc., filed for bankruptcy twice in 2003. The company ran into trouble because it could not compete with the deep discounts offered on toys at chain stores like Walmart and Target. All the stores in the FAO chain were closed. Some people believe that FAO Schwarz was its own worst enemy. The company sold Sesame Street figures for $9 while the same figure at a discount store went for less than $3. In 2004, the New York investment firm D. E. Shaw Co. bought the rights to the FAO Schwarz name and reopened the Manhattan and Las Vegas stores. The grand reopening of the New York store occurred on November 25, 2004, during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. It appears that the company has learned from its previous mistakes and is moving forward with a new business strategy of offering high-end, hard-to-find toys and products along with outstanding customer service. Jerry Welch, FAO chief executive officer, states the company based its new business strategy on offering customers-local, visitors, and Internet-a unique shopping experience in which they can spend thousands of dollars or just twenty, but still purchase an exclusive item. The store no longer carries any items from top toymakers Hasbro Inc. or Lego. The only toys it carries from Mattel Inc. are Hot Wheels and limited-edition Barbie dolls, starting at $130 for the Bridal Barbie dressed in a Badgley Mischka designer wedding gown and chandelier earrings. A few of the items the store is offering include: $20 made-to-order Hot Wheels car that a child can custom design via a computer. $50,000 miniature Ferrari with a full leather interior, fiberglass body, three-speed transmission, and working sound system that travels up to 24 kilometers an hour and is not recommended for children six and under. $15,000 stuffed elephant. $150,000 6.7-meter-long piano keyboard, which premiered in the Tom Hanks movie Big. Baby dolls that are arranged in incubators and sold by staff wearing nurses' uniforms. Welch said, "FAO is a 142-year-old brand that, because of our location on Fifth Avenue, people all over the world know. So we start out with great recognition and what we've done here is pull together something that you just can't find anywhere else in the world. Everything here is made by small, unique manufacturers from all over the world." Welch is confident the stores will be richly profitable for its new owners because they have stopped offering mainstream products found in rival stores to generate sales volume. The new owners have returned to a business strategy focusing on quality and exclusivity that were the hallmark of the original store. The Future of the Toy Store Playing Field Toys 'R' Us began slashing prices during the 2004 holiday season in a last-ditch effort to fight off intense price competition from big discounters like Walmart and Target. Toys 'R' Us CEO John Eyler stated the company would not be outdone on pricing, during the holiday sales rush, though he cautioned he was not planning to engage in a price war. There have been several reports that the company might leave the toy business to focus on its more profitable Babies 'R' Us unit. Toys 'R' Us lost $25 million for the three months ended in October 2004. The company lost $46 million in the same period the year earlier. The decrease in losses can be attributed to a big cost-cutting effort. Kurt Barnard of Barnard's Retail Trend Report stated that Toys 'R' Us is destined for oblivion-it cannot stand up to the discounters. Toymakers like Mattel and Hasbro, whose profits have also suffered from Walmart's market power, have given Toys 'R' Us a hand by offering it 21 exclusive items not available at other stores. Toy manufacturers fear that greater monopoly power from Walmart will force them to slash their profit margins. Walmart carries fewer items than toy stores like Toys 'R' Us, which could lead to fewer choices for consumers. FAO's new owners believe that Walmart cannot compare with the atmosphere now offered at FAO Schwarz, a true toy heaven. The company is hoping that its new business strategy will allow it to move beyond the battle of the toy stores. Toys 'R' Us will need to find new ways to compete with discounters like Walmart and Target. What strategy can Toys 'R' Us follow that will help it compete with big discount chains like Walmart and Target

Innovative Business Managers BusinessWeek magazine recognized several innovative managers who have demonstrated talent, vision, and the ability to identify excellent opportunities (see Figure B1.16). Jeffrey Immelt, General Electric (GE) When Jeffrey Immelt took over as CEO of General Electric, he had big shoes to fill. The former CEO, Jack Welch, had left an unprecedented record as one of the top CEOs of all time. Immelt proved his ability to run the company by creating a customer-driven global culture that spawns innovation and embraces technology. Steven Reinemund, PepsiCo Steven Reinemund has turned PepsiCo into a $27 billion food and beverage giant. "To be a leader in consumer products, it's critical to have leaders who represent the population we serve," states Reinemund, who created a diverse leadership group that defines the strategic vision for the company. Reinemund also takes a major role in mentoring and teaching his employees and demands that all senior executives do the same. The payoff: consistent double-digit earnings and solid sales at a time when many of the company's staple products-potato chips and soft drinks-are under attack for fears about childhood obesity and health concerns. Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and David Geffen, DreamWorks The DreamWorks studio, founded in 1994 by Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and David Geffen, suffered through its share of early bombs. Finally, the studio discovered a green ogre named Shrek and quickly became the hottest studio this side of Pixar Animation. DreamWorks Animation turned a $187 million loss in 2003 into a $196 million profit in 2004, with revenues of $1.1 billion. DreamWorks plans to release two animation films per year, each taking almost four years to produce. Robert Nardelli, Home Depot Robert Nardelli took several risks when he became CEO of Home Depot. First, he allocated $14 billion into upgrading merchandise, renovating outdated stores, and investing in new technology such as self-checkout lanes and cordless scan guns. Second, Nardelli expanded into Mexico, China, and other regions, tapping the growing homeowner market. Finally, Nardelli bet big on carrying products for aging baby boomers who wanted to spruce up their empty nests. The moves are paying off. The company sits on $3.4 billion in cash. With 2005 revenues headed to $80 billion, Home Depot is the number two U.S. retailer after Walmart. John Henry, Boston Red Sox John Henry earned his fortune in the global futures market by developing a proprietary futurestrading system that consistently produced double-digit returns. Henry's new system, Sabermetrics, helped him reverse the most fabled curse in sports history by leading the Boston Red Sox to the team's first World Championship since 1918. Sabermetrics mines baseball statistics to find undervalued players while avoiding long contracts for aging stars whose performance is likely to decline. With the help of Sabermetrics, Henry has built one of the most effective teams in baseball. Philip Knight, Nike Philip Knight, who got his start by selling Japanese sneakers from the trunk of his car, built the $12 billion sports behemoth Nike. Knight and his team transformed high-performance sports equipment into high-fashion gear and forever changed the rules of sports marketing with huge endorsement contracts and in-your-face advertising. Then, just as suddenly, Nike lost focus. In early 2000, kids stopped craving the latest sneaker, the company's image took a huge hit from its labor practices, sales slumped, and costs soared. Thus began Knight's second act. He revamped management and brought in key outsiders to oversee finances and apparel lines. Knight devoted more energy to developing new information systems. Today, Nike's earnings are less volatile and less fad-driven. In 2004, Nike's earnings increased $1 billion. FIGURE B1.16 Innovative Business Managers Choose one of the companies listed here and explain how it has achieved business success.

Innovative Business Managers BusinessWeek magazine recognized several innovative managers who have demonstrated talent, vision, and the ability to identify excellent opportunities (see Figure B1.16). Jeffrey Immelt, General Electric (GE) When Jeffrey Immelt took over as CEO of General Electric, he had big shoes to fill. The former CEO, Jack Welch, had left an unprecedented record as one of the top CEOs of all time. Immelt proved his ability to run the company by creating a customer-driven global culture that spawns innovation and embraces technology. Steven Reinemund, PepsiCo Steven Reinemund has turned PepsiCo into a $27 billion food and beverage giant. "To be a leader in consumer products, it's critical to have leaders who represent the population we serve," states Reinemund, who created a diverse leadership group that defines the strategic vision for the company. Reinemund also takes a major role in mentoring and teaching his employees and demands that all senior executives do the same. The payoff: consistent double-digit earnings and solid sales at a time when many of the company's staple products-potato chips and soft drinks-are under attack for fears about childhood obesity and health concerns. Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and David Geffen, DreamWorks The DreamWorks studio, founded in 1994 by Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and David Geffen, suffered through its share of early bombs. Finally, the studio discovered a green ogre named Shrek and quickly became the hottest studio this side of Pixar Animation. DreamWorks Animation turned a $187 million loss in 2003 into a $196 million profit in 2004, with revenues of $1.1 billion. DreamWorks plans to release two animation films per year, each taking almost four years to produce. Robert Nardelli, Home Depot Robert Nardelli took several risks when he became CEO of Home Depot. First, he allocated $14 billion into upgrading merchandise, renovating outdated stores, and investing in new technology such as self-checkout lanes and cordless scan guns. Second, Nardelli expanded into Mexico, China, and other regions, tapping the growing homeowner market. Finally, Nardelli bet big on carrying products for aging baby boomers who wanted to spruce up their empty nests. The moves are paying off. The company sits on $3.4 billion in cash. With 2005 revenues headed to $80 billion, Home Depot is the number two U.S. retailer after Walmart. John Henry, Boston Red Sox John Henry earned his fortune in the global futures market by developing a proprietary futurestrading system that consistently produced double-digit returns. Henry's new system, Sabermetrics, helped him reverse the most fabled curse in sports history by leading the Boston Red Sox to the team's first World Championship since 1918. Sabermetrics mines baseball statistics to find undervalued players while avoiding long contracts for aging stars whose performance is likely to decline. With the help of Sabermetrics, Henry has built one of the most effective teams in baseball. Philip Knight, Nike Philip Knight, who got his start by selling Japanese sneakers from the trunk of his car, built the $12 billion sports behemoth Nike. Knight and his team transformed high-performance sports equipment into high-fashion gear and forever changed the rules of sports marketing with huge endorsement contracts and in-your-face advertising. Then, just as suddenly, Nike lost focus. In early 2000, kids stopped craving the latest sneaker, the company's image took a huge hit from its labor practices, sales slumped, and costs soared. Thus began Knight's second act. He revamped management and brought in key outsiders to oversee finances and apparel lines. Knight devoted more energy to developing new information systems. Today, Nike's earnings are less volatile and less fad-driven. In 2004, Nike's earnings increased $1 billion. FIGURE B1.16 Innovative Business Managers Why is it important for all of DreamWorks' functional business areas to work together Provide an example of what might happen if the DreamWorks marketing department failed to work with its sales department.

Innovative Business Managers BusinessWeek magazine recognized several innovative managers who have demonstrated talent, vision, and the ability to identify excellent opportunities (see Figure B1.16). Jeffrey Immelt, General Electric (GE) When Jeffrey Immelt took over as CEO of General Electric, he had big shoes to fill. The former CEO, Jack Welch, had left an unprecedented record as one of the top CEOs of all time. Immelt proved his ability to run the company by creating a customer-driven global culture that spawns innovation and embraces technology. Steven Reinemund, PepsiCo Steven Reinemund has turned PepsiCo into a $27 billion food and beverage giant. "To be a leader in consumer products, it's critical to have leaders who represent the population we serve," states Reinemund, who created a diverse leadership group that defines the strategic vision for the company. Reinemund also takes a major role in mentoring and teaching his employees and demands that all senior executives do the same. The payoff: consistent double-digit earnings and solid sales at a time when many of the company's staple products-potato chips and soft drinks-are under attack for fears about childhood obesity and health concerns. Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and David Geffen, DreamWorks The DreamWorks studio, founded in 1994 by Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and David Geffen, suffered through its share of early bombs. Finally, the studio discovered a green ogre named Shrek and quickly became the hottest studio this side of Pixar Animation. DreamWorks Animation turned a $187 million loss in 2003 into a $196 million profit in 2004, with revenues of $1.1 billion. DreamWorks plans to release two animation films per year, each taking almost four years to produce. Robert Nardelli, Home Depot Robert Nardelli took several risks when he became CEO of Home Depot. First, he allocated $14 billion into upgrading merchandise, renovating outdated stores, and investing in new technology such as self-checkout lanes and cordless scan guns. Second, Nardelli expanded into Mexico, China, and other regions, tapping the growing homeowner market. Finally, Nardelli bet big on carrying products for aging baby boomers who wanted to spruce up their empty nests. The moves are paying off. The company sits on $3.4 billion in cash. With 2005 revenues headed to $80 billion, Home Depot is the number two U.S. retailer after Walmart. John Henry, Boston Red Sox John Henry earned his fortune in the global futures market by developing a proprietary futurestrading system that consistently produced double-digit returns. Henry's new system, Sabermetrics, helped him reverse the most fabled curse in sports history by leading the Boston Red Sox to the team's first World Championship since 1918. Sabermetrics mines baseball statistics to find undervalued players while avoiding long contracts for aging stars whose performance is likely to decline. With the help of Sabermetrics, Henry has built one of the most effective teams in baseball. Philip Knight, Nike Philip Knight, who got his start by selling Japanese sneakers from the trunk of his car, built the $12 billion sports behemoth Nike. Knight and his team transformed high-performance sports equipment into high-fashion gear and forever changed the rules of sports marketing with huge endorsement contracts and in-your-face advertising. Then, just as suddenly, Nike lost focus. In early 2000, kids stopped craving the latest sneaker, the company's image took a huge hit from its labor practices, sales slumped, and costs soared. Thus began Knight's second act. He revamped management and brought in key outsiders to oversee finances and apparel lines. Knight devoted more energy to developing new information systems. Today, Nike's earnings are less volatile and less fad-driven. In 2004, Nike's earnings increased $1 billion. FIGURE B1.16 Innovative Business Managers Why is marketing important to an organization like the Boston Red Sox Explain where Major League Baseball is in the product life cycle.

Innovative Business Managers BusinessWeek magazine recognized several innovative managers who have demonstrated talent, vision, and the ability to identify excellent opportunities (see Figure B1.16). Jeffrey Immelt, General Electric (GE) When Jeffrey Immelt took over as CEO of General Electric, he had big shoes to fill. The former CEO, Jack Welch, had left an unprecedented record as one of the top CEOs of all time. Immelt proved his ability to run the company by creating a customer-driven global culture that spawns innovation and embraces technology. Steven Reinemund, PepsiCo Steven Reinemund has turned PepsiCo into a $27 billion food and beverage giant. "To be a leader in consumer products, it's critical to have leaders who represent the population we serve," states Reinemund, who created a diverse leadership group that defines the strategic vision for the company. Reinemund also takes a major role in mentoring and teaching his employees and demands that all senior executives do the same. The payoff: consistent double-digit earnings and solid sales at a time when many of the company's staple products-potato chips and soft drinks-are under attack for fears about childhood obesity and health concerns. Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and David Geffen, DreamWorks The DreamWorks studio, founded in 1994 by Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and David Geffen, suffered through its share of early bombs. Finally, the studio discovered a green ogre named Shrek and quickly became the hottest studio this side of Pixar Animation. DreamWorks Animation turned a $187 million loss in 2003 into a $196 million profit in 2004, with revenues of $1.1 billion. DreamWorks plans to release two animation films per year, each taking almost four years to produce. Robert Nardelli, Home Depot Robert Nardelli took several risks when he became CEO of Home Depot. First, he allocated $14 billion into upgrading merchandise, renovating outdated stores, and investing in new technology such as self-checkout lanes and cordless scan guns. Second, Nardelli expanded into Mexico, China, and other regions, tapping the growing homeowner market. Finally, Nardelli bet big on carrying products for aging baby boomers who wanted to spruce up their empty nests. The moves are paying off. The company sits on $3.4 billion in cash. With 2005 revenues headed to $80 billion, Home Depot is the number two U.S. retailer after Walmart. John Henry, Boston Red Sox John Henry earned his fortune in the global futures market by developing a proprietary futurestrading system that consistently produced double-digit returns. Henry's new system, Sabermetrics, helped him reverse the most fabled curse in sports history by leading the Boston Red Sox to the team's first World Championship since 1918. Sabermetrics mines baseball statistics to find undervalued players while avoiding long contracts for aging stars whose performance is likely to decline. With the help of Sabermetrics, Henry has built one of the most effective teams in baseball. Philip Knight, Nike Philip Knight, who got his start by selling Japanese sneakers from the trunk of his car, built the $12 billion sports behemoth Nike. Knight and his team transformed high-performance sports equipment into high-fashion gear and forever changed the rules of sports marketing with huge endorsement contracts and in-your-face advertising. Then, just as suddenly, Nike lost focus. In early 2000, kids stopped craving the latest sneaker, the company's image took a huge hit from its labor practices, sales slumped, and costs soared. Thus began Knight's second act. He revamped management and brought in key outsiders to oversee finances and apparel lines. Knight devoted more energy to developing new information systems. Today, Nike's earnings are less volatile and less fad-driven. In 2004, Nike's earnings increased $1 billion. FIGURE B1.16 Innovative Business Managers Identify the marketing mix and why customer segmentation is critical to PepsiCo's business strategy.

Innovative Business Managers BusinessWeek magazine recognized several innovative managers who have demonstrated talent, vision, and the ability to identify excellent opportunities (see Figure B1.16). Jeffrey Immelt, General Electric (GE) When Jeffrey Immelt took over as CEO of General Electric, he had big shoes to fill. The former CEO, Jack Welch, had left an unprecedented record as one of the top CEOs of all time. Immelt proved his ability to run the company by creating a customer-driven global culture that spawns innovation and embraces technology. Steven Reinemund, PepsiCo Steven Reinemund has turned PepsiCo into a $27 billion food and beverage giant. "To be a leader in consumer products, it's critical to have leaders who represent the population we serve," states Reinemund, who created a diverse leadership group that defines the strategic vision for the company. Reinemund also takes a major role in mentoring and teaching his employees and demands that all senior executives do the same. The payoff: consistent double-digit earnings and solid sales at a time when many of the company's staple products-potato chips and soft drinks-are under attack for fears about childhood obesity and health concerns. Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and David Geffen, DreamWorks The DreamWorks studio, founded in 1994 by Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and David Geffen, suffered through its share of early bombs. Finally, the studio discovered a green ogre named Shrek and quickly became the hottest studio this side of Pixar Animation. DreamWorks Animation turned a $187 million loss in 2003 into a $196 million profit in 2004, with revenues of $1.1 billion. DreamWorks plans to release two animation films per year, each taking almost four years to produce. Robert Nardelli, Home Depot Robert Nardelli took several risks when he became CEO of Home Depot. First, he allocated $14 billion into upgrading merchandise, renovating outdated stores, and investing in new technology such as self-checkout lanes and cordless scan guns. Second, Nardelli expanded into Mexico, China, and other regions, tapping the growing homeowner market. Finally, Nardelli bet big on carrying products for aging baby boomers who wanted to spruce up their empty nests. The moves are paying off. The company sits on $3.4 billion in cash. With 2005 revenues headed to $80 billion, Home Depot is the number two U.S. retailer after Walmart. John Henry, Boston Red Sox John Henry earned his fortune in the global futures market by developing a proprietary futurestrading system that consistently produced double-digit returns. Henry's new system, Sabermetrics, helped him reverse the most fabled curse in sports history by leading the Boston Red Sox to the team's first World Championship since 1918. Sabermetrics mines baseball statistics to find undervalued players while avoiding long contracts for aging stars whose performance is likely to decline. With the help of Sabermetrics, Henry has built one of the most effective teams in baseball. Philip Knight, Nike Philip Knight, who got his start by selling Japanese sneakers from the trunk of his car, built the $12 billion sports behemoth Nike. Knight and his team transformed high-performance sports equipment into high-fashion gear and forever changed the rules of sports marketing with huge endorsement contracts and in-your-face advertising. Then, just as suddenly, Nike lost focus. In early 2000, kids stopped craving the latest sneaker, the company's image took a huge hit from its labor practices, sales slumped, and costs soared. Thus began Knight's second act. He revamped management and brought in key outsiders to oversee finances and apparel lines. Knight devoted more energy to developing new information systems. Today, Nike's earnings are less volatile and less fad-driven. In 2004, Nike's earnings increased $1 billion. FIGURE B1.16 Innovative Business Managers Explain business process reengineering and how a company like GE can use it to improve operations.

Setting Up a Business Your friend, Lindsay Harvey, is going to start her own chocolate shop, called Chocolate- By-Design. Lindsay is an expert candy maker and one of the city's top pastry chefs. Lindsay has come to you for advice on what type of business Chocolate-By-Design should be-a sole proprietorship, partnership, or corporation. Create a report comparing the three different types of businesses, along with your recommendation for Chocolate-By-Design's business structure.

Guest Lecturing on Business As a recent college graduate, your favorite professor, Dr. Henning, has asked you to come back and guest lecture at his introduction to business course. Create a presentation defining the different departments in a typical business, what roles each play, and why it is important that they all work together.

Expanding Markets J. R. Cash created a small business selling handmade cowboy boots, and within a year his business is booming. J. R. currently builds all of the boots in his store and takes orders over the phone and from walk-in customers. There is currently a three-month waiting list for boots. J. R. is not sure how to grow his business and has come to you for advice. Describe the reasons and ways some businesses increase market share and why J. R. might choose not to increase his market share.

Segmenting Customers Due to your vast marketing experience, you have been hired by a new company, Sugar, to perform a strategic analysis on chewing gum. The company wants to understand the many market segments for the different brands, flavors, sizes, and colors of gum. Create an analysis of the different market segments for chewing gum. What market segment would you recommend Sugar pursue

Product Life Cycle An associate, Carl Grotenhuis, has developed a new brand of laundry detergent called Clean. Carl wants your opinion on his potential to enter and dominate the laundry detergent market. Using the product life cycle create a recommendation for Carl's new product.

Redesigning a Business Tom Walton is the new CEO for Lakeside, a large cereal manufacturing company. Tom's predecessor had run the company for 50 years and did little in terms of process improvement; in fact, his motto was "if it isn't broke, why fix it." Tom wants to take advantage of technology to create new processes for the entire company. He believes that improving operations will increase efficiency and lower costs. Tom has a major hurdle to overcome before he can begin revamping the company-its employees. Many of the employees have worked at the company for decades and are comfortable with the motto "if it isn't broke, why fix it." Develop a plan Tom can use to communicate to his employees the potential value gained from business process reengineering.

Intelligent Business: Is It an Oxymoron In a pilot program by the State of New York, suburban Rockland County announced that it had uncovered $13 million in improper Medicaid claims made over a 21-month period. Because the problems were discovered before the reimbursements were made, Rockland saved itself the headaches it would have faced if it had paid out the money first and asked questions later. The credit goes not to a crew of hardworking sleuths but to search and analysis software created by IBM that automatically sorted through thousands of forms, plucked out key bits of information, and sized them up against Medicaid rules. Government officials believe that if the program were to be applied statewide, it could deliver $3.8 billion in savings per year. "This may change the Medicaid industry in New York," said Rockland County Supervisor C. Scott Vanderhoef. This is just one example of a change in the way corporations and governments find and use information. Data are becoming much easier to access and vastly more useful. Better Understanding Organizations have huge amounts of data that pass through their computer systems as they place orders, record sales, and otherwise transact business. Much of this information is stored for future use and analysis. But advances in software and hardware make it easier for companies to analyze data in real time-when the data are first whizzing through their computers-and make them available to all kinds of employees. Technological innovations also make it possible to analyze unstructured data, such as Rockland County's Medicaid claims, that do not easily fit into the tables of a traditional database. The result of all these changes: It is now possible for companies to understand what is happening in their businesses in a detailed way and quickly take actions based on that knowledge. These improvements have come largely as a result of advances in business intelligence software. This software-a $3 billion segment growing at about 7 percent a year-gathers information in data warehouses where it can easily be reviewed, analyzes the data, and presents reports to decision makers. In the past, the reports had to be painstakingly assembled by tech-savvy business analysts and were typically made available only to top-tier people. Personal Google Information easily available to anybody in an organization is a phenomenon industry folks have dubbed "pervasive business intelligence." Companies are moving from a place where only the more technical people had access to information to more of a self-service situation. People can get information themselves, said Christina McKeon, global business intelligence strategist for software maker SAS Institute, based in Cary, North Carolina. SAS and other BI software makers are reaching out to the masses in a variety of ways. Several of them have hooked up with search leader Google to give businesspeople easier access to those data warehouses via the familiar Google search bar. They have redesigned their business intelligence web portals so people who do Google searches get not only documents that include their keywords, but also others that are thematically related. For instance, if a business-unit leader searches for first-quarter financial results, he might also get reports on the 10 largest customers in the quarter and the customers who deliver the most profits. "The data warehouse is starting to go mainstream," said analyst Mark Beyer of tech market researcher Gartner. Directing Traffic Business intelligence is also being added to other standard run-the-business applications, such as order fulfillment, logistics, inventory management, and the like. Consider a busy warehouse with a limited number of loading docks. Trucking companies do not want their rigs to wait in line for hours, so some of them charge fees for waiting time at the warehouse. To avoid those costs, companies can build business intelligence into their logistics planning systems that lets them know when trucks are stacking up and directs supervisors in the warehouse to load the trucks that charge waiting fees before those that do not. The supervisors get this information via their PCs or handhelds on the warehouse floor. People are receiving the benefit of business intelligence without knowing it, said Randy Lea, vice president for product and services marketing at Teradata, a division of NCR, a leader in data warehousing software. This kind of real-time, behind-the-curtains intelligence is even becoming available to end customers. Travelocity, one of the leading travel websites, has long used business intelligence software to help it analyze buying trends and segment customer types so new services can be tailored for them. Now it has rigged its vast data warehouse directly to its consumer website so it can gather and analyze information about what is going on as it is happening. Computer Intuition Travelocity links the profile of individual customers who are on the site to a monitor of their current activity and to information about available airplane flights, rental cars, and vacation packages. If a customer begins asking about flights to Orlando over the Fourth of July weekend, Travelocity's system will understand that the customer is probably planning a family vacation and will place advertisements that are relevant to that kind of trip and even pitch special travel promotions. "If we want to, we could give every customer a custom offer," said Mark Hooper, Travelocity's vice president for product development. What is next in easy-to-use business intelligence Gartner has a concept it calls " Biggle"-the intersection of BI and Google. The idea is that the data warehousing software will be so sophisticated that it understands when different people use different words to describe the same concepts or products. It creates an index of related information-á là Google-and dishes relevant results out in response to queries. In computer science, they refer to this capability as non-obvious relationship awareness. "Nobody's doing this yet," said Gartner's Beyer. Judging from the speed of recent advances in business intelligence, though, it may not be long before companies add the term "Biggling" to their tech lexicon. What is the problem of gathering business intelligence from a traditional company How can BI solve this problem

Intelligent Business: Is It an Oxymoron In a pilot program by the State of New York, suburban Rockland County announced that it had uncovered $13 million in improper Medicaid claims made over a 21-month period. Because the problems were discovered before the reimbursements were made, Rockland saved itself the headaches it would have faced if it had paid out the money first and asked questions later. The credit goes not to a crew of hardworking sleuths but to search and analysis software created by IBM that automatically sorted through thousands of forms, plucked out key bits of information, and sized them up against Medicaid rules. Government officials believe that if the program were to be applied statewide, it could deliver $3.8 billion in savings per year. "This may change the Medicaid industry in New York," said Rockland County Supervisor C. Scott Vanderhoef. This is just one example of a change in the way corporations and governments find and use information. Data are becoming much easier to access and vastly more useful. Better Understanding Organizations have huge amounts of data that pass through their computer systems as they place orders, record sales, and otherwise transact business. Much of this information is stored for future use and analysis. But advances in software and hardware make it easier for companies to analyze data in real time-when the data are first whizzing through their computers-and make them available to all kinds of employees. Technological innovations also make it possible to analyze unstructured data, such as Rockland County's Medicaid claims, that do not easily fit into the tables of a traditional database. The result of all these changes: It is now possible for companies to understand what is happening in their businesses in a detailed way and quickly take actions based on that knowledge. These improvements have come largely as a result of advances in business intelligence software. This software-a $3 billion segment growing at about 7 percent a year-gathers information in data warehouses where it can easily be reviewed, analyzes the data, and presents reports to decision makers. In the past, the reports had to be painstakingly assembled by tech-savvy business analysts and were typically made available only to top-tier people. Personal Google Information easily available to anybody in an organization is a phenomenon industry folks have dubbed "pervasive business intelligence." Companies are moving from a place where only the more technical people had access to information to more of a self-service situation. People can get information themselves, said Christina McKeon, global business intelligence strategist for software maker SAS Institute, based in Cary, North Carolina. SAS and other BI software makers are reaching out to the masses in a variety of ways. Several of them have hooked up with search leader Google to give businesspeople easier access to those data warehouses via the familiar Google search bar. They have redesigned their business intelligence web portals so people who do Google searches get not only documents that include their keywords, but also others that are thematically related. For instance, if a business-unit leader searches for first-quarter financial results, he might also get reports on the 10 largest customers in the quarter and the customers who deliver the most profits. "The data warehouse is starting to go mainstream," said analyst Mark Beyer of tech market researcher Gartner. Directing Traffic Business intelligence is also being added to other standard run-the-business applications, such as order fulfillment, logistics, inventory management, and the like. Consider a busy warehouse with a limited number of loading docks. Trucking companies do not want their rigs to wait in line for hours, so some of them charge fees for waiting time at the warehouse. To avoid those costs, companies can build business intelligence into their logistics planning systems that lets them know when trucks are stacking up and directs supervisors in the warehouse to load the trucks that charge waiting fees before those that do not. The supervisors get this information via their PCs or handhelds on the warehouse floor. People are re ceiving the benefit of business intelligence without knowing it, said Randy Lea, vice president for product and services marketing at Teradata, a division of NCR, a leader in data warehousing software. This kind of real-time, behind-the-curtains intelligence is even becoming available to end customers. Travelocity, one of the leading travel websites, has long used business intelligence software to help it analyze buying trends and segment customer types so new services can be tailored for them. Now it has rigged its vast data warehouse directly to its consumer website so it can gather and analyze information about what is going on as it is happening. Computer Intuition Travelocity links the profile of individual customers who are on the site to a monitor of their current activity and to information about available airplane flights, rental cars, and vacation packages. If a customer begins asking about flights to Orlando over the Fourth of July weekend, Travelocity's system will understand that the customer is probably planning a family vacation and will place advertisements that are relevant to that kind of trip and even pitch special travel promotions. "If we want to, we could give every customer a custom offer," said Mark Hooper, Travelocity's vice president for product development. What is next in easy-to-use business intelligence Gartner has a concept it calls " Biggle"-the intersection of BI and Google. The idea is that the data warehousing software will be so sophisticated that it understands when different people use different words to describe the same concepts or products. It creates an index of related information-á là Google-and dishes relevant results out in response to queries. In computer science, they refer to this capability as non-obvious relationship awareness. "Nobody's doing this yet," said Gartner's Beyer. Judging from the speed of recent advances in business intelligence, though, it may not be long before companies add the term "Biggling" to their tech lexicon. Choose one of the three common forms of data-mining analysis and explain how Travelocity could use it to gain BI.

Intelligent Business: Is It an Oxymoron In a pilot program by the State of New York, suburban Rockland County announced that it had uncovered $13 million in improper Medicaid claims made over a 21-month period. Because the problems were discovered before the reimbursements were made, Rockland saved itself the headaches it would have faced if it had paid out the money first and asked questions later. The credit goes not to a crew of hardworking sleuths but to search and analysis software created by IBM that automatically sorted through thousands of forms, plucked out key bits of information, and sized them up against Medicaid rules. Government officials believe that if the program were to be applied statewide, it could deliver $3.8 billion in savings per year. "This may change the Medicaid industry in New York," said Rockland County Supervisor C. Scott Vanderhoef. This is just one example of a change in the way corporations and governments find and use information. Data are becoming much easier to access and vastly more useful. Better Understanding Organizations have huge amounts of data that pass through their computer systems as they place orders, record sales, and otherwise transact business. Much of this information is stored for future use and analysis. But advances in software and hardware make it easier for companies to analyze data in real time-when the data are first whizzing through their computers-and make them available to all kinds of employees. Technological innovations also make it possible to analyze unstructured data, such as Rockland County's Medicaid claims, that do not easily fit into the tables of a traditional database. The result of all these changes: It is now possible for companies to understand what is happening in their businesses in a detailed way and quickly take actions based on that knowledge. These improvements have come largely as a result of advances in business intelligence software. This software-a $3 billion segment growing at about 7 percent a year-gathers information in data warehouses where it can easily be reviewed, analyzes the data, and presents reports to decision makers. In the past, the reports had to be painstakingly assembled by tech-savvy business analysts and were typically made available only to top-tier people. Personal Google Information easily available to anybody in an organization is a phenomenon industry folks have dubbed "pervasive business intelligence." Companies are moving from a place where only the more technical people had access to information to more of a self-service situation. People can get information themselves, said Christina McKeon, global business intelligence strategist for software maker SAS Institute, based in Cary, North Carolina. SAS and other BI software makers are reaching out to the masses in a variety of ways. Several of them have hooked up with search leader Google to give businesspeople easier access to those data warehouses via the familiar Google search bar. They have redesigned their business intelligence web portals so people who do Google searches get not only documents that include their keywords, but also others that are thematically related. For instance, if a business-unit leader searches for first-quarter financial results, he might also get reports on the 10 largest customers in the quarter and the customers who deliver the most profits. "The data warehouse is starting to go mainstream," said analyst Mark Beyer of tech market researcher Gartner. Directing Traffic Business intelligence is also being added to other standard run-the-business applications, such as order fulfillment, logistics, inventory management, and the like. Consider a busy warehouse with a limited number of loading docks. Trucking companies do not want their rigs to wait in line for hours, so some of them charge fees for waiting time at the warehouse. To avoid those costs, companies can build business intelligence into their logistics planning systems that lets them know when trucks are stacking up and directs supervisors in the warehouse to load the trucks that charge waiting fees before those that do not. The supervisors get this information via their PCs or handhelds on the warehouse floor. People are re ceiving the benefit of business intelligence without knowing it, said Randy Lea, vice president for product and services marketing at Teradata, a division of NCR, a leader in data warehousing software. This kind of real-time, behind-the-curtains intelligence is even becoming available to end customers. Travelocity, one of the leading travel websites, has long used business intelligence software to help it analyze buying trends and segment customer types so new services can be tailored for them. Now it has rigged its vast data warehouse directly to its consumer website so it can gather and analyze information about what is going on as it is happening. Computer Intuition Travelocity links the profile of individual customers who are on the site to a monitor of their current activity and to information about available airplane flights, rental cars, and vacation packages. If a customer begins asking about flights to Orlando over the Fourth of July weekend, Travelocity's system will understand that the customer is probably planning a family vacation and will place advertisements that are relevant to that kind of trip and even pitch special travel promotions. "If we want to, we could give every customer a custom offer," said Mark Hooper, Travelocity's vice president for product development. What is next in easy-to-use business intelligence Gartner has a concept it calls " Biggle"-the intersection of BI and Google. The idea is that the data warehousing software will be so sophisticated that it understands when different people use different words to describe the same concepts or products. It creates an index of related information-á là Google-and dishes relevant results out in response to queries. In computer science, they refer to this capability as non-obvious relationship awareness. "Nobody's doing this yet," said Gartner's Beyer. Judging from the speed of recent advances in business intelligence, though, it may not be long before companies add the term "Biggling" to their tech lexicon. How will tactical, operational, and strategic BI be different when applied to personal Google

Intelligent Business: Is It an Oxymoron In a pilot program by the State of New York, suburban Rockland County announced that it had uncovered $13 million in improper Medicaid claims made over a 21-month period. Because the problems were discovered before the reimbursements were made, Rockland saved itself the headaches it would have faced if it had paid out the money first and asked questions later. The credit goes not to a crew of hardworking sleuths but to search and analysis software created by IBM that automatically sorted through thousands of forms, plucked out key bits of information, and sized them up against Medicaid rules. Government officials believe that if the program were to be applied statewide, it could deliver $3.8 billion in savings per year. "This may change the Medicaid industry in New York," said Rockland County Supervisor C. Scott Vanderhoef. This is just one example of a change in the way corporations and governments find and use information. Data are becoming much easier to access and vastly more useful. Better Understanding Organizations have huge amounts of data that pass through their computer systems as they place orders, record sales, and otherwise transact business. Much of this information is stored for future use and analysis. But advances in software and hardware make it easier for companies to analyze data in real time-when the data are first whizzing through their computers-and make them available to all kinds of employees. Technological innovations also make it possible to analyze unstructured data, such as Rockland County's Medicaid claims, that do not easily fit into the tables of a traditional database. The result of all these changes: It is now possible for companies to understand what is happening in their businesses in a detailed way and quickly take actions based on that knowledge. These improvements have come largely as a result of advances in business intelligence software. This software-a $3 billion segment growing at about 7 percent a year-gathers information in data warehouses where it can easily be reviewed, analyzes the data, and presents reports to decision makers. In the past, the reports had to be painstakingly assembled by tech-savvy business analysts and were typically made available only to top-tier people. Personal Google Information easily available to anybody in an organization is a phenomenon industry folks have dubbed "pervasive business intelligence." Companies are moving from a place where only the more technical people had access to information to more of a self-service situation. People can get information themselves, said Christina McKeon, global business intelligence strategist for software maker SAS Institute, based in Cary, North Carolina. SAS and other BI software makers are reaching out to the masses in a variety of ways. Several of them have hooked up with search leader Google to give businesspeople easier access to those data warehouses via the familiar Google search bar. They have redesigned their business intelligence web portals so people who do Google searches get not only documents that include their keywords, but also others that are thematically related. For instance, if a business-unit leader searches for first-quarter financial results, he might also get reports on the 10 largest customers in the quarter and the customers who deliver the most profits. "The data warehouse is starting to go mainstream," said analyst Mark Beyer of tech market researcher Gartner. Directing Traffic Business intelligence is also being added to other standard run-the-business applications, such as order fulfillment, logistics, inventory management, and the like. Consider a busy warehouse with a limited number of loading docks. Trucking companies do not want their rigs to wait in line for hours, so some of them charge fees for waiting time at the warehouse. To avoid those costs, companies can build business intelligence into their logistics planning systems that lets them know when trucks are stacking up and directs supervisors in the warehouse to load the trucks that charge waiting fees before those that do not. The supervisors get this information via their PCs or handhelds on the warehouse floor. People are re ceiving the benefit of business intelligence without knowing it, said Randy Lea, vice president for product and services marketing at Teradata, a division of NCR, a leader in data warehousing software. This kind of real-time, behind-the-curtains intelligence is even becoming available to end customers. Travelocity, one of the leading travel websites, has long used business intelligence software to help it analyze buying trends and segment customer types so new services can be tailored for them. Now it has rigged its vast data warehouse directly to its consumer website so it can gather and analyze information about what is going on as it is happening. Computer Intuition Travelocity links the profile of individual customers who are on the site to a monitor of their current activity and to information about available airplane flights, rental cars, and vacation packages. If a customer begins asking about flights to Orlando over the Fourth of July weekend, Travelocity's system will understand that the customer is probably planning a family vacation and will place advertisements that are relevant to that kind of trip and even pitch special travel promotions. "If we want to, we could give every customer a custom offer," said Mark Hooper, Travelocity's vice president for product development. What is next in easy-to-use business intelligence Gartner has a concept it calls " Biggle"-the intersection of BI and Google. The idea is that the data warehousing software will be so sophisticated that it understands when different people use different words to describe the same concepts or products. It creates an index of related information-á là Google-and dishes relevant results out in response to queries. In computer science, they refer to this capability as non-obvious relationship awareness. "Nobody's doing this yet," said Gartner's Beyer. Judging from the speed of recent advances in business intelligence, though, it may not be long before companies add the term "Biggling" to their tech lexicon. How is IBM's search and analysis software an example of BI

Intelligent Business: Is It an Oxymoron In a pilot program by the State of New York, suburban Rockland County announced that it had uncovered $13 million in improper Medicaid claims made over a 21-month period. Because the problems were discovered before the reimbursements were made, Rockland saved itself the headaches it would have faced if it had paid out the money first and asked questions later. The credit goes not to a crew of hardworking sleuths but to search and analysis software created by IBM that automatically sorted through thousands of forms, plucked out key bits of information, and sized them up against Medicaid rules. Government officials believe that if the program were to be applied statewide, it could deliver $3.8 billion in savings per year. "This may change the Medicaid industry in New York," said Rockland County Supervisor C. Scott Vanderhoef. This is just one example of a change in the way corporations and governments find and use information. Data are becoming much easier to access and vastly more useful. Better Understanding Organizations have huge amounts of data that pass through their computer systems as they place orders, record sales, and otherwise transact business. Much of this information is stored for future use and analysis. But advances in software and hardware make it easier for companies to analyze data in real time-when the data are first whizzing through their computers-and make them available to all kinds of employees. Technological innovations also make it possible to analyze unstructured data, such as Rockland County's Medicaid claims, that do not easily fit into the tables of a traditional database. The result of all these changes: It is now possible for companies to understand what is happening in their businesses in a detailed way and quickly take actions based on that knowledge. These improvements have come largely as a result of advances in business intelligence software. This software-a $3 billion segment growing at about 7 percent a year-gathers information in data warehouses where it can easily be reviewed, analyzes the data, and presents reports to decision makers. In the past, the reports had to be painstakingly assembled by tech-savvy business analysts and were typically made available only to top-tier people. Personal Google Information easily available to anybody in an organization is a phenomenon industry folks have dubbed "pervasive business intelligence." Companies are moving from a place where only the more technical people had access to information to more of a self-service situation. People can get information themselves, said Christina McKeon, global business intelligence strategist for software maker SAS Institute, based in Cary, North Carolina. SAS and other BI software makers are reaching out to the masses in a variety of ways. Several of them have hooked up with search leader Google to give businesspeople easier access to those data warehouses via the familiar Google search bar. They have redesigned their business intelligence web portals so people who do Google searches get not only documents that include their keywords, but also others that are thematically related. For instance, if a business-unit leader searches for first-quarter financial results, he might also get reports on the 10 largest customers in the quarter and the customers who deliver the most profits. "The data warehouse is starting to go mainstream," said analyst Mark Beyer of tech market researcher Gartner. Directing Traffic Business intelligence is also being added to other standard run-the-business applications, such as order fulfillment, logistics, inventory management, and the like. Consider a busy warehouse with a limited number of loading docks. Trucking companies do not want their rigs to wait in line for hours, so some of them charge fees for waiting time at the warehouse. To avoid those costs, companies can build business intelligence into their logistics planning systems that lets them know when trucks are stacking up and directs supervisors in the warehouse to load the trucks that charge waiting fees before those that do not. The supervisors get this information via their PCs or handhelds on the warehouse floor. People are re ceiving the benefit of business intelligence without knowing it, said Randy Lea, vice president for product and services marketing at Teradata, a division of NCR, a leader in data warehousing software. This kind of real-time, behind-the-curtains intelligence is even becoming available to end customers. Travelocity, one of the leading travel websites, has long used business intelligence software to help it analyze buying trends and segment customer types so new services can be tailored for them. Now it has rigged its vast data warehouse directly to its consumer website so it can gather and analyze information about what is going on as it is happening. Computer Intuition Travelocity links the profile of individual customers who are on the site to a monitor of their current activity and to information about available airplane flights, rental cars, and vacation packages. If a customer begins asking about flights to Orlando over the Fourth of July weekend, Travelocity's system will understand that the customer is probably planning a family vacation and will place advertisements that are relevant to that kind of trip and even pitch special travel promotions. "If we want to, we could give every customer a custom offer," said Mark Hooper, Travelocity's vice president for product development. What is next in easy-to-use business intelligence Gartner has a concept it calls " Biggle"-the intersection of BI and Google. The idea is that the data warehousing software will be so sophisticated that it understands when different people use different words to describe the same concepts or products. It creates an index of related information-á là Google-and dishes relevant results out in response to queries. In computer science, they refer to this capability as non-obvious relationship awareness. "Nobody's doing this yet," said Gartner's Beyer. Judging from the speed of recent advances in business intelligence, though, it may not be long before companies add the term "Biggling" to their tech lexicon. What does the term pervasive business intelligence mean

Intelligent Business: Is It an Oxymoron In a pilot program by the State of New York, suburban Rockland County announced that it had uncovered $13 million in improper Medicaid claims made over a 21-month period. Because the problems were discovered before the reimbursements were made, Rockland saved itself the headaches it would have faced if it had paid out the money first and asked questions later. The credit goes not to a crew of hardworking sleuths but to search and analysis software created by IBM that automatically sorted through thousands of forms, plucked out key bits of information, and sized them up against Medicaid rules. Government officials believe that if the program were to be applied statewide, it could deliver $3.8 billion in savings per year. "This may change the Medicaid industry in New York," said Rockland County Supervisor C. Scott Vanderhoef. This is just one example of a change in the way corporations and governments find and use information. Data are becoming much easier to access and vastly more useful. Better Understanding Organizations have huge amounts of data that pass through their computer systems as they place orders, record sales, and otherwise transact business. Much of this information is stored for future use and analysis. But advances in software and hardware make it easier for companies to analyze data in real time-when the data are first whizzing through their computers-and make them available to all kinds of employees. Technological innovations also make it possible to analyze unstructured data, such as Rockland County's Medicaid claims, that do not easily fit into the tables of a traditional database. The result of all these changes: It is now possible for companies to understand what is happening in their businesses in a detailed way and quickly take actions based on that knowledge. These improvements have come largely as a result of advances in business intelligence software. This software-a $3 billion segment growing at about 7 percent a year-gathers information in data warehouses where it can easily be reviewed, analyzes the data, and presents reports to decision makers. In the past, the reports had to be painstakingly assembled by tech-savvy business analysts and were typically made available only to top-tier people. Personal Google Information easily available to anybody in an organization is a phenomenon industry folks have dubbed "pervasive business intelligence." Companies are moving from a place where only the more technical people had access to information to more of a self-service situation. People can get information themselves, said Christina McKeon, global business intelligence strategist for software maker SAS Institute, based in Cary, North Carolina. SAS and other BI software makers are reaching out to the masses in a variety of ways. Several of them have hooked up with search leader Google to give businesspeople easier access to those data warehouses via the familiar Google search bar. They have redesigned their business intelligence web portals so people who do Google searches get not only documents that include their keywords, but also others that are thematically related. For instance, if a business-unit leader searches for first-quarter financial results, he might also get reports on the 10 largest customers in the quarter and the customers who deliver the most profits. "The data warehouse is starting to go mainstream," said analyst Mark Beyer of tech market researcher Gartner. Directing Traffic Business intelligence is also being added to other standard run-the-business applications, such as order fulfillment, logistics, inventory management, and the like. Consider a busy warehouse with a limited number of loading docks. Trucking companies do not want their rigs to wait in line for hours, so some of them charge fees for waiting time at the warehouse. To avoid those costs, companies can build business intelligence into their logistics planning systems that lets them know when trucks are stacking up and directs supervisors in the warehouse to load the trucks that charge waiting fees before those that do not. The supervisors get this information via their PCs or handhelds on the warehouse floor. People are re ceiving the benefit of business intelligence without knowing it, said Randy Lea, vice president for product and services marketing at Teradata, a division of NCR, a leader in data warehousing software. This kind of real-time, behind-the-curtains intelligence is even becoming available to end customers. Travelocity, one of the leading travel websites, has long used business intelligence software to help it analyze buying trends and segment customer types so new services can be tailored for them. Now it has rigged its vast data warehouse directly to its consumer website so it can gather and analyze information about what is going on as it is happening. Computer Intuition Travelocity links the profile of individual customers who are on the site to a monitor of their current activity and to information about available airplane flights, rental cars, and vacation packages. If a customer begins asking about flights to Orlando over the Fourth of July weekend, Travelocity's system will understand that the customer is probably planning a family vacation and will place advertisements that are relevant to that kind of trip and even pitch special travel promotions. "If we want to, we could give every customer a custom offer," said Mark Hooper, Travelocity's vice president for product development. What is next in easy-to-use business intelligence Gartner has a concept it calls " Biggle"-the intersection of BI and Google. The idea is that the data warehousing software will be so sophisticated that it understands when different people use different words to describe the same concepts or products. It creates an index of related information-á là Google-and dishes relevant results out in response to queries. In computer science, they refer to this capability as non-obvious relationship awareness. "Nobody's doing this yet," said Gartner's Beyer. Judging from the speed of recent advances in business intelligence, though, it may not be long before companies add the term "Biggling" to their tech lexicon. How could any business benefit from technology such as personal Google

Intelligent Business: Is It an Oxymoron In a pilot program by the State of New York, suburban Rockland County announced that it had uncovered $13 million in improper Medicaid claims made over a 21-month period. Because the problems were discovered before the reimbursements were made, Rockland saved itself the headaches it would have faced if it had paid out the money first and asked questions later. The credit goes not to a crew of hardworking sleuths but to search and analysis software created by IBM that automatically sorted through thousands of forms, plucked out key bits of information, and sized them up against Medicaid rules. Government officials believe that if the program were to be applied statewide, it could deliver $3.8 billion in savings per year. "This may change the Medicaid industry in New York," said Rockland County Supervisor C. Scott Vanderhoef. This is just one example of a change in the way corporations and governments find and use information. Data are becoming much easier to access and vastly more useful. Better Understanding Organizations have huge amounts of data that pass through their computer systems as they place orders, record sales, and otherwise transact business. Much of this information is stored for future use and analysis. But advances in software and hardware make it easier for companies to analyze data in real time-when the data are first whizzing through their computers-and make them available to all kinds of employees. Technological innovations also make it possible to analyze unstructured data, such as Rockland County's Medicaid claims, that do not easily fit into the tables of a traditional database. The result of all these changes: It is now possible for companies to understand what is happening in their businesses in a detailed way and quickly take actions based on that knowledge. These improvements have come largely as a result of advances in business intelligence software. This software-a $3 billion segment growing at about 7 percent a year-gathers information in data warehouses where it can easily be reviewed, analyzes the data, and presents reports to decision makers. In the past, the reports had to be painstakingly assembled by tech-savvy business analysts and were typically made available only to top-tier people. Personal Google Information easily available to anybody in an organization is a phenomenon industry folks have dubbed "pervasive business intelligence." Companies are moving from a place where only the more technical people had access to information to more of a self-service situation. People can get information themselves, said Christina McKeon, global business intelligence strategist for software maker SAS Institute, based in Cary, North Carolina. SAS and other BI software makers are reaching out to the masses in a variety of ways. Several of them have hooked up with search leader Google to give businesspeople easier access to those data warehouses via the familiar Google search bar. They have redesigned their business intelligence web portals so people who do Google searches get not only documents that include their keywords, but also others that are thematically related. For instance, if a business-unit leader searches for first-quarter financial results, he might also get reports on the 10 largest customers in the quarter and the customers who deliver the most profits. "The data warehouse is starting to go mainstream," said analyst Mark Beyer of tech market researcher Gartner. Directing Traffic Business intelligence is also being added to other standard run-the-business applications, such as order fulfillment, logistics, inventory management, and the like. Consider a busy warehouse with a limited number of loading docks. Trucking companies do not want their rigs to wait in line for hours, so some of them charge fees for waiting time at the warehouse. To avoid those costs, companies can build business intelligence into their logistics planning systems that lets them know when trucks are stacking up and directs supervisors in the warehouse to load the trucks that charge waiting fees before those that do not. The supervisors get this information via their PCs or handhelds on the warehouse floor. People are re ceiving the benefit of business intelligence without knowing it, said Randy Lea, vice president for product and services marketing at Teradata, a division of NCR, a leader in data warehousing software. This kind of real-time, behind-the-curtains intelligence is even becoming available to end customers. Travelocity, one of the leading travel websites, has long used business intelligence software to help it analyze buying trends and segment customer types so new services can be tailored for them. Now it has rigged its vast data warehouse directly to its consumer website so it can gather and analyze information about what is going on as it is happening. Computer Intuition Travelocity links the profile of individual customers who are on the site to a monitor of their current activity and to information about available airplane flights, rental cars, and vacation packages. If a customer begins asking about flights to Orlando over the Fourth of July weekend, Travelocity's system will understand that the customer is probably planning a family vacation and will place advertisements that are relevant to that kind of trip and even pitch special travel promotions. "If we want to, we could give every customer a custom offer," said Mark Hooper, Travelocity's vice president for product development. What is next in easy-to-use business intelligence Gartner has a concept it calls " Biggle"-the intersection of BI and Google. The idea is that the data warehousing software will be so sophisticated that it understands when different people use different words to describe the same concepts or products. It creates an index of related information-á là Google-and dishes relevant results out in response to queries. In computer science, they refer to this capability as non-obvious relationship awareness. "Nobody's doing this yet," said Gartner's Beyer. Judging from the speed of recent advances in business intelligence, though, it may not be long before companies add the term "Biggling" to their tech lexicon. How could a company use BI to improve its supply chain

Intelligent Business: Is It an Oxymoron In a pilot program by the State of New York, suburban Rockland County announced that it had uncovered $13 million in improper Medicaid claims made over a 21-month period. Because the problems were discovered before the reimbursements were made, Rockland saved itself the headaches it would have faced if it had paid out the money first and asked questions later. The credit goes not to a crew of hardworking sleuths but to search and analysis software created by IBM that automatically sorted through thousands of forms, plucked out key bits of information, and sized them up against Medicaid rules. Government officials believe that if the program were to be applied statewide, it could deliver $3.8 billion in savings per year. "This may change the Medicaid industry in New York," said Rockland County Supervisor C. Scott Vanderhoef. This is just one example of a change in the way corporations and governments find and use information. Data are becoming much easier to access and vastly more useful. Better Understanding Organizations have huge amounts of data that pass through their computer systems as they place orders, record sales, and otherwise transact business. Much of this information is stored for future use and analysis. But advances in software and hardware make it easier for companies to analyze data in real time-when the data are first whizzing through their computers-and make them available to all kinds of employees. Technological innovations also make it possible to analyze unstructured data, such as Rockland County's Medicaid claims, that do not easily fit into the tables of a traditional database. The result of all these changes: It is now possible for companies to understand what is happening in their businesses in a detailed way and quickly take actions based on that knowledge. These improvements have come largely as a result of advances in business intelligence software. This software-a $3 billion segment growing at about 7 percent a year-gathers information in data warehouses where it can easily be reviewed, analyzes the data, and presents reports to decision makers. In the past, the reports had to be painstakingly assembled by tech-savvy business analysts and were typically made available only to top-tier people. Personal Google Information easily available to anybody in an organization is a phenomenon industry folks have dubbed "pervasive business intelligence." Companies are moving from a place where only the more technical people had access to information to more of a self-service situation. People can get information themselves, said Christina McKeon, global business intelligence strategist for software maker SAS Institute, based in Cary, North Carolina. SAS and other BI software makers are reaching out to the masses in a variety of ways. Several of them have hooked up with search leader Google to give businesspeople easier access to those data warehouses via the familiar Google search bar. They have redesigned their business intelligence web portals so people who do Google searches get not only documents that include their keywords, but also others that are thematically related. For instance, if a business-unit leader searches for first-quarter financial results, he might also get reports on the 10 largest customers in the quarter and the customers who deliver the most profits. "The data warehouse is starting to go mainstream," said analyst Mark Beyer of tech market researcher Gartner. Directing Traffic Business intelligence is also being added to other standard run-the-business applications, such as order fulfillment, logistics, inventory management, and the like. Consider a busy warehouse with a limited number of loading docks. Trucking companies do not want their rigs to wait in line for hours, so some of them charge fees for waiting time at the warehouse. To avoid those costs, companies can build business intelligence into their logistics planning systems that lets them know when trucks are stacking up and directs supervisors in the warehouse to load the trucks that charge waiting fees before those that do not. The supervisors get this information via their PCs or handhelds on the warehouse floor. People are re ceiving the benefit of business intelligence without knowing it, said Randy Lea, vice president for product and services marketing at Teradata, a division of NCR, a leader in data warehousing software. This kind of real-time, behind-the-curtains intelligence is even becoming available to end customers. Travelocity, one of the leading travel websites, has long used business intelligence software to help it analyze buying trends and segment customer types so new services can be tailored for them. Now it has rigged its vast data warehouse directly to its consumer website so it can gather and analyze information about what is going on as it is happening. Computer Intuition Travelocity links the profile of individual customers who are on the site to a monitor of their current activity and to information about available airplane flights, rental cars, and vacation packages. If a customer begins asking about flights to Orlando over the Fourth of July weekend, Travelocity's system will understand that the customer is probably planning a family vacation and will place advertisements that are relevant to that kind of trip and even pitch special travel promotions. "If we want to, we could give every customer a custom offer," said Mark Hooper, Travelocity's vice president for product development. What is next in easy-to-use business intelligence Gartner has a concept it calls " Biggle"-the intersection of BI and Google. The idea is that the data warehousing software will be so sophisticated that it understands when different people use different words to describe the same concepts or products. It creates an index of related information-á là Google-and dishes relevant results out in response to queries. In computer science, they refer to this capability as non-obvious relationship awareness. "Nobody's doing this yet," said Gartner's Beyer. Judging from the speed of recent advances in business intelligence, though, it may not be long before companies add the term "Biggling" to their tech lexicon. Highlight any security and ethical issues associated with Biggle.

The Brain behind the Big, Bad Burger and Other Tales of Business Intelligence Jay Leno, the New York Times, and health nutrition advocacy groups have commented on the newest Hardee's fast-food item "The Monster Thickburger," which consists of: Two charbroiled 100 percent Angus beef patties, each weighing in at a third of a pound (150 grams) Three slices of processed cheese Four crispy strips of bacon Dollop of mayonnaise Toasted butter sesame seed bun The Monster Thickburger sounds like a hungry person's dream and the dieter's worst nightmare. Yes, this delicious sounding burger nirvana contains 1,420 calories (5945 kilojoules) and an artery-clogging 107 grams of fat. Even though the Monster Thickburger is one of the most fattening burgers on the market-not to mention that most people add a coke and fries to their order-it is selling like crazy, according to Jeff Chasney, CIO and executive vice president of strategic planning at CKE Restaurants, the company that owns and operates Hardee's. With the national diet obsession and health-related warnings concerning obesity, most fast-food companies probably would never have even put the Monster Thickburger on the menu. CKE confidently introduced the Monster Thickburger nationwide convinced that the product would sell based on intelligence the company obtained from its business intelligence (BI) system. CKE's BI system-known ironically inside the company as CPR (CKE Performance Reporting)-monitored the performance of burger sales in numerous test markets to determine the monster burger's increase to sales and ensure it was not simply cannibalizing other burger sales. CKE monitored several variables including menu mixes, production costs, Thickburger sales, overall burger sales, profit increases, and Thickburger's contribution to the stores' bottom-line. Using its BI system CKE quickly determined that the production costs of the Thickburger were minimal compared to the increase in sales. Armed with burger intelligence CKE confidently paid $7 million in advertising and successfully released the burger nationwide. In its first quarter sales of the burger exceeded CKE's expectations and the company knew the $7 million it paid in advertising was a smart investment. Hardee's, Wendy's, Ruby Tuesday, T.G.I. Friday's and others are heavy users of BI software. Many of the big chains have been using BI for the past 10 years, according to Chris Hartmann, managing director of technology strategies at HVS International, a restaurant and hospitality consultancy. The restaurants use operational BI to determine everything from which menu items to add and remove to which locations to close. They use tactical BI for renegotiating contracts and identifying opportunities to improve inefficient processes. BI is an essential tool for operational-driven restaurants and if implemented correctly they can highlight operational efficiency and effectiveness such as: Carlson Restaurants Worldwide (T.G.I. Friday's, Pick Up Stix) saved $200,000 by renegotiating contracts with food suppliers based on discrepancies between contract prices and the prices suppliers were actually charging restaurants. Carlson's BI system, which at the time was from Cognos, had identified these discrepancies. Ruby Tuesday's profits and revenue have grown by at least 20 percent each year as a result of the improvements the chain has made to its menu and operations based on insights provided by its BI infrastructure, which consists of a data warehouse, analytical tools from Cognos and Hyperion, and reporting tools from Microsoft. CPR helped CKE, which was on the brink of bankruptcy, increase sales at restaurants open more than a year, narrow its overall losses and even turn a profit in 2003. A home-grown proprietary system, CPR consists of a Microsoft SQL server database and uses Microsoft development tools to parse and display analytical information. In June 2003, Wendy's decided to accept credit cards in its restaurants based on information it got from its BI systems. Because of that decision, Wendy's restaurants have boosted sales; customers who use a credit card spend an average of 35 percent more per order than those who use cash, according to Wendy's executive vice president and CIO John Deane. Other industries could learn a great deal about BI by analyzing such strategic use of BI. "Most BI implementations fall below the midpoint on the scale of success," says Ted Friedman, an analyst with Gartner. It appears that the restaurant industry has avoided the three common barriers to BI success by cleansing voluminous amounts of irrelevant data, ensuring high-data quality, and decreasing user resistance. What does business intelligence really mean to a business How did CPR save millions for CKE

The Brain behind the Big, Bad Burger and Other Tales of Business Intelligence Jay Leno, the New York Times, and health nutrition advocacy groups have commented on the newest Hardee's fast-food item "The Monster Thickburger," which consists of: Two charbroiled 100 percent Angus beef patties, each weighing in at a third of a pound (150 grams) Three slices of processed cheese Four crispy strips of bacon Dollop of mayonnaise Toasted butter sesame seed bun The Monster Thickburger sounds like a hungry person's dream and the dieter's worst nightmare. Yes, this delicious sounding burger nirvana contains 1,420 calories (5945 kilojoules) and an artery-clogging 107 grams of fat. Even though the Monster Thickburger is one of the most fattening burgers on the market-not to mention that most people add a coke and fries to their order-it is selling like crazy, according to Jeff Chasney, CIO and executive vice president of strategic planning at CKE Restaurants, the company that owns and operates Hardee's. With the national diet obsession and health-related warnings concerning obesity, most fast-food companies probably would never have even put the Monster Thickburger on the menu. CKE confidently introduced the Monster Thickburger nationwide convinced that the product would sell based on intelligence the company obtained from its business intelligence (BI) system. CKE's BI system-known ironically inside the company as CPR (CKE Performance Reporting)-monitored the performance of burger sales in numerous test markets to determine the monster burger's increase to sales and ensure it was not simply cannibalizing other burger sales. CKE monitored several variables including menu mixes, production costs, Thickburger sales, overall burger sales, profit increases, and Thickburger's contribution to the stores' bottom-line. Using its BI system CKE quickly determined that the production costs of the Thickburger were minimal compared to the increase in sales. Armed with burger intelligence CKE confidently paid $7 million in advertising and successfully released the burger nationwide. In its first quarter sales of the burger exceeded CKE's expectations and the company knew the $7 million it paid in advertising was a smart investment. Hardee's, Wendy's, Ruby Tuesday, T.G.I. Friday's and others are heavy users of BI software. Many of the big chains have been using BI for the past 10 years, according to Chris Hartmann, managing director of technology strategies at HVS International, a restaurant and hospitality consultancy. The restaurants use operational BI to determine everything from which menu items to add and remove to which locations to close. They use tactical BI for renegotiating contracts and identifying opportunities to improve inefficient processes. BI is an essential tool for operational-driven restaurants and if implemented correctly they can highlight operational efficiency and effectiveness such as: Carlson Restaurants Worldwide (T.G.I. Friday's, Pick Up Stix) saved $200,000 by renegotiating contracts with food suppliers based on discrepancies between contract prices and the prices suppliers were actually charging restaurants. Carlson's BI system, which at the time was from Cognos, had identified these discrepancies. Ruby Tuesday's profits and revenue have grown by at least 20 percent each year as a result of the improvements the chain has made to its menu and operations based on insights provided by its BI infrastructure, which consists of a data warehouse, analytical tools from Cognos and Hyperion, and reporting tools from Microsoft. CPR helped CKE, which was on the brink of bankruptcy, increase sales at restaurants open more than a year, narrow its overall losses and even turn a profit in 2003. A home-grown proprietary system, CPR consists of a Microsoft SQL server database and uses Microsoft development tools to parse and display analytical information. In June 2003, Wendy's decided to accept credit cards in its restaurants based on information it got from its BI systems. Because of that decision, Wendy's restaurants have boosted sales; customers who use a credit card spend an average of 35 percent more per order than those who use cash, according to Wendy's executive vice president and CIO John Deane. Other industries could learn a great deal about BI by analyzing such strategic use of BI. "Most BI implementations fall below the midpoint on the scale of success," says Ted Friedman, an analyst with Gartner. It appears that the restaurant industry has avoided the three common barriers to BI success by cleansing voluminous amounts of irrelevant data, ensuring high-data quality, and decreasing user resistance. What are the negative impacts of CKE's business intelligence

The Brain behind the Big, Bad Burger and Other Tales of Business Intelligence Jay Leno, the New York Times, and health nutrition advocacy groups have commented on the newest Hardee's fast-food item "The Monster Thickburger," which consists of: Two charbroiled 100 percent Angus beef patties, each weighing in at a third of a pound (150 grams) Three slices of processed cheese Four crispy strips of bacon Dollop of mayonnaise Toasted butter sesame seed bun The Monster Thickburger sounds like a hungry person's dream and the dieter's worst nightmare. Yes, this delicious sounding burger nirvana contains 1,420 calories (5945 kilojoules) and an artery-clogging 107 grams of fat. Even though the Monster Thickburger is one of the most fattening burgers on the market-not to mention that most people add a coke and fries to their order-it is selling like crazy, according to Jeff Chasney, CIO and executive vice president of strategic planning at CKE Restaurants, the company that owns and operates Hardee's. With the national diet obsession and health-related warnings concerning obesity, most fast-food companies probably would never have even put the Monster Thickburger on the menu. CKE confidently introduced the Monster Thickburger nationwide convinced that the product would sell based on intelligence the company obtained from its business intelligence (BI) system. CKE's BI system-known ironically inside the company as CPR (CKE Performance Reporting)-monitored the performance of burger sales in numerous test markets to determine the monster burger's increase to sales and ensure it was not simply cannibalizing other burger sales. CKE monitored several variables including menu mixes, production costs, Thickburger sales, overall burger sales, profit increases, and Thickburger's contribution to the stores' bottom-line. Using its BI system CKE quickly determined that the production costs of the Thickburger were minimal compared to the increase in sales. Armed with burger intelligence CKE confidently paid $7 million in advertising and successfully released the burger nationwide. In its first quarter sales of the burger exceeded CKE's expectations and the company knew the $7 million it paid in advertising was a smart investment. Hardee's, Wendy's, Ruby Tuesday, T.G.I. Friday's and others are heavy users of BI software. Many of the big chains have been using BI for the past 10 years, according to Chris Hartmann, managing director of technology strategies at HVS International, a restaurant and hospitality consultancy. The restaurants use operational BI to determine everything from which menu items to add and remove to which locations to close. They use tactical BI for renegotiating contracts and identifying opportunities to improve inefficient processes. BI is an essential tool for operational-driven restaurants and if implemented correctly they can highlight operational efficiency and effectiveness such as: Carlson Restaurants Worldwide (T.G.I. Friday's, Pick Up Stix) saved $200,000 by renegotiating contracts with food suppliers based on discrepancies between contract prices and the prices suppliers were actually charging restaurants. Carlson's BI system, which at the time was from Cognos, had identified these discrepancies. Ruby Tuesday's profits and revenue have grown by at least 20 percent each year as a result of the improvements the chain has made to its menu and operations based on insights provided by its BI infrastructure, which consists of a data warehouse, analytical tools from Cognos and Hyperion, and reporting tools from Microsoft. CPR helped CKE, which was on the brink of bankruptcy, increase sales at restaurants open more than a year, narrow its overall losses and even turn a profit in 2003. A home-grown proprietary system, CPR consists of a Microsoft SQL server database and uses Microsoft development tools to parse and display analytical information. In June 2003, Wendy's decided to accept credit cards in its restaurants based on information it got from its BI systems. Because of that decision, Wendy's restaurants have boosted sales; customers who use a credit card spend an average of 35 percent more per order than those who use cash, according to Wendy's executive vice president and CIO John Deane. Other industries could learn a great deal about BI by analyzing such strategic use of BI. "Most BI implementations fall below the midpoint on the scale of success," says Ted Friedman, an analyst with Gartner. It appears that the restaurant industry has avoided the three common barriers to BI success by cleansing voluminous amounts of irrelevant data, ensuring high-data quality, and decreasing user resistance. Explain the three forms of data-mining analysis and explain how CKE can use it to gain BI.

The Brain behind the Big, Bad Burger and Other Tales of Business Intelligence Jay Leno, the New York Times, and health nutrition advocacy groups have commented on the newest Hardee's fast-food item "The Monster Thickburger," which consists of: Two charbroiled 100 percent Angus beef patties, each weighing in at a third of a pound (150 grams) Three slices of processed cheese Four crispy strips of bacon Dollop of mayonnaise Toasted butter sesame seed bun The Monster Thickburger sounds like a hungry person's dream and the dieter's worst nightmare. Yes, this delicious sounding burger nirvana contains 1,420 calories (5945 kilojoules) and an artery-clogging 107 grams of fat. Even though the Monster Thickburger is one of the most fattening burgers on the market-not to mention that most people add a coke and fries to their order-it is selling like crazy, according to Jeff Chasney, CIO and executive vice president of strategic planning at CKE Restaurants, the company that owns and operates Hardee's. With the national diet obsession and health-related warnings concerning obesity, most fast-food companies probably would never have even put the Monster Thickburger on the menu. CKE confidently introduced the Monster Thickburger nationwide convinced that the product would sell based on intelligence the company obtained from its business intelligence (BI) system. CKE's BI system-known ironically inside the company as CPR (CKE Performance Reporting)-monitored the performance of burger sales in numerous test markets to determine the monster burger's increase to sales and ensure it was not simply cannibalizing other burger sales. CKE monitored several variables including menu mixes, production costs, Thickburger sales, overall burger sales, profit increases, and Thickburger's contribution to the stores' bottom-line. Using its BI system CKE quickly determined that the production costs of the Thickburger were minimal compared to the increase in sales. Armed with burger intelligence CKE confidently paid $7 million in advertising and successfully released the burger nationwide. In its first quarter sales of the burger exceeded CKE's expectations and the company knew the $7 million it paid in advertising was a smart investment. Hardee's, Wendy's, Ruby Tuesday, T.G.I. Friday's and others are heavy users of BI software. Many of the big chains have been using BI for the past 10 years, according to Chris Hartmann, managing director of technology strategies at HVS International, a restaurant and hospitality consultancy. The restaurants use operational BI to determine everything from which menu items to add and remove to which locations to close. They use tactical BI for renegotiating contracts and identifying opportunities to improve inefficient processes. BI is an essential tool for operational-driven restaurants and if implemented correctly they can highlight operational efficiency and effectiveness such as: Carlson Restaurants Worldwide (T.G.I. Friday's, Pick Up Stix) saved $200,000 by renegotiating contracts with food suppliers based on discrepancies between contract prices and the prices suppliers were actually charging restaurants. Carlson's BI system, which at the time was from Cognos, had identified these discrepancies. Ruby Tuesday's profits and revenue have grown by at least 20 percent each year as a result of the improvements the chain has made to its menu and operations based on insights provided by its BI infrastructure, which consists of a data warehouse, analytical tools from Cognos and Hyperion, and reporting tools from Microsoft. CPR helped CKE, which was on the brink of bankruptcy, increase sales at restaurants open more than a year, narrow its overall losses and even turn a profit in 2003. A home-grown proprietary system, CPR consists of a Microsoft SQL server database and uses Microsoft development tools to parse and display analytical information. In June 2003, Wendy's decided to accept credit cards in its restaurants based on information it got from its BI systems. Because of that decision, Wendy's restaurants have boosted sales; customers who use a credit card spend an average of 35 percent more per order than those who use cash, according to Wendy's executive vice president and CIO John Deane. Other industries could learn a great deal about BI by analyzing such strategic use of BI. "Most BI implementations fall below the midpoint on the scale of success," says Ted Friedman, an analyst with Gartner. It appears that the restaurant industry has avoided the three common barriers to BI success by cleansing voluminous amounts of irrelevant data, ensuring high-data quality, and decreasing user resistance. How can CKE use tactical, operational, and strategic BI

The Brain behind the Big, Bad Burger and Other Tales of Business Intelligence Jay Leno, the New York Times, and health nutrition advocacy groups have commented on the newest Hardee's fast-food item "The Monster Thickburger," which consists of: Two charbroiled 100 percent Angus beef patties, each weighing in at a third of a pound (150 grams) Three slices of processed cheese Four crispy strips of bacon Dollop of mayonnaise Toasted butter sesame seed bun The Monster Thickburger sounds like a hungry person's dream and the dieter's worst nightmare. Yes, this delicious sounding burger nirvana contains 1,420 calories (5945 kilojoules) and an artery-clogging 107 grams of fat. Even though the Monster Thickburger is one of the most fattening burgers on the market-not to mention that most people add a coke and fries to their order-it is selling like crazy, according to Jeff Chasney, CIO and executive vice president of strategic planning at CKE Restaurants, the company that owns and operates Hardee's. With the national diet obsession and health-related warnings concerning obesity, most fast-food companies probably would never have even put the Monster Thickburger on the menu. CKE confidently introduced the Monster Thickburger nationwide convinced that the product would sell based on intelligence the company obtained from its business intelligence (BI) system. CKE's BI system-known ironically inside the company as CPR (CKE Performance Reporting)-monitored the performance of burger sales in numerous test markets to determine the monster burger's increase to sales and ensure it was not simply cannibalizing other burger sales. CKE monitored several variables including menu mixes, production costs, Thickburger sales, overall burger sales, profit increases, and Thickburger's contribution to the stores' bottom-line. Using its BI system CKE quickly determined that the production costs of the Thickburger were minimal compared to the increase in sales. Armed with burger intelligence CKE confidently paid $7 million in advertising and successfully released the burger nationwide. In its first quarter sales of the burger exceeded CKE's expectations and the company knew the $7 million it paid in advertising was a smart investment. Hardee's, Wendy's, Ruby Tuesday, T.G.I. Friday's and others are heavy users of BI software. Many of the big chains have been using BI for the past 10 years, according to Chris Hartmann, managing director of technology strategies at HVS International, a restaurant and hospitality consultancy. The restaurants use operational BI to determine everything from which menu items to add and remove to which locations to close. They use tactical BI for renegotiating contracts and identifying opportunities to improve inefficient processes. BI is an essential tool for operational-driven restaurants and if implemented correctly they can highlight operational efficiency and effectiveness such as: Carlson Restaurants Worldwide (T.G.I. Friday's, Pick Up Stix) saved $200,000 by renegotiating contracts with food suppliers based on discrepancies between contract prices and the prices suppliers were actually charging restaurants. Carlson's BI system, which at the time was from Cognos, had identified these discrepancies. Ruby Tuesday's profits and revenue have grown by at least 20 percent each year as a result of the improvements the chain has made to its menu and operations based on insights provided by its BI infrastructure, which consists of a data warehouse, analytical tools from Cognos and Hyperion, and reporting tools from Microsoft. CPR helped CKE, which was on the brink of bankruptcy, increase sales at restaurants open more than a year, narrow its overall losses and even turn a profit in 2003. A home-grown proprietary system, CPR consists of a Microsoft SQL server database and uses Microsoft development tools to parse and display analytical information. In June 2003, Wendy's decided to accept credit cards in its restaurants based on information it got from its BI systems. Because of that decision, Wendy's restaurants have boosted sales; customers who use a credit card spend an average of 35 percent more per order than those who use cash, according to Wendy's executive vice president and CIO John Deane. Other industries could learn a great deal about BI by analyzing such strategic use of BI. "Most BI implementations fall below the midpoint on the scale of success," says Ted Friedman, an analyst with Gartner. It appears that the restaurant industry has avoided the three common barriers to BI success by cleansing voluminous amounts of irrelevant data, ensuring high-data quality, and decreasing user resistance. What types of ethical and security issues could CKE face from CPR

Gaining Business Intelligence from Strategic Initiatives You are a new employee in the customer service department at Premier One, a large pet food distributor. The company, founded by several veterinarians, has been in business for three years and focuses on providing nutritious pet food at a low cost. The company currently has 90 employees and operates in seven states. Sales over the past three years have tripled, and the manual systems currently in place are no longer sufficient to run the business. Your first task is to meet with your new team and create a presentation for the president and chief executive officer describing tactical, operational, and strategic business intelligence. The presentation should highlight the main benefits Premier One can receive from business intelligence along with any additional added business value that can be gained from the systems.

Second Life BI The virtual world of Second Life could become the first point of contact between companies and customers and could transform the whole customer experience. Since it began hosting the likes of Adidas, Dell, Reuters, and Toyota, Second Life has become technology's equivalent of India or China-everyone needs an office and a strategy involving it to keep their shareholders happy. But beyond opening a shiny new building in the virtual world, what can such companies do with their virtual real estate Like many other big brands, PA Consulting has its own offices in Second Life and has learned that simply having an office to answer customer queries is not enough. Real people, albeit behind avatars, must be staffing the offices-in the same way having a website is not enough if there is not a call center to back it up when a would-be customer wants to speak to a human being. The consultants believe call centers could one day ask customers to follow up a phone call with them by moving the query into a virtual world. Unlike many corporate areas in the virtual world, the National Basketball Association incorporates capabilities designed to keep fans coming back, including real-time 3-D diagrams of games as they are being played. You are the executive director of BI at StormPeak, an advanced AI company that develops robots. You are in charge of overseeing the first virtual site being built in Second Life. Create a BI strategy for gathering information in a virtual world. Here are a few questions to get you started: How will gathering BI for a business be different in a virtual world How can BI help a business become more efficient in a virtual world How will supporting BI in Second Life differ from supporting BI in a traditional company What BI security issues might you encounter in Second Life What BI ethical issues might you encounter in Second Life

Searching for BI Imagine being able to Google customer phone requests for information, sort through the recorded files of customer complaint calls, or decipher the exact moment when an interaction between a customer and store employee went awry. Being able to query voice records using the same methods as querying textual ones would open up boundless areas of business opportunity. Web surfers can already search audio files and audio/video feeds, but now enterprises can use this technology to help employees search voice mails or recorded calls for keywords and phrases, and, in the end, to decode important customer concerns. You have recently started your own marketing firm. You have built a BI tool that allows customers to query all of their unique data stores. Now all you need is to prepare your marketing materials to send to potential customers. Create a marketing pitch that you will deliver to customers detailing the business opportunities they could uncover if they purchase your product. Your marketing pitch can be a one-page document, a catchy tune, a video, or a PowerPoint presentation.

Mining Physician Data NPR recently released a story discussing how large pharmaceutical companies are mining physician data. Thousands of pharmaceutical drug company sales representatives visit doctors and try to entice them to prescribe their company's newest drugs. The pharmaceutical companies buy prescription information from pharmacies all over the country describing which drugs are prescribed by which doctors. There is no patient information in the data. The sales representatives receive this BI from their companies and can tailor their sales pitch based on what that particular doctor has been prescribing to patients. Many doctors do not even realize that the sales representatives have this information and know exactly what drugs each individual doctor prescribes. The drug companies love mining data, but critics contend it is an invasion of privacy and drives up the cost of health care. Maine has just become the third state to pass a measure limiting access to the data. You are working for your state government and your boss has asked you to create an argument for or against pharmaceutical data mining of physician data in your state. A few questions to get you started: Do you agree that mining physician data should be illegal Why or why not As a patient how do you feel about pharmaceutical companies mining your doctor's data As an employee of one of the pharmaceutical companies how do you feel about mining physician data

The Value of Plastic Accepting credit cards at Wendy's restaurants was a big decision facing corporate executives in early 2003. There was no doubt that customers would appreciate the convenience of plastic, but could this option hurt overall sales Wendy's executives decided that the best way to determine the value of plastic was to test it at several stores. The BI system was set to monitor how a credit card purchase affects sales, service speed, and cash sales. The intelligence gained from the system told executives that plastic sales were typically 35 percent higher than cash sales. Cash sales typically include a value meal-great for the customer but less profitable for the store. Plastic customers showed a trend of purchasing a la carte items generating a higher bill. Armed with BI, Wendy's introduced credit card readers nationally in June 2003. You are the vice president of BI for McDonald's restaurants. The board of directors would like you to generate a report discussing the details of how you can use BI to analyze sales trends of menu items for all of its restaurants, including international locations. Identify several different variables you would monitor to determine menu item sales trends.

Tata's Nano $2,500 Car The announcement by Tata Motors of its newest car, the Nano, priced at $2,500, was revealing on many levels. The announcement generated extensive coverage and commentary, but just about everyone missed the Nano's real significance, which goes far beyond the car itself. At about $2,500 retail, the Nano is the most inexpensive car in the world. Its closest competitor, the Maruti 800, made in India by Maruti Udyog, sells for roughly twice as much. To put this in perspective, the price of the entire Nano car is roughly equivalent to the price of a DVD player option in a luxury Western car. The low price point has left other auto companies scrambling to catch up. Thinking Outside the Patent Box How could Tata Motors make a car so inexpensively It started by looking at everything from scratch, applying what some analysts have described as "Gandhian engineering" principles-deep frugality with a willingness to challenge conventional wisdom. A lot of features that Western consumers take for granted-air conditioning, power brakes, radios, etc.-are missing from the entry-level model. More fundamentally, the engineers worked to do more with less. The car is smaller in overall dimensions than the Maruti, but it offers about 20 percent more seating capacity as a result of design choices such as putting the wheels at the extreme edges of the car. The Nano is also much lighter than comparable models as a result of efforts to reduce the amount of steel in the car (including the use of an aluminum engine) and the use of lightweight steel where possible. The car currently meets all Indian emission, pollution, and safety standards, though it only attains a maximum speed of about 65 mph. The fuel efficiency is attractive-50 miles to the gallon. Hearing all this, many Western executives doubt that this new car represents real innovation. Too often, when they think of innovation, they focus on product innovation using breakthrough technologies; often, specifically, on patents. Tata Motors has filed for 34 patents associated with the design of the Nano, which contrasts with the roughly 280 patents awarded to General Motors (GM) every year. Admittedly that figure tallies all of GM's research efforts, but if innovation is measured only in terms of patents, no wonder the Nano is not of much interest to Western executives. Measuring progress solely by patent creation misses a key dimension of innovation: Some of the most valuable innovations take existing, patented components and remix them in ways that more effectively serve the needs of large numbers of customers. A Modular Design Revolution But even this broader perspective fails to capture other significant dimensions of innovation. In fact, Tata Motors itself did not draw a lot of attention to what is perhaps the most innovative aspect of the Nano: its modular design. The Nano is constructed of components that can be built and shipped separately to be assembled in a variety of locations. In effect, the Nano is being sold in kits that are distributed, assembled, and serviced by local entrepreneurs. As Ratan Tata, chairman of the Tata group of companies, observed in an interview with The Times of London: "A bunch of entrepreneurs could establish an assembly operation and Tata Motors would train their people, would oversee their quality assurance and they would become satellite assembly operations for us. So we would create entrepreneurs across the country that would produce the car. We would produce the mass items and ship it to them as kits. That is my idea of dispersing wealth. The service person would be like an insurance agent who would be trained, have a cell phone and scooter and would be assigned to a set of customers." In fact, Tata envisions going even further, providing the tools for local mechanics to assemble the car in existing auto shops or even in new garages created to cater to remote rural customers. With the exception of Manjeet Kripalani, BusinessWeek 's India bureau chief, few have focused on this breakthrough element of the Nano innovation. This is part of a broader pattern of innovation emerging in India in a variety of markets, ranging from diesel engines and agricultural products to financial services. While most of the companies pursuing this type of innovation are Indian, the U.S. engineering firm Cummins (CMI) demonstrates that Western companies can also harness this approach and apply it effectively. In 2000 Cummins designed innovative "gensets" (generation sets) to enter the lower end of the power generator market in India. These modular sets were explicitly designed to lower distribution costs and make it easy for distributors and customers to tailor the product for highly variable customer environments. Using this approach, Cummins captured a leading position in the Indian market and now actively exports these new products to Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East. Lessons Executives Should Learn What are the broader lessons that Western executives should learn from this innovation story Emerging markets are a fertile ground for innovation. The challenge of reaching dispersed, low-income consumers in emerging markets often spurs significant innovation. Western executives should be careful about compartmentalizing the impact of these innovations on the edge of the global economy. These innovations will become the basis for "attacker" strategies that can be used to challenge incumbents in more developed economies. What is initially on the edge soon comes to the core. Find ways to help customers and others on the edge to tinker with your products. Modular and open product designs help engage large numbers of motivated users in tailoring and pushing the performance boundaries of your products, leading to significant insight into unmet customer needs and creative approaches to addressing those needs. Pay attention to institutional innovation. Western executives often become too narrowly focused on product or process innovation. Far higher returns may come from investing in institutional innovation-redefining the roles and relationships that bring together independent entities to deliver more value to the market. Tata is innovating in all three dimensions simultaneously. Rethink distribution models. In our relentless quest for operating efficiency, we have gone for more standardization and fewer business partners in our efforts to reach customers. As customers gain more power, they will demand more tailoring and value-added service to meet their needs. Companies that innovate on this dimension are likely to be richly rewarded. How can cultural and political issues affect Tata Motors' Nano car

Tata's Nano $2,500 Car The announcement by Tata Motors of its newest car, the Nano, priced at $2,500, was revealing on many levels. The announcement generated extensive coverage and commentary, but just about everyone missed the Nano's real significance, which goes far beyond the car itself. At about $2,500 retail, the Nano is the most inexpensive car in the world. Its closest competitor, the Maruti 800, made in India by Maruti Udyog, sells for roughly twice as much. To put this in perspective, the price of the entire Nano car is roughly equivalent to the price of a DVD player option in a luxury Western car. The low price point has left other auto companies scrambling to catch up. Thinking Outside the Patent Box How could Tata Motors make a car so inexpensively It started by looking at everything from scratch, applying what some analysts have described as "Gandhian engineering" principles-deep frugality with a willingness to challenge conventional wisdom. A lot of features that Western consumers take for granted-air conditioning, power brakes, radios, etc.-are missing from the entry-level model. More fundamentally, the engineers worked to do more with less. The car is smaller in overall dimensions than the Maruti, but it offers about 20 percent more seating capacity as a result of design choices such as putting the wheels at the extreme edges of the car. The Nano is also much lighter than comparable models as a result of efforts to reduce the amount of steel in the car (including the use of an aluminum engine) and the use of lightweight steel where possible. The car currently meets all Indian emission, pollution, and safety standards, though it only attains a maximum speed of about 65 mph. The fuel efficiency is attractive-50 miles to the gallon. Hearing all this, many Western executives doubt that this new car represents real innovation. Too often, when they think of innovation, they focus on product innovation using breakthrough technologies; often, specifically, on patents. Tata Motors has filed for 34 patents associated with the design of the Nano, which contrasts with the roughly 280 patents awarded to General Motors (GM) every year. Admittedly that figure tallies all of GM's research efforts, but if innovation is measured only in terms of patents, no wonder the Nano is not of much interest to Western executives. Measuring progress solely by patent creation misses a key dimension of innovation: Some of the most valuable innovations take existing, patented components and remix them in ways that more effectively serve the needs of large numbers of customers. A Modular Design Revolution But even this broader perspective fails to capture other significant dimensions of innovation. In fact, Tata Motors itself did not draw a lot of attention to what is perhaps the most innovative aspect of the Nano: its modular design. The Nano is constructed of components that can be built and shipped separately to be assembled in a variety of locations. In effect, the Nano is being sold in kits that are distributed, assembled, and serviced by local entrepreneurs. As Ratan Tata, chairman of the Tata group of companies, observed in an interview with The Times of London: "A bunch of entrepreneurs could establish an assembly operation and Tata Motors would train their people, would oversee their quality assurance and they would become satellite assembly operations for us. So we would create entrepreneurs across the country that would produce the car. We would produce the mass items and ship it to them as kits. That is my idea of dispersing wealth. The service person would be like an insurance agent who would be trained, have a cell phone and scooter and would be assigned to a set of customers." In fact, Tata envisions going even further, providing the tools for local mechanics to assemble the car in existing auto shops or even in new garages created to cater to remote rural customers. With the exception of Manjeet Kripalani, BusinessWeek 's India bureau chief, few have focused on this breakthrough element of the Nano innovation. This is part of a broader pattern of innovation emerging in India in a variety of markets, ranging from diesel engines and agricultural products to financial services. While most of the companies pursuing this type of innovation are Indian, the U.S. engineering firm Cummins (CMI) demonstrates that Western companies can also harness this approach and apply it effectively. In 2000 Cummins designed innovative "gensets" (generation sets) to enter the lower end of the power generator market in India. These modular sets were explicitly designed to lower distribution costs and make it easy for distributors and customers to tailor the product for highly variable customer environments. Using this approach, Cummins captured a leading position in the Indian market and now actively exports these new products to Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East. Lessons Executives Should Learn What are the broader lessons that Western executives should learn from this innovation story Emerging markets are a fertile ground for innovation. The challenge of reaching dispersed, low-income consumers in emerging markets often spurs significant innovation. Western executives should be careful about compartmentalizing the impact of these innovations on the edge of the global economy. These innovations will become the basis for "attacker" strategies that can be used to challenge incumbents in more developed economies. What is initially on the edge soon comes to the core. Find ways to help customers and others on the edge to tinker with your products. Modular and open product designs help engage large numbers of motivated users in tailoring and pushing the performance boundaries of your products, leading to significant insight into unmet customer needs and creative approaches to addressing those needs. Pay attention to institutional innovation. Western executives often become too narrowly focused on product or process innovation. Far higher returns may come from investing in institutional innovation-redefining the roles and relationships that bring together independent entities to deliver more value to the market. Tata is innovating in all three dimensions simultaneously. Rethink distribution models. In our relentless quest for operating efficiency, we have gone for more standardization and fewer business partners in our efforts to reach customers. As customers gain more power, they will demand more tailoring and value-added service to meet their needs. Companies that innovate on this dimension are likely to be richly rewarded. How would governance and compliance affect Tata Motors

Tata's Nano $2,500 Car The announcement by Tata Motors of its newest car, the Nano, priced at $2,500, was revealing on many levels. The announcement generated extensive coverage and commentary, but just about everyone missed the Nano's real significance, which goes far beyond the car itself. At about $2,500 retail, the Nano is the most inexpensive car in the world. Its closest competitor, the Maruti 800, made in India by Maruti Udyog, sells for roughly twice as much. To put this in perspective, the price of the entire Nano car is roughly equivalent to the price of a DVD player option in a luxury Western car. The low price point has left other auto companies scrambling to catch up. Thinking Outside the Patent Box How could Tata Motors make a car so inexpensively It started by looking at everything from scratch, applying what some analysts have described as "Gandhian engineering" principles-deep frugality with a willingness to challenge conventional wisdom. A lot of features that Western consumers take for granted-air conditioning, power brakes, radios, etc.-are missing from the entry-level model. More fundamentally, the engineers worked to do more with less. The car is smaller in overall dimensions than the Maruti, but it offers about 20 percent more seating capacity as a result of design choices such as putting the wheels at the extreme edges of the car. The Nano is also much lighter than comparable models as a result of efforts to reduce the amount of steel in the car (including the use of an aluminum engine) and the use of lightweight steel where possible. The car currently meets all Indian emission, pollution, and safety standards, though it only attains a maximum speed of about 65 mph. The fuel efficiency is attractive-50 miles to the gallon. Hearing all this, many Western executives doubt that this new car represents real innovation. Too often, when they think of innovation, they focus on product innovation using breakthrough technologies; often, specifically, on patents. Tata Motors has filed for 34 patents associated with the design of the Nano, which contrasts with the roughly 280 patents awarded to General Motors (GM) every year. Admittedly that figure tallies all of GM's research efforts, but if innovation is measured only in terms of patents, no wonder the Nano is not of much interest to Western executives. Measuring progress solely by patent creation misses a key dimension of innovation: Some of the most valuable innovations take existing, patented components and remix them in ways that more effectively serve the needs of large numbers of customers. A Modular Design Revolution But even this broader perspective fails to capture other significant dimensions of innovation. In fact, Tata Motors itself did not draw a lot of attention to what is perhaps the most innovative aspect of the Nano: its modular design. The Nano is constructed of components that can be built and shipped separately to be assembled in a variety of locations. In effect, the Nano is being sold in kits that are distributed, assembled, and serviced by local entrepreneurs. As Ratan Tata, chairman of the Tata group of companies, observed in an interview with The Times of London: "A bunch of entrepreneurs could establish an assembly operation and Tata Motors would train their people, would oversee their quality assurance and they would become satellite assembly operations for us. So we would create entrepreneurs across the country that would produce the car. We would produce the mass items and ship it to them as kits. That is my idea of dispersing wealth. The service person would be like an insurance agent who would be trained, have a cell phone and scooter and would be assigned to a set of customers." In fact, Tata envisions going even further, providing the tools for local mechanics to assemble the car in existing auto shops or even in new garages created to cater to remote rural customers. With the exception of Manjeet Kripalani, BusinessWeek 's India bureau chief, few have focused on this breakthrough element of the Nano innovation. This is part of a broader pattern of innovation emerging in India in a variety of markets, ranging from diesel engines and agricultural products to financial services. While most of the companies pursuing this type of innovation are Indian, the U.S. engineering firm Cummins (CMI) demonstrates that Western companies can also harness this approach and apply it effectively. In 2000 Cummins designed innovative "gensets" (generation sets) to enter the lower end of the power generator market in India. These modular sets were explicitly designed to lower distribution costs and make it easy for distributors and customers to tailor the product for highly variable customer environments. Using this approach, Cummins captured a leading position in the Indian market and now actively exports these new products to Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East. Lessons Executives Should Learn What are the broader lessons that Western executives should learn from this innovation story Emerging markets are a fertile ground for innovation. The challenge of reaching dispersed, low-income consumers in emerging markets often spurs significant innovation. Western executives should be careful about compartmentalizing the impact of these innovations on the edge of the global economy. These innovations will become the basis for "attacker" strategies that can be used to challenge incumbents in more developed economies. What is initially on the edge soon comes to the core. Find ways to help customers and others on the edge to tinker with your products. Modular and open product designs help engage large numbers of motivated users in tailoring and pushing the performance boundaries of your products, leading to significant insight into unmet customer needs and creative approaches to addressing those needs. Pay attention to institutional innovation. Western executives often become too narrowly focused on product or process innovation. Far higher returns may come from investing in institutional innovation-redefining the roles and relationships that bring together independent entities to deliver more value to the market. Tata is innovating in all three dimensions simultaneously. Rethink distribution models. In our relentless quest for operating efficiency, we have gone for more standardization and fewer business partners in our efforts to reach customers. As customers gain more power, they will demand more tailoring and value-added service to meet their needs. Companies that innovate on this dimension are likely to be richly rewarded. Identify the different global system development issues Tata Motors might encounter as it deploys its Nano.

Global Governance Tarun Khanna, a Harvard professor, states that Indian companies exhibit corporate governance superior to their Chinese rivals. Khanna has just released a new book, Billions of Entrepreneurs: How China and India Are Reshaping Their Future and Yours. However, Khanna believes that Chinese organizations might not require world-class governance to emerge as fierce competitors. Here are edited excerpts from a recent conversation between Khanna and BusinessWeek 's William J. Holstein: Much as their societies and political systems are different, are Indian and Chinese companies complete opposites when it comes to corporate governance Absolutely. Indian companies are so much better governed. India is sort of a noisier version of the U.S. system, which is that you have to be accountable to shareholders and all the other stakeholders. The principles are the same, but the information acquisition is a little bit more problematic in India compared to the U.S. It's not so easy to figure out everything you need to. But there's a very vibrant, credible business media. No opinion is forbidden to be expressed. Information is noisy and unbiased-no one is willfully distorting the truth. China is the opposite-it is noise-free but biased. You get a clean story but the story is not always right. There are views that cannot be expressed. Which country has more independent boards of directors In India, there is a spectrum of companies, such as Infosys, which on some dimensions is better governed than companies in the West in terms of how quickly it discloses things and how quickly it complies with Nasdaq norms. At the other end of the spectrum you have companies that are still the fiefdoms of families, many of which are badly governed. But even those companies are accountable to the market. Market pressures will force them to clean up their act to some extent. The equity markets function so well that it's hard to believe you could be a continuous violator of norms of good governance and still have access to the equity markets. In China, none of that matters because the financial markets still do not work in the sense that we think of them working in the U.S. In China, all stock prices move together. They move up on a given day or they move down. There is no company-specific information embodied in the stock price. You cannot possibly decide that a company is good or bad because the market isn't working in that sense. What you see is aggregate enthusiasm, or lack thereof, for China Inc. The market is not putting pressure on managers to behave in ways that approximate corporate governance in the West. Are companies in India and China making progress in developing talent in the same way that Western multinationals do They are both making progress. But Indian companies are significantly further along, partly because India never had a Cultural Revolution as China did, which wiped out much of the business class. It had a residue of corporations already in existence. Some companies are 100 or 150 years old and they have an established way of doing things. Where are the Chinese when it comes to managing multiculturally Utterly zero. It is hard to blame them because there is a language barrier also. A lot of the internal tensions were about language and cultural barriers, and questions like, Can a Frenchman report to a Chinese And what if the French guy makes more than the Chinese guy How do companies of the two countries compare when it comes to corruption Here, I am not positive on India at all. Transparency International puts out these indices, and India and China are both close to the bottom of that list. China does a little bit better than India. In China, there is corruption, but it is constructive corruption. You, as a bureaucrat, get to be corrupt but only after you generate some value for society. You get a piece of it. In India, there is corruption but it is not constructive. You are not fostering new bridges or highways. It is just shuffling stuff back and forth. I do not think we have cracked that in India at all. I am very sorry about that. In the final analysis, does it matter that Indian companies, on the whole, have an edge over the Chinese in reaching international standards of governance The Chinese have huge capital at their disposal because of their $1.5 trillion in foreign exchange reserves. Could not they still be fearsome competitors I think that is right. Corporate governance matters because you want to reassure the providers of inputs-whether it is time and talent, or ideas, or capital-that their rights will be respected and they will get a return on it. But if you are already sitting on hundreds of billions of dollars of capital, and you do not need to reassure anybody else because you already have your capital, why have good corporate governance The reason the Chinese feel less pressured to do something about it is not because they do not know how to do it-far from it, they have the best technical help from Hong Kong and other places. It is because they make a reasoned judgment that it is not worth their while. Explain governance and compliance and why they are important to any company looking to perform global business.

Global Governance Tarun Khanna, a Harvard professor, states that Indian companies exhibit corporate governance superior to their Chinese rivals. Khanna has just released a new book, Billions of Entrepreneurs: How China and India Are Reshaping Their Future and Yours. However, Khanna believes that Chinese organizations might not require world-class governance to emerge as fierce competitors. Here are edited excerpts from a recent conversation between Khanna and BusinessWeek 's William J. Holstein: Much as their societies and political systems are different, are Indian and Chinese companies complete opposites when it comes to corporate governance Absolutely. Indian companies are so much better governed. India is sort of a noisier version of the U.S. system, which is that you have to be accountable to shareholders and all the other stakeholders. The principles are the same, but the information acquisition is a little bit more problematic in India compared to the U.S. It's not so easy to figure out everything you need to. But there's a very vibrant, credible business media. No opinion is forbidden to be expressed. Information is noisy and unbiased-no one is willfully distorting the truth. China is the opposite-it is noise-free but biased. You get a clean story but the story is not always right. There are views that cannot be expressed. Which country has more independent boards of directors In India, there is a spectrum of companies, such as Infosys, which on some dimensions is better governed than companies in the West in terms of how quickly it discloses things and how quickly it complies with Nasdaq norms. At the other end of the spectrum you have companies that are still the fiefdoms of families, many of which are badly governed. But even those companies are accountable to the market. Market pressures will force them to clean up their act to some extent. The equity markets function so well that it's hard to believe you could be a continuous violator of norms of good governance and still have access to the equity markets. In China, none of that matters because the financial markets still do not work in the sense that we think of them working in the U.S. In China, all stock prices move together. They move up on a given day or they move down. There is no company-specific information embodied in the stock price. You cannot possibly decide that a company is good or bad because the market isn't working in that sense. What you see is aggregate enthusiasm, or lack thereof, for China Inc. The market is not putting pressure on managers to behave in ways that approximate corporate governance in the West. Are companies in India and China making progress in developing talent in the same way that Western multinationals do They are both making progress. But Indian companies are significantly further along, partly because India never had a Cultural Revolution as China did, which wiped out much of the business class. It had a residue of corporations already in existence. Some companies are 100 or 150 years old and they have an established way of doing things. Where are the Chinese when it comes to managing multiculturally Utterly zero. It is hard to blame them because there is a language barrier also. A lot of the internal tensions were about language and cultural barriers, and questions like, Can a Frenchman report to a Chinese And what if the French guy makes more than the Chinese guy How do companies of the two countries compare when it comes to corruption Here, I am not positive on India at all. Transparency International puts out these indices, and India and China are both close to the bottom of that list. China does a little bit better than India. In China, there is corruption, but it is constructive corruption. You, as a bureaucrat, get to be corrupt but only after you generate some value for society. You get a piece of it. In India, there is corruption but it is not constructive. You are not fostering new bridges or highways. It is just shuffling stuff back and forth. I do not think we have cracked that in India at all. I am very sorry about that. In the final analysis, does it matter that Indian companies, on the whole, have an edge over the Chinese in reaching international standards of governance The Chinese have huge apital at their disposal because of their $1.5 trillion in foreign exchange reserves. Could not they still be fearsome competitors I think that is right. Corporate governance matters because you want to reassure the providers of inputs-whether it is time and talent, or ideas, or capital-that their rights will be respected and they will get a return on it. But if you are already sitting on hundreds of billions of dollars of capital, and you do not need to reassure anybody else because you already have your capital, why have good corporate governance The reason the Chinese feel less pressured to do something about it is not because they do not know how to do it-far from it, they have the best technical help from Hong Kong and other places. It is because they make a reasoned judgment that it is not worth their while. How can an organization use governance and compliance to help protect itself from global security breaches

Global Governance Tarun Khanna, a Harvard professor, states that Indian companies exhibit corporate governance superior to their Chinese rivals. Khanna has just released a new book, Billions of Entrepreneurs: How China and India Are Reshaping Their Future and Yours. However, Khanna believes that Chinese organizations might not require world-class governance to emerge as fierce competitors. Here are edited excerpts from a recent conversation between Khanna and BusinessWeek 's William J. Holstein: Much as their societies and political systems are different, are Indian and Chinese companies complete opposites when it comes to corporate governance Absolutely. Indian companies are so much better governed. India is sort of a noisier version of the U.S. system, which is that you have to be accountable to shareholders and all the other stakeholders. The principles are the same, but the information acquisition is a little bit more problematic in India compared to the U.S. It's not so easy to figure out everything you need to. But there's a very vibrant, credible business media. No opinion is forbidden to be expressed. Information is noisy and unbiased-no one is willfully distorting the truth. China is the opposite-it is noise-free but biased. You get a clean story but the story is not always right. There are views that cannot be expressed. Which country has more independent boards of directors In India, there is a spectrum of companies, such as Infosys, which on some dimensions is better governed than companies in the West in terms of how quickly it discloses things and how quickly it complies with Nasdaq norms. At the other end of the spectrum you have companies that are still the fiefdoms of families, many of which are badly governed. But even those companies are accountable to the market. Market pressures will force them to clean up their act to some extent. The equity markets function so well that it's hard to believe you could be a continuous violator of norms of good governance and still have access to the equity markets. In China, none of that matters because the financial markets still do not work in the sense that we think of them working in the U.S. In China, all stock prices move together. They move up on a given day or they move down. There is no company-specific information embodied in the stock price. You cannot possibly decide that a company is good or bad because the market isn't working in that sense. What you see is aggregate enthusiasm, or lack thereof, for China Inc. The market is not putting pressure on managers to behave in ways that approximate corporate governance in the West. Are companies in India and China making progress in developing talent in the same way that Western multinationals do They are both making progress. But Indian companies are significantly further along, partly because India never had a Cultural Revolution as China did, which wiped out much of the business class. It had a residue of corporations already in existence. Some companies are 100 or 150 years old and they have an established way of doing things. Where are the Chinese when it comes to managing multiculturally Utterly zero. It is hard to blame them because there is a language barrier also. A lot of the internal tensions were about language and cultural barriers, and questions like, Can a Frenchman report to a Chinese And what if the French guy makes more than the Chinese guy How do companies of the two countries compare when it comes to corruption Here, I am not positive on India at all. Transparency International puts out these indices, and India and China are both close to the bottom of that list. China does a little bit better than India. In China, there is corruption, but it is constructive corruption. You, as a bureaucrat, get to be corrupt but only after you generate some value for society. You get a piece of it. In India, there is corruption but it is not constructive. You are not fostering new bridges or highways. It is just shuffling stuff back and forth. I do not think we have cracked that in India at all. I am very sorry about that. In the final analysis, does it matter that Indian companies, on the whole, have an edge over the Chinese in reaching international standards of governance The Chinese have huge capital at their disposal because of their $1.5 trillion in foreign exchange reserves. Could not they still be fearsome competitors I think that is right. Corporate governance matters because you want to reassure the providers of inputs-whether it is time and talent, or ideas, or capital-that their rights will be respected and they will get a return on it. But if you are already sitting on hundreds of billions of dollars of capital, and you do not need to reassure anybody else because you already have your capital, why have good corporate governance The reason the Chinese feel less pressured to do something about it is not because they do not know how to do it-far from it, they have the best technical help from Hong Kong and other places. It is because they make a reasoned judgment that it is not worth their while. If you were choosing between outsourcing to India or China, based on this case, which country would you choose and why

Global Governance Tarun Khanna, a Harvard professor, states that Indian companies exhibit corporate governance superior to their Chinese rivals. Khanna has just released a new book, Billions of Entrepreneurs: How China and India Are Reshaping Their Future and Yours. However, Khanna believes that Chinese organizations might not require world-class governance to emerge as fierce competitors. Here are edited excerpts from a recent conversation between Khanna and BusinessWeek 's William J. Holstein: Much as their societies and political systems are different, are Indian and Chinese companies complete opposites when it comes to corporate governance Absolutely. Indian companies are so much better governed. India is sort of a noisier version of the U.S. system, which is that you have to be accountable to shareholders and all the other stakeholders. The principles are the same, but the information acquisition is a little bit more problematic in India compared to the U.S. It's not so easy to figure out everything you need to. But there's a very vibrant, credible business media. No opinion is forbidden to be expressed. Information is noisy and unbiased-no one is willfully distorting the truth. China is the opposite-it is noise-free but biased. You get a clean story but the story is not always right. There are views that cannot be expressed. Which country has more independent boards of directors In India, there is a spectrum of companies, such as Infosys, which on some dimensions is better governed than companies in the West in terms of how quickly it discloses things and how quickly it complies with Nasdaq norms. At the other end of the spectrum you have companies that are still the fiefdoms of families, many of which are badly governed. But even those companies are accountable to the market. Market pressures will force them to clean up their act to some extent. The equity markets function so well that it's hard to believe you could be a continuous violator of norms of good governance and still have access to the equity markets. In China, none of that matters because the financial markets still do not work in the sense that we think of them working in the U.S. In China, all stock prices move together. They move up on a given day or they move down. There is no company-specific information embodied in the stock price. You cannot possibly decide that a company is good or bad because the market isn't working in that sense. What you see is aggregate enthusiasm, or lack thereof, for China Inc. The market is not putting pressure on managers to behave in ways that approximate corporate governance in the West. Are companies in India and China making progress in developing talent in the same way that Western multinationals do They are both making progress. But Indian companies are significantly further along, partly because India never had a Cultural Revolution as China did, which wiped out much of the business class. It had a residue of corporations already in existence. Some companies are 100 or 150 years old and they have an established way of doing things. Where are the Chinese when it comes to managing multiculturally Utterly zero. It is hard to blame them because there is a language barrier also. A lot of the internal tensions were about language and cultural barriers, and questions like, Can a Frenchman report to a Chinese And what if the French guy makes more than the Chinese guy How do companies of the two countries compare when it comes to corruption Here, I am not positive on India at all. Transparency International puts out these indices, and India and China are both close to the bottom of that list. China does a little bit better than India. In China, there is corruption, but it is constructive corruption. You, as a bureaucrat, get to be corrupt but only after you generate some value for society. You get a piece of it. In India, there is corruption but it is not constructive. You are not fostering new bridges or highways. It is just shuffling stuff back and forth. I do not think we have cracked that in India at all. I am very sorry about that. In the final analysis, does it matter that Indian companies, on the whole, have an edge over the Chinese in reaching international standards of governance The Chinese have huge capital at their disposal because of their $1.5 trillion in foreign exchange reserves. Could not they still be fearsome competitors I think that is right. Corporate governance matters because you want to reassure the providers of inputs-whether it is time and talent, or ideas, or capital-that their rights will be respected and they will get a return on it. But if you are already sitting on hundreds of billions of dollars of capital, and you do not need to reassure anybody else because you already have your capital, why have good corporate governance The reason the Chinese feel less pressured to do something about it is not because they do not know how to do it-far from it, they have the best technical help from Hong Kong and other places. It is because they make a reasoned judgment that it is not worth their while. What types of ethical dilemmas might an organization face when dealing with IT governance in India or China

Transforming an Organization Your college has asked you to help develop the curriculum for a new course titled " Building a 21st Century Organization." Use the materials in this text, the Internet, and any other resources to outline the curriculum that you would suggest the course cover. Be sure to include your reasons why the material should be covered and the order in which it should be covered.

Connecting Components Components of a solid enterprise architecture include everything from documentation to business concepts to software and hardware. Deciding which components to implement and how to implement them can be a challenge. New IT components are released daily, and business needs continually change. An enterprise architecture that meets your organization's needs today may not meet those needs tomorrow. Building an enterprise architecture that is scalable, flexible, available, accessible, and reliable is key to your organization's success. You are the enterprise architect for a large clothing company called Xedous. You are responsible for developing the initial enterprise architecture. Create a list of questions you will need answered to develop your architecture. Below is an example of a few questions you might ask. What are the company's growth expectations Will systems be able to handle additional users How long will information be stored in the systems How much customer history must be stored What are the organization's business hours What are the organization's backup requirements

IT Gets Its Say CIOs need to speak the language of business to sell IT's strategic benefits. It is no secret that the most successful companies today are the ones that deliver the right products and services faster, more efficiently, more securely, and more cost-effectively than their competitors, and the key to that is a practical implementation of enterprise technology to improve business performance. IT executives and managers therefore must speak the la nguage of business to articulate how technology can solve business problems. CIOs of tomorrow will focus on a number of changing dynamics: enabling the business to grow versus just optimizing performance, saying yes instead of no; allowing open innovation rather than closed, traditional R D practices; creating a culture of strategic growth and innovation; and empowering the customer to make decisions that drive a heightened value proposition for both the customer and supplier. You have been charged with creating a slogan for your company that explains the correlation of business and IT. A few examples include: IT should no longer be viewed as just an enabler of somebody else's business strategy. The distinction between technology and business is antediluvian - it's gone. Create a slogan that you can use to explain to your employees the importance of business and IT.

Mom-and-Pop Multinationals Global outsourcing is no longer just for big corporations as small businesses jump into the multisourcing game. Increasingly, Main Street businesses from car dealers to advertising agencies are finding it easier to farm out software development, accounting, support services, and design work to distant lands. For example, Randy and Nicola Wilburn run a micro-multinational organization right from their home. The Wilburns run real estate, consulting, design, and baby food companies from their home by taking outsourcing to the extreme. Professionals from around the globe are at their service. For $300, an Indian artist designed the cute logo of an infant peering over the words "Baby Fresh Organic Baby Foods" and Nicola's letterhead. A London freelancer wrote promotional materials. Randy has hired "virtual assistants" in Jerusalem to transcribe voice mail, update his website, and design PowerPoint graphics. Retired brokers in Virginia and Michigan handle real estate paperwork. Elance, an online-services marketplace, boasts 48,500 small businesses as clients-up 70 percent in the past year-posting 18,000 new projects a month. Other online-services marketplaces such as Guru.com, Brickwork India, DoMyStuff.com, and RentACoder also report fast growth. You have decided to jump in the micro-multinational game and start your own online-services marketplace. Research the following as you compile your startup business plan. 1. To compete in this market what types of services would you offer 2. What types of cultural, political, and geoeconomic challenges would your business experience 3. How would governance and compliance fit into your business strategy 4. What types of global information issues might your company experience 5. What types of customers would you want to attract and what vehicle would you use to find your customers 6. What types of global systems development issues would your company experience 7. What types of information security and ethical dilemmas should you anticipate

Autonomic Railways Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, is one of the largest railway systems in North America. With more than 14,400 miles of rail line in Canada and the United States, this $2.6 billion (U.S.) transportation company serves virtually every major industry, from the resource-based industries of the West to the manufacturing bases and consumer markets in central Canada and the northern United States. Shippers expect fast, reliable services and on-time delivery of goods. As a result, CPR designed many programs-from improving asset management, to strengthening service reliability, to accounting for fluctuating costs-to help it respond to market forces with agility and ease. Val King, manager of IT security for CPR, explains that security management is an essential element in the delivery of these on-demand services. King said, "We must protect our operations from technology attacks, while providing our customers easy, reliable access to information and services online." The goal of the company's IT security team is simple: minimize risk while optimizing user satisfaction. Yet the team's greatest challenges are lack of resources and tight budgets. "We had to look to technology to help us accomplish our goals," explained King. CPR collaborated with IBM to deliver solutions that are both automated (they can control a defined process without human intervention) and autonomic (they can sense and respond to conditions in accordance with business policies). As a result, IT employees can deliver consistent, reliable service levels at reduced costs since they collaborated with IBM using autonomic computing resources such as Tivoli Risk Manager, Tivoli Access Manager, Tivoli Identity Manager, and Tivoli Decision Support. "The automation of processes through the intelligent self-managing features of Tivoli software can help companies respond to threats more quickly," King said. "The benefit is that organizations can strengthen the resiliency of their environments even as the number of security events increases." CPR is realizing measurable results from its implementation of Tivoli Security Management solutions and King sees the already-realized benefits as only the "tip of the iceberg." Some of the notable ROI from CPR's investment in Tivoli Security Management solutions include: 1. Improved productivity -The IT security team spends less time managing security incidents with Tivoli Risk Manager. The IT staff also expects to spend less time on reporting because data from the various security monitors will be integrated. 2. Reduced costs -The application development team estimates that a centralized security model helps accelerate development time. The help desk organization reports a reduction in user calls, due to the password-reset capabilities of Tivoli Identity Manager. 3. Increased business resiliency -Using Tivoli Risk Manager, Tivoli Enterprise Console, Tivoli Decision Support, and Tripwire, a data integrity assurance solution from Tripwire, Inc., CPR tests show that if an attack shuts down a service, administrators can get systems back online much faster. 4. Improved audit compliance -Before the implementation of Tivoli Access Manager for ebusiness, security staff would need to look at each system or application to see if it properly applied security policy. Now, security policies are consistent enterprisewide. Which of the trends shaping our future discussed in this plug-in will have the greatest impact on CPR's business

Autonomic Railways Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, is one of the largest railway systems in North America. With more than 14,400 miles of rail line in Canada and the United States, this $2.6 billion (U.S.) transportation company serves virtually every major industry, from the resource-based industries of the West to the manufacturing bases and consumer markets in central Canada and the northern United States. Shippers expect fast, reliable services and on-time delivery of goods. As a result, CPR designed many programs-from improving asset management, to strengthening service reliability, to accounting for fluctuating costs-to help it respond to market forces with agility and ease. Val King, manager of IT security for CPR, explains that security management is an essential element in the delivery of these on-demand services. King said, "We must protect our operations from technology attacks, while providing our customers easy, reliable access to information and services online." The goal of the company's IT security team is simple: minimize risk while optimizing user satisfaction. Yet the team's greatest challenges are lack of resources and tight budgets. "We had to look to technology to help us accomplish our goals," explained King. CPR collaborated with IBM to deliver solutions that are both automated (they can control a defined process without human intervention) and autonomic (they can sense and respond to conditions in accordance with business policies). As a result, IT employees can deliver consistent, reliable service levels at reduced costs since they collaborated with IBM using autonomic computing resources such as Tivoli Risk Manager, Tivoli Access Manager, Tivoli Identity Manager, and Tivoli Decision Support. "The automation of processes through the intelligent self-managing features of Tivoli software can help companies respond to threats more quickly," King said. "The benefit is that organizations can strengthen the resiliency of their environments even as the number of security events increases." CPR is realizing measurable results from its implementation of Tivoli Security Management solutions and King sees the already-realized benefits as only the "tip of the iceberg." Some of the notable ROI from CPR's investment in Tivoli Security Management solutions include: 1. Improved productivity -The IT security team spends less time managing security incidents with Tivoli Risk Manager. The IT staff also expects to spend less time on reporting because data from the various security monitors will be integrated. 2. Reduced costs -The application development team estimates that a centralized security model helps accelerate development time. The help desk organization reports a reduction in user calls, due to the password-reset capabilities of Tivoli Identity Manager. 3. Increased business resiliency -Using Tivoli Risk Manager, Tivoli Enterprise Console, Tivoli Decision Support, and Tripwire, a data integrity assurance solution from Tripwire, Inc., CPR tests show that if an attack shuts down a service, administrators can get systems back online much faster. 4. Improved audit compliance -Before the implementation of Tivoli Access Manager for ebusiness, security staff would need to look at each system or application to see if it properly applied security policy. Now, security policies are consistent enterprisewide. Which of the trends will have the least impact on CPR's business

Autonomic Railways Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, is one of the largest railway systems in North America. With more than 14,400 miles of rail line in Canada and the United States, this $2.6 billion (U.S.) transportation company serves virtually every major industry, from the resource-based industries of the West to the manufacturing bases and consumer markets in central Canada and the northern United States. Shippers expect fast, reliable services and on-time delivery of goods. As a result, CPR designed many programs-from improving asset management, to strengthening service reliability, to accounting for fluctuating costs-to help it respond to market forces with agility and ease. Val King, manager of IT security for CPR, explains that security management is an essential element in the delivery of these on-demand services. King said, "We must protect our operations from technology attacks, while providing our customers easy, reliable access to information and services online." The goal of the company's IT security team is simple: minimize risk while optimizing user satisfaction. Yet the team's greatest challenges are lack of resources and tight budgets. "We had to look to technology to help us accomplish our goals," explained King. CPR collaborated with IBM to deliver solutions that are both automated (they can control a defined process without human intervention) and autonomic (they can sense and respond to conditions in accordance with business policies). As a result, IT employees can deliver consistent, reliable service levels at reduced costs since they collaborated with IBM using autonomic computing resources such as Tivoli Risk Manager, Tivoli Access Manager, Tivoli Identity Manager, and Tivoli Decision Support. "The automation of processes through the intelligent self-managing features of Tivoli software can help companies respond to threats more quickly," King said. "The benefit is that organizations can strengthen the resiliency of their environments even as the number of security events increases." CPR is realizing measurable results from its implementation of Tivoli Security Management solutions and King sees the already-realized benefits as only the "tip of the iceberg." Some of the notable ROI from CPR's investment in Tivoli Security Management solutions include: 1. Improved productivity -The IT security team spends less time managing security incidents with Tivoli Risk Manager. The IT staff also expects to spend less time on reporting because data from the various security monitors will be integrated. 2. Reduced costs -The application development team estimates that a centralized security model helps accelerate development time. The help desk organization reports a reduction in user calls, due to the password-reset capabilities of Tivoli Identity Manager. 3. Increased business resiliency -Using Tivoli Risk Manager, Tivoli Enterprise Console, Tivoli Decision Support, and Tripwire, a data integrity assurance solution from Tripwire, Inc., CPR tests show that if an attack shuts down a service, administrators can get systems back online much faster. 4. Improved audit compliance -Before the implementation of Tivoli Access Manager for ebusiness, security staff would need to look at each system or application to see if it properly applied security policy. Now, security policies are consistent enterprisewide. How are the functions of autonomic computing providing CPR with a competitive advantage

Autonomic Railways Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, is one of the largest railway systems in North America. With more than 14,400 miles of rail line in Canada and the United States, this $2.6 billion (U.S.) transportation company serves virtually every major industry, from the resource-based industries of the West to the manufacturing bases and consumer markets in central Canada and the northern United States. Shippers expect fast, reliable services and on-time delivery of goods. As a result, CPR designed many programs-from improving asset management, to strengthening service reliability, to accounting for fluctuating costs-to help it respond to market forces with agility and ease. Val King, manager of IT security for CPR, explains that security management is an essential element in the delivery of these on-demand services. King said, "We must protect our operations from technology attacks, while providing our customers easy, reliable access to information and services online." The goal of the company's IT security team is simple: minimize risk while optimizing user satisfaction. Yet the team's greatest challenges are lack of resources and tight budgets. "We had to look to technology to help us accomplish our goals," explained King. CPR collaborated with IBM to deliver solutions that are both automated (they can control a defined process without human intervention) and autonomic (they can sense and respond to conditions in accordance with business policies). As a result, IT employees can deliver consistent, reliable service levels at reduced costs since they collaborated with IBM using autonomic computing resources such as Tivoli Risk Manager, Tivoli Access Manager, Tivoli Identity Manager, and Tivoli Decision Support. "The automation of processes through the intelligent self-managing features of Tivoli software can help companies respond to threats more quickly," King said. "The benefit is that organizations can strengthen the resiliency of their environments even as the number of security events increases." CPR is realizing measurable results from its implementation of Tivoli Security Management solutions and King sees the already-realized benefits as only the "tip of the iceberg." Some of the notable ROI from CPR's investment in Tivoli Security Management solutions include: 1. Improved productivity -The IT security team spends less time managing security incidents with Tivoli Risk Manager. The IT staff also expects to spend less time on reporting because data from the various security monitors will be integrated. 2. Reduced costs -The application development team estimates that a centralized security model helps accelerate development time. The help desk organization reports a reduction in user calls, due to the password-reset capabilities of Tivoli Identity Manager. 3. Increased business resiliency -Using Tivoli Risk Manager, Tivoli Enterprise Console, Tivoli Decision Support, and Tripwire, a data integrity assurance solution from Tripwire, Inc., CPR tests show that if an attack shuts down a service, administrators can get systems back online much faster. 4. Improved audit compliance -Before the implementation of Tivoli Access Manager for ebusiness, security staff would need to look at each system or application to see if it properly applied security policy. Now, security policies are consistent enterprisewide. How can CPR take advantage of other technological advances to improve security

Wireless Progression Progressive Corporation is the fourth-largest automobile insurer in the United States with more than 8 million policyholders and net premiums of $6.1 billion. Progressive offers wireless web access to holders of its auto insurance policies, a move that analysts have said fits the company's reputation as a technology leader in the insurance industry and its emphasis on customer service. Customers can use their web-enabled phones to get price quotes, report claims, locate nearby independent agents by ZIP code, and access real-time account information through the company's website. Progressive also has the ability to push time-sensitive data to policyholders via wireless connections, instantly delivering information about an auto-recall notice to a customer's cell phone. As a cost-saving measure, and in keeping with a corporate tradition of internal development, Ohio-based Progressive decided to build its own wireless applications. Policyholders simply have to type Progressive's web address into their phones or connect to the site through search engines that specialize in wireless ebusiness. Stephen Williams, president of the Insurance Institute of Indiana, a nonprofit trade association that represents insurers in that state, said it's "not uncommon for Progressive to be on the cutting edge with its use of technology." If Progressive is starting to take advantage of the wireless web, other companies could follow its lead, he added. Jeffrey Kagan, an Atlanta-based wireless technology analyst, called Progressive "the Nordstrom's of insurance because of its emphasis on customer service." The addition of wireless access to its website "is a simple but smart way to use technology" to further improve the company's service, Kagan said. Progressive.com leads the insurance industry in consumer-friendly innovations. It was the first auto insurance website (1995), first to offer online quoting and comparison rates (1996), first to offer instantaneous online purchase of an auto policy (1997), and first to offer after-the-sale service (1998). The Progressive.com website leads the insurance industry in consumer-friendly innovations and functionality. Progressive.com was recognized as one of the "top 10 websites that work" by InfoWeek Magazine and was named to the Smart Business 50 by Smart Business Magazine for successful use of the Internet to enhance and expand its business. Which of the trends shaping our future discussed in this plug-in will have the greatest impact on Progressive's business

Wireless Progression Progressive Corporation is the fourth-largest automobile insurer in the United States with more than 8 million policyholders and net premiums of $6.1 billion. Progressive offers wireless web access to holders of its auto insurance policies, a move that analysts have said fits the company's reputation as a technology leader in the insurance industry and its emphasis on customer service. Customers can use their web-enabled phones to get price quotes, report claims, locate nearby independent agents by ZIP code, and access real-time account information through the company's website. Progressive also has the ability to push time-sensitive data to policyholders via wireless connections, instantly delivering information about an auto-recall notice to a customer's cell phone. As a cost-saving measure, and in keeping with a corporate tradition of internal development, Ohio-based Progressive decided to build its own wireless applications. Policyholders simply have to type Progressive's web address into their phones or connect to the site through search engines that specialize in wireless ebusiness. Stephen Williams, president of the Insurance Institute of Indiana, a nonprofit trade association that represents insurers in that state, said it's "not uncommon for Progressive to be on the cutting edge with its use of technology." If Progressive is starting to take advantage of the wireless web, other companies could follow its lead, he added. Jeffrey Kagan, an Atlanta-based wireless technology analyst, called Progressive "the Nordstrom's of insurance because of its emphasis on customer service." The addition of wireless access to its website "is a simple but smart way to use technology" to further improve the company's service, Kagan said. Progressive.com leads the insurance industry in consumer-friendly innovations. It was the first auto insurance website (1995), first to offer online quoting and comparison rates (1996), first to offer instantaneous online purchase of an auto policy (1997), and first to offer after-the-sale service (1998). The Progressive.com website leads the insurance industry in consumer-friendly innovations and functionality. Progressive.com was recognized as one of the "top 10 websites that work" by InfoWeek Magazine and was named to the Smart Business 50 by Smart Business Magazine for successful use of the Internet to enhance and expand its business. Which of the trends will have the least impact on Progressive's business

Wireless Progression Progressive Corporation is the fourth-largest automobile insurer in the United States with more than 8 million policyholders and net premiums of $6.1 billion. Progressive offers wireless web access to holders of its auto insurance policies, a move that analysts have said fits the company's reputation as a technology leader in the insurance industry and its emphasis on customer service. Customers can use their web-enabled phones to get price quotes, report claims, locate nearby independent agents by ZIP code, and access real-time account information through the company's website. Progressive also has the ability to push time-sensitive data to policyholders via wireless connections, instantly delivering information about an auto-recall notice to a customer's cell phone. As a cost-saving measure, and in keeping with a corporate tradition of internal development, Ohio-based Progressive decided to build its own wireless applications. Policyholders simply have to type Progressive's web address into their phones or connect to the site through search engines that specialize in wireless ebusiness. Stephen Williams, president of the Insurance Institute of Indiana, a nonprofit trade association that represents insurers in that state, said it's "not uncommon for Progressive to be on the cutting edge with its use of technology." If Progressive is starting to take advantage of the wireless web, other companies could follow its lead, he added. Jeffrey Kagan, an Atlanta-based wireless technology analyst, called Progressive "the Nordstrom's of insurance because of its emphasis on customer service." The addition of wireless access to its website "is a simple but smart way to use technology" to further improve the company's service, Kagan said. Progressive.com leads the insurance industry in consumer-friendly innovations. It was the first auto insurance website (1995), first to offer online quoting and comparison rates (1996), first to offer instantaneous online purchase of an auto policy (1997), and first to offer after-the-sale service (1998). The Progressive.com website leads the insurance industry in consumer-friendly innovations and functionality. Progressive.com was recognized as one of the "top 10 websites that work" by InfoWeek Magazine and was named to the Smart Business 50 by Smart Business Magazine for successful use of the Internet to enhance and expand its business. What other forms of advanced technology would you expect Progressive to deploy in the near future

Identifying and Following Trends What's Hot.com is a new business that specializes in helping companies identify and follow significant trends in their industries. You have recently been hired as a new business analyst and your first task is to highlight current trends in the ebusiness industry. Using the Internet and any other resources you have available, highlight five significant trends not discussed in this text. Prepare a PowerPoint presentation that lists the trends and discusses the potential business impacts for each trend.

Reading the Ink on the Wall IPublish.com is an ebook-only imprint publisher. While large publishers find that ebooks are not selling as expected, IPublish.com continues to report positive growth. However, IPublish.com feels threatened by digital ink and digital paper inventions that seem to be revolutionizing the publishing environment and endangering the global paper industry. You have been hired by IPublish.com to develop a strategy to embrace this new technology. Create a detailed report listing the reasons IPublish.com needs to support these two new technologies.

Pen Pal StyleUs is a digital pen that writes on ordinary paper printed with a unique dot pattern almost invisible to the naked eye. A tiny camera in the pen registers the pen's movement across a printed grid and stores it as a series of map coordinates. These coordinates correspond to the exact location of the page that is being written on. The dot pattern makes up a huge map of tiny distinctive squares, so small portions of it can also be given specific functions, such as "send," "store," or "synchronize." When a mark is made in the send box with the digital pen, it is instructed to send the stored sequence of map coordinates, which are translated into an image. The result is an exact copy of the handwriting displayed on the computer, mobile phone, or received as a fax anywhere in the world. Analyze this new technology and identify how it might affect the digital ink or digital paper market. Be sure to include a Porter's Five Forces analysis of the market.

Less Is More Your organization is teetering on the edge of systems chaos. Your systems administrator is stressed beyond tolerance by too many systems, too many applications, too few resources, and too little time. The scope, frequency, and diversity of demand are causing greater risk than anyone dares to admit. Automating (and reducing complexity of) the operating environment is critical for your business to survive. Research autonomic computing and write a report discussing how this technology can help an organization gain control over its systems.

Fly Pentop Computer BusinessED specializes in creating new and innovative software for education in the business market. Danny Henningson, founder and president of BusinessED, is interested in developing educational products using digital paper and digital ink. Danny has hired you as the vice president of research and development and is excited to hear your ideas for new products. Your first assignment is to study the Fly Pentop computer (www.flypentop.com) and decide how you can apply this type of technology to the business arena.

Alternative Energy With energy costs on the rise, many U.S. homes are turning to homegrown energy solutions. Your friend Cole Lazarus has decided to start a business offering such solutions. Cole would like your help developing his business. Begin by researching the Internet and find different ways that you could design a home with its own energy sources. Create a document listing the different sources along with advantages and disadvantages of each source.

Streamlining Processes at Adidas The Adidas name resonates with athletes and retail consumers worldwide. Registered as a company in 1949, the company differentiated itself during the 1960s by supporting all athletes who were committed to raising performance levels, including athletes in what some considered fringe sports such as high jumping. During a banner year in 1996, the "three stripes company" equipped 6,000 Olympic athletes from 33 countries. Those athletes won 220 medals, including 70 gold, and helped increase immediate apparel sales by 50 percent. In 1997, Adidas acquired the Salomon Group, which included the Salomon, Taylor Made, and Bonfire brands. Today, Adidas-Salomon strives to be the global leader in the sporting goods industry with a wide range of products that promote a passion for competition and a sports-oriented lifestyle. Its strategy is simple: continuously strengthen its brands and products to improve its competitive position and financial performance. Adidas-Salomon competes in an environment as relentless as that of the Olympics. Staying in the forefront requires the support of world-class technology. Over the past 15 years, Adidas-Salomon transformed itself from a manufacturing organization to a global sports brand manager with 14,000 employees located around the world. Previously, Adidas-Salomon operated in a decentralized manner, and each operating unit chose software that suited its geography and internal preferences. The company believed that implementing and creating common processes, especially in its sales organization, would help it establish global direction. With common processes, the company could streamline and automate its business operations-improving flexibility, scalability, and visibility across the extended enterprise. Overall, system integration would translate into faster time to market, higher revenue, and lower costs. Adidas-Salomon reviewed its IT systems and associated information. One finding was that the company needed to develop a better solution for business process integration and establish an easy way to automate new applications throughout the enterprise. Such an infrastructure required Adidas-Salomon to impose a common business process platform that would allow the company's operating units to remain flexible in meeting their own particular needs and goals. Adidas-Salomon identified several major business requirements for the project. First, it wanted to automate business events and reduce the manual effort required to exchange data between internal and external parties. Second, Adidas-Salomon needed to develop a cost-effective solution that would be simple to use, maintain, and update in the future. Last, the company wanted to enable real-time data exchange among the key Adidas-Salomon business processes. "We considered many metrics, and it was clear that TIBCO Software had the breadth and depth of product offering backed by a strong reputation," said Garry Semetka, head of development and integration services in global application development at Adidas- Salomon. With its desired infrastructure in place, Adidas-Salomon standardized on TIBCO products and moved toward real-time business process management of its internal supply chain. The company now publishes and makes the most of events when they occur on key systems, giving the most current, valuable information to business processes and decision makers. Describe business processes and their importance for Adidas-Salomon.

Streamlining Processes at Adidas The Adidas name resonates with athletes and retail consumers worldwide. Registered as a company in 1949, the company differentiated itself during the 1960s by supporting all athletes who were committed to raising performance levels, including athletes in what some considered fringe sports such as high jumping. During a banner year in 1996, the "three stripes company" equipped 6,000 Olympic athletes from 33 countries. Those athletes won 220 medals, including 70 gold, and helped increase immediate apparel sales by 50 percent. In 1997, Adidas acquired the Salomon Group, which included the Salomon, Taylor Made, and Bonfire brands. Today, Adidas-Salomon strives to be the global leader in the sporting goods industry with a wide range of products that promote a passion for competition and a sports-oriented lifestyle. Its strategy is simple: continuously strengthen its brands and products to improve its competitive position and financial performance. Adidas-Salomon competes in an environment as relentless as that of the Olympics. Staying in the forefront requires the support of world-class technology. Over the past 15 years, Adidas-Salomon transformed itself from a manufacturing organization to a global sports brand manager with 14,000 employees located around the world. Previously, Adidas-Salomon operated in a decentralized manner, and each operating unit chose software that suited its geography and internal preferences. The company believed that implementing and creating common processes, especially in its sales organization, would help it establish global direction. With common processes, the company could streamline and automate its business operations-improving flexibility, scalability, and visibility across the extended enterprise. Overall, system integration would translate into faster time to market, higher revenue, and lower costs. Adidas-Salomon reviewed its IT systems and associated information. One finding was that the company needed to develop a better solution for business process integration and establish an easy way to automate new applications throughout the enterprise. Such an infrastructure required Adidas-Salomon to impose a common business process platform that would allow the company's operating units to remain flexible in meeting their own particular needs and goals. Adidas-Salomon identified several major business requirements for the project. First, it wanted to automate business events and reduce the manual effort required to exchange data between internal and external parties. Second, Adidas-Salomon needed to develop a cost-effective solution that would be simple to use, maintain, and update in the future. Last, the company wanted to enable real-time data exchange among the key Adidas-Salomon business processes. "We considered many metrics, and it was clear that TIBCO Software had the breadth and depth of product offering backed by a strong reputation," said Garry Semetka, head of development and integration services in global application development at Adidas- Salomon. With its desired infrastructure in place, Adidas-Salomon standardized on TIBCO products and moved toward real-time business process management of its internal supply chain. The company now publishes and makes the most of events when they occur on key systems, giving the most current, valuable information to business processes and decision makers. How could Adidas-Salomon use continuous process improvement and business process reengineering to remain competitive

Streamlining Processes at Adidas The Adidas name resonates with athletes and retail consumers worldwide. Registered as a company in 1949, the company differentiated itself during the 1960s by supporting all athletes who were committed to raising performance levels, including athletes in what some considered fringe sports such as high jumping. During a banner year in 1996, the "three stripes company" equipped 6,000 Olympic athletes from 33 countries. Those athletes won 220 medals, including 70 gold, and helped increase immediate apparel sales by 50 percent. In 1997, Adidas acquired the Salomon Group, which included the Salomon, Taylor Made, and Bonfire brands. Today, Adidas-Salomon strives to be the global leader in the sporting goods industry with a wide range of products that promote a passion for competition and a sports-oriented lifestyle. Its strategy is simple: continuously strengthen its brands and products to improve its competitive position and financial performance. Adidas-Salomon competes in an environment as relentless as that of the Olympics. Staying in the forefront requires the support of world-class technology. Over the past 15 years, Adidas-Salomon transformed itself from a manufacturing organization to a global sports brand manager with 14,000 employees located around the world. Previously, Adidas-Salomon operated in a decentralized manner, and each operating unit chose software that suited its geography and internal preferences. The company believed that implementing and creating common processes, especially in its sales organization, would help it establish global direction. With common processes, the company could streamline and automate its business operations-improving flexibility, scalability, and visibility across the extended enterprise. Overall, system integration would translate into faster time to market, higher revenue, and lower costs. Adidas-Salomon reviewed its IT systems and associated information. One finding was that the company needed to develop a better solution for business process integration and establish an easy way to automate new applications throughout the enterprise. Such an infrastructure required Adidas-Salomon to impose a common business process platform that would allow the company's operating units to remain flexible in meeting their own particular needs and goals. Adidas-Salomon identified several major business requirements for the project. First, it wanted to automate business events and reduce the manual effort required to exchange data between internal and external parties. Second, Adidas-Salomon needed to develop a cost-effective solution that would be simple to use, maintain, and update in the future. Last, the company wanted to enable real-time data exchange among the key Adidas-Salomon business processes. "We considered many metrics, and it was clear that TIBCO Software had the breadth and depth of product offering backed by a strong reputation," said Garry Semetka, head of development and integration services in global application development at Adidas- Salomon. With its desired infrastructure in place, Adidas-Salomon standardized on TIBCO products and moved toward real-time business process management of its internal supply chain. The company now publishes and makes the most of events when they occur on key systems, giving the most current, valuable information to business processes and decision makers. How can a business process management tool help Adidas-Salomon remain at the top of its game

3Com Optimizes Product Promotion Processes Product promotions, such as rebates or subsidized promotional items, can serve as excellent marketing and sales tools to drive increased revenues by providing incentives for customers to purchase select items. However, when you are a leading global networking provider like 3Com that serves thousands of channel partners and customers, such promotions must be easily managed and executed. To gain better control over the creation and execution of its product promotions, 3Com used Savvion's business process automation and management platform to build a web-based system that streamlines the approval and management workflow of product promotions offered to distributors and resellers. "We needed to ensure that our product promotions were attractive to our channel partners while also being manageable in terms of execution," said Ari Bose, CIO at 3Com. "Using Savvion BusinessManager, we were able to quickly put a process in place that speeds approval and enhances awareness of product promotions to generate opportunities for increased revenue." Promoting Effective Promotions The Savvion BusinessManager-based promotions system provides significant time and cost savings by replacing former inefficient and uncontrollable email processes. Instead of informally sending promotion ideas around for approval, employees now use the automated system as a centralized location to manage the workflow involved in proposing new promotions and ensuring all needed approvals are in place before promotion details are shared on the 3Com partner and reseller website. The promotions system automatically routes proposed promotions to each department that is required to sign off on the promotion, including marketing, promotions communications, and claims administration. The streamlined system also immediately notifies all key parties once new promotions are approved, increasing visibility and revenue opportunities through improved communication with 3Com sales representatives, distributors, and resellers. Adding Muscle to Management An important feature of the new system is the automatic auditing of each step taken. The company can easily establish an audit trail, increasing accountability as approvals are given. The structured process also ensures that approved promotions are manageable from an administrative perspective. In addition, the system tracks promotion fulfillment, enforcing associated terms and conditions such as purchasing limits or available supplies-tracking that was previously almost impossible to do, creating numerous management headaches. The promotions system is also integrated with another BusinessManager-developed process that generates special price quotes (SPQs) for 3Com channel partners, creating built-in checks and balances to prevent the approval of an SPQ while a promotion is being offered for the same product. The system also provides extensive reporting capabilities that 3Com now uses to gain a better understanding of all offered promotions, authorizations, and potential financial impacts. These online reports replace manually created Excel spreadsheets, enabling departments to generate reports on the fly for enhanced strategic planning. Bottom-Line Benefits Greater visibility of product promotions is yielding significant opportunities for increased revenue at 3Com. Sales representatives are immediately notified when promotions are approved, improving internal communications and enabling representatives to share promotion details with resellers and distributors more quickly to foster increased sales. Other business benefits delivered by the automated promotions system include the following: Real-time monitoring features enable 3Com employees to check the status of a promotion's approval at any time. Greater efficiency in the approval cycle and streamlined communications increase employee productivity, providing significant time and cost savings. Claims processing is also more effective because of the structured approval process, delivering additional savings. Increased visibility enables 3Com to reduce reserve spending by having a clearer idea of channel response to each promotion. Order and efficiency come to previously chaotic manual processes. Describe business processes and their importance to 3Com's business model.

3Com Optimizes Product Promotion Processes Product promotions, such as rebates or subsidized promotional items, can serve as excellent marketing and sales tools to drive increased revenues by providing incentives for customers to purchase select items. However, when you are a leading global networking provider like 3Com that serves thousands of channel partners and customers, such promotions must be easily managed and executed. To gain better control over the creation and execution of its product promotions, 3Com used Savvion's business process automation and management platform to build a web-based system that streamlines the approval and management workflow of product promotions offered to distributors and resellers. "We needed to ensure that our product promotions were attractive to our channel partners while also being manageable in terms of execution," said Ari Bose, CIO at 3Com. "Using Savvion BusinessManager, we were able to quickly put a process in place that speeds approval and enhances awareness of product promotions to generate opportunities for increased revenue." Promoting Effective Promotions The Savvion BusinessManager-based promotions system provides significant time and cost savings by replacing former inefficient and uncontrollable email processes. Instead of informally sending promotion ideas around for approval, employees now use the automated system as a centralized location to manage the workflow involved in proposing new promotions and ensuring all needed approvals are in place before promotion details are shared on the 3Com partner and reseller website. The promotions system automatically routes proposed promotions to each department that is required to sign off on the promotion, including marketing, promotions communications, and claims administration. The streamlined system also immediately notifies all key parties once new promotions are approved, increasing visibility and revenue opportunities through improved communication with 3Com sales representatives, distributors, and resellers. Adding Muscle to Management An important feature of the new system is the automatic auditing of each step taken. The company can easily establish an audit trail, increasing accountability as approvals are given. The structured process also ensures that approved promotions are manageable from an administrative perspective. In addition, the system tracks promotion fulfillment, enforcing associated terms and conditions such as purchasing limits or available supplies-tracking that was previously almost impossible to do, creating numerous management headaches. The promotions system is also integrated with another BusinessManager-developed process that generates special price quotes (SPQs) for 3Com channel partners, creating built-in checks and balances to prevent the approval of an SPQ while a promotion is being offered for the same product. The system also provides extensive reporting capabilities that 3Com now uses to gain a better understanding of all offered promotions, authorizations, and potential financial impacts. These online reports replace manually created Excel spreadsheets, enabling departments to generate reports on the fly for enhanced strategic planning. Bottom-Line Benefits Greater visibility of product promotions is yielding significant opportunities for increased revenue at 3Com. Sales representatives are immediately notified when promotions are approved, improving internal communications and enabling representatives to share promotion details with resellers and distributors more quickly to foster increased sales. Other business benefits delivered by the automated promotions system include the following: Real-time monitoring features enable 3Com employees to check the status of a promotion's approval at any time. Greater efficiency in the approval cycle and streamlined communications increase employee productivity, providing significant time and cost savings. Claims processing is also more effective because of the structured approval process, delivering additional savings. Increased visibility enables 3Com to reduce reserve spending by having a clearer idea of channel response to each promotion. Order and efficiency come to previously chaotic manual processes. How can 3Com use continuous process improvement to become more efficient

3Com Optimizes Product Promotion Processes Product promotions, such as rebates or subsidized promotional items, can serve as excellent marketing and sales tools to drive increased revenues by providing incentives for customers to purchase select items. However, when you are a leading global networking provider like 3Com that serves thousands of channel partners and customers, such promotions must be easily managed and executed. To gain better control over the creation and execution of its product promotions, 3Com used Savvion's business process automation and management platform to build a web-based system that streamlines the approval and management workflow of product promotions offered to distributors and resellers. "We needed to ensure that our product promotions were attractive to our channel partners while also being manageable in terms of execution," said Ari Bose, CIO at 3Com. "Using Savvion BusinessManager, we were able to quickly put a process in place that speeds approval and enhances awareness of product promotions to generate opportunities for increased revenue." Promoting Effective Promotions The Savvion BusinessManager-based promotions system provides significant time and cost savings by replacing former inefficient and uncontrollable email processes. Instead of informally sending promotion ideas around for approval, employees now use the automated system as a centralized location to manage the workflow involved in proposing new promotions and ensuring all needed approvals are in place before promotion details are shared on the 3Com partner and reseller website. The promotions system automatically routes proposed promotions to each department that is required to sign off on the promotion, including marketing, promotions communications, and claims administration. The streamlined system also immediately notifies all key parties once new promotions are approved, increasing visibility and revenue opportunities through improved communication with 3Com sales representatives, distributors, and resellers. Adding Muscle to Management An important feature of the new system is the automatic auditing of each step taken. The company can easily establish an audit trail, increasing accountability as approvals are given. The structured process also ensures that approved promotions are manageable from an administrative perspective. In addition, the system tracks promotion fulfillment, enforcing associated terms and conditions such as purchasing limits or available supplies-tracking that was previously almost impossible to do, creating numerous management headaches. The promotions system is also integrated with another BusinessManager-developed process that generates special price quotes (SPQs) for 3Com channel partners, creating built-in checks and balances to prevent the approval of an SPQ while a promotion is being offered for the same product. The system also provides extensive reporting capabilities that 3Com now uses to gain a better understanding of all offered promotions, authorizations, and potential financial impacts. These online reports replace manually created Excel spreadsheets, enabling departments to generate reports on the fly for enhanced strategic planning. Bottom-Line Benefits Greater visibility of product promotions is yielding significant opportunities for increased revenue at 3Com. Sales representatives are immediately notified when promotions are approved, improving internal communications and enabling representatives to share promotion details with resellers and distributors more quickly to foster increased sales. Other business benefits delivered by the automated promotions system include the following: Real-time monitoring features enable 3Com employees to check the status of a promotion's approval at any time. Greater efficiency in the approval cycle and streamlined communications increase employee productivity, providing significant time and cost savings. Claims processing is also more effective because of the structured approval process, delivering additional savings. Increased visibility enables 3Com to reduce reserve spending by having a clearer idea of channel response to each promotion. Order and efficiency come to previously chaotic manual processes. How can 3Com use business process reengineering to become more efficient

3Com Optimizes Product Promotion Processes Product promotions, such as rebates or subsidized promotional items, can serve as excellent marketing and sales tools to drive increased revenues by providing incentives for customers to purchase select items. However, when you are a leading global networking provider like 3Com that serves thousands of channel partners and customers, such promotions must be easily managed and executed. To gain better control over the creation and execution of its product promotions, 3Com used Savvion's business process automation and management platform to build a web-based system that streamlines the approval and management workflow of product promotions offered to distributors and resellers. "We needed to ensure that our product promotions were attractive to our channel partners while also being manageable in terms of execution," said Ari Bose, CIO at 3Com. "Using Savvion BusinessManager, we were able to quickly put a process in place that speeds approval and enhances awareness of product promotions to generate opportunities for increased revenue." Promoting Effective Promotions The Savvion BusinessManager-based promotions system provides significant time and cost savings by replacing former inefficient and uncontrollable email processes. Instead of informally sending promotion ideas around for approval, employees now use the automated system as a centralized location to manage the workflow involved in proposing new promotions and ensuring all needed approvals are in place before promotion details are shared on the 3Com partner and reseller website. The promotions system automatically routes proposed promotions to each department that is required to sign off on the promotion, including marketing, promotions communications, and claims administration. The streamlined system also immediately notifies all key parties once new promotions are approved, increasing visibility and revenue opportunities through improved communication with 3Com sales representatives, distributors, and resellers. Adding Muscle to Management An important feature of the new system is the automatic auditing of each step taken. The company can easily establish an audit trail, increasing accountability as approvals are given. The structured process also ensures that approved promotions are manageable from an administrative perspective. In addition, the system tracks promotion fulfillment, enforcing associated terms and conditions such as purchasing limits or available supplies-tracking that was previously almost impossible to do, creating numerous management headaches. The promotions system is also integrated with another BusinessManager-developed process that generates special price quotes (SPQs) for 3Com channel partners, creating built-in checks and balances to prevent the approval of an SPQ while a promotion is being offered for the same product. The system also provides extensive reporting capabilities that 3Com now uses to gain a better understanding of all offered promotions, authorizations, and potential financial impacts. These online reports replace manually created Excel spreadsheets, enabling departments to generate reports on the fly for enhanced strategic planning. Bottom-Line Benefits Greater visibility of product promotions is yielding significant opportunities for increased revenue at 3Com. Sales representatives are immediately notified when promotions are approved, improving internal communications and enabling representatives to share promotion details with resellers and distributors more quickly to foster increased sales. Other business benefits delivered by the automated promotions system include the following: Real-time monitoring features enable 3Com employees to check the status of a promotion's approval at any time. Greater efficiency in the approval cycle and streamlined communications increase employee productivity, providing significant time and cost savings. Claims processing is also more effective because of the structured approval process, delivering additional savings. Increased visibility enables 3Com to reduce reserve spending by having a clearer idea of channel response to each promotion. Order and efficiency come to previously chaotic manual processes. Describe the importance of business process modeling (or mapping) and business process models for 3Com.

3Com Optimizes Product Promotion Processes Product promotions, such as rebates or subsidized promotional items, can serve as excellent marketing and sales tools to drive increased revenues by providing incentives for customers to purchase select items. However, when you are a leading global networking provider like 3Com that serves thousands of channel partners and customers, such promotions must be easily managed and executed. To gain better control over the creation and execution of its product promotions, 3Com used Savvion's business process automation and management platform to build a web-based system that streamlines the approval and management workflow of product promotions offered to distributors and resellers. "We needed to ensure that our product promotions were attractive to our channel partners while also being manageable in terms of execution," said Ari Bose, CIO at 3Com. "Using Savvion BusinessManager, we were able to quickly put a process in place that speeds approval and enhances awareness of product promotions to generate opportunities for increased revenue." Promoting Effective Promotions The Savvion BusinessManager-based promotions system provides significant time and cost savings by replacing former inefficient and uncontrollable email processes. Instead of informally sending promotion ideas around for approval, employees now use the automated system as a centralized location to manage the workflow involved in proposing new promotions and ensuring all needed approvals are in place before promotion details are shared on the 3Com partner and reseller website. The promotions system automatically routes proposed promotions to each department that is required to sign off on the promotion, including marketing, promotions communications, and claims administration. The streamlined system also immediately notifies all key parties once new promotions are approved, increasing visibility and revenue opportunities through improved communication with 3Com sales representatives, distributors, and resellers. Adding Muscle to Management An important feature of the new system is the automatic auditing of each step taken. The company can easily establish an audit trail, increasing accountability as approvals are given. The structured process also ensures that approved promotions are manageable from an administrative perspective. In addition, the system tracks promotion fulfillment, enforcing associated terms and conditions such as purchasing limits or available supplies-tracking that was previously almost impossible to do, creating numerous management headaches. The promotions system is also integrated with another BusinessManager-developed process that generates special price quotes (SPQs) for 3Com channel partners, creating built-in checks and balances to prevent the approval of an SPQ while a promotion is being offered for the same product. The system also provides extensive reporting capabilities that 3Com now uses to gain a better understanding of all offered promotions, authorizations, and potential financial impacts. These online reports replace manually created Excel spreadsheets, enabling departments to generate reports on the fly for enhanced strategic planning. Bottom-Line Benefits Greater visibility of product promotions is yielding significant opportunities for increased revenue at 3Com. Sales representatives are immediately notified when promotions are approved, improving internal communications and enabling representatives to share promotion details with resellers and distributors more quickly to foster increased sales. Other business benefits delivered by the automated promotions system include the following: Real-time monitoring features enable 3Com employees to check the status of a promotion's approval at any time. Greater efficiency in the approval cycle and streamlined communications increase employee productivity, providing significant time and cost savings. Claims processing is also more effective because of the structured approval process, delivering additional savings. Increased visibility enables 3Com to reduce reserve spending by having a clearer idea of channel response to each promotion. Order and efficiency come to previously chaotic manual processes. How did 3Com use business process management software to revamp its business

Discovering Reengineering Opportunities In an effort to increase efficiency, your college has hired you to analyze its current business processes for registering for classes. Analyze the current business processes from paying tuition to registering for classes and determine which steps in the process are: Broken Redundant Antiquated Be sure to define how you would reengineer the processes for efficiency.

Modeling a Business Process Do you hate waiting in line at the grocery store Do you find it frustrating when you go to the movie store and cannot find the movie you wanted to rent Do you get annoyed when the pizza delivery person brings you the wrong order This is your chance to reengineer the annoying process that drives you crazy. Choose a problem you are currently experiencing and reengineer the process to make it more efficient. Be sure to provide an As-Is and To-Be process model.

Revamping Business Processes The following is the sales order business process for MusicMan. Draw the As-Is process model based on the following narrative: 1. A customer submits an order for goods to MusicMan, a music retailer, through an online mechanism such as a browser-based order form. The customer supplies his or her name, the appropriate email address, the state to which the order will be shipped, the desired items (IDs and names), and the requested quantities. 2. The order is received by a processing system, which reads the data and appends an ID number to the order. 3. The order is forwarded to a customer service representative, who checks the customer's credit information. 4. If the credit check fails, the customer service representative is assigned the task of notifying the customer to obtain correct credit information, and the process becomes manual from this point on. 5. If the credit check passes, the system checks a database for the current inventory of the ordered item, according to the item ID, and it compares the quantity of items available with the quantity requested. 6. If the amount of stock is not suffi cient to accommodate the order, the order is placed on hold until new inventory arrives. When the system receives notice of new incoming inventory, it repeats step 5 until it can verify that the inventory is suffi cient to process the order. 7. If the inventory is suffi cient, the order is forwarded simultaneously to a shipping agent who arranges shipment and an accounting agent who instructs the system to generate an invoice for the order. 8. If the system encounters an error in processing the input necessary to calculate the total price for the invoice, including state sales tax, the accounting agent who initiated the billing process is notifi ed and prompted to provide the correct information. 9. The system calculates the total price of the order. 10. The system confi rms that the order has been shipped and notifi es the customer via email. 11. At any point in the transaction before shipping, the order can be canceled by notifi cation from the customer.

Revamping Accounts The accounting department at your company deals with the processing of critical documents. These documents must arrive at their intended destination in a secure and efficient manner. Such documents include invoices, purchase orders, statements, purchase requisitions, financial statements, sales orders, and quotes. The current processing of documents is done manually, which causes a negative ripple effect. Documents tend to be misplaced or delayed through the mailing process. Unsecured documents are vulnerable to people making changes or seeing confidential documents. In addition, the accounting department incurs costs such as preprinted forms, inefficient distribution, and storage. Explain BPM and how it can be used to revamp the accounting department.

Changing Circuits at Circuit City When Circuit City expanded the big-box warehouse format to consumer electronics retailing in the 1980s, the company was on its way to becoming the place to go for TVs and stereos. By the late 1980s, it had sidestepped its then top competitor, Silo, and it soon put the squeeze on the likes of Tweeter and RadioShack. Circuit City was doing so well in the 1990s that business consultant Jim Collins, in his best seller Good to Great, wrote: "From 1982 to 1999, Circuit City generated cumulative stock returns 22 times better than the market, handily beating Intel, Wal-Mart, GE, Hewlett-Packard and Coca-Cola." Today, Circuit City is in a markedly different position. By 2001, Best Buy had raced past the Richmond, Virginia-based chain, usurping its position as the number one consumer electronics retailer. Best Buy now has 608 stores compared with Circuit City's 599 and nearly $25 billion in revenue to Circuit City's $9.7 billion. Circuit City is ranked by consultancy Retail Forward as the number three seller of consumer electronics, behind Best Buy and Walmart. "Circuit City was the 800-pound gorilla," said Joseph Feldman, a research analyst with the investment bank SG Cowen Co. However, "they woke up one morning and Best Buy had doubled its size with the same number of stores." Catching Best Buy Circuit City has been trying to catch up to Best Buy, or at least cement its position as a serious contender in consumer electronics retailing. Its top executives announced plans to turn the company into a customer-focused business that delivers a personalized experience to all customers across all its channels (stores, web, and call centers). Michael Jones, who took over as Circuit City's CIO in January 2004, speaks passionately about the high-profile role technology will play in delivering personalized customer experiences. However, before he can achieve his vision of store associates recognizing customers through their loyalty cards as soon as they enter the store, he has a lot of unglamorous groundwork to lay. Circuit City's strategy hinges on a robust IT infrastructure that makes information readily accessible to decision makers. Everything the company is doing to improve its business-from developing more effective promotions to deciding which products should be displayed at the ends of aisles in stores-hinges on data. "This is heavy analytical work. It's fact-based, data-driven," said Philip Schoonover, Circuit City's new president who was hired in October 2004 from Best Buy. Circuit City is just starting to invest heavily in the technology needed to act on this strategy. It is upgrading its mostly proprietary point-of-sale (POS) system and building an enterprise data warehouse to replace siloed databases. However, some analysts say Circuit City's turnaround effort has been hampered by a stodgy, overly complacent leadership that lacks vision. Top executives saw the Best Buy locomotive coming but failed to react as it steamed past them. Indeed, some analysts say they doubt Circuit City will ever catch up. Bottom-Up Changes As part of its turnaround effort over the past few years, Circuit City has sold all of its non-core businesses to focus on its core: consumer electronics. It also has changed the pay structure for in-store employees, begun relocating stores (it closed 19), and hired new management. In addition, the company is finally starting to hone its customer-centric strategy. Circuit City is already improving the customer experience in its stores by, among other things, locating accessories and services close to big-ticket items so that customers can see more quickly what they might need to furnish their home office or outfit a home theater. For example, when a customer is looking at a high-definition television, nearby is a selection of furniture to hold the TV, the cables needed to hook it up, and DirectTV or digital cable service products. Circuit City is also making merchandising decisions based on what is important to the customer. For example, its stores are beginning to feature products deemed most important to customers on the displays at the ends of aisles. The company is trying to nail the basics of customer service by making sure that items are not out of stock. How would anticipating Best Buy's growth have helped Circuit City remain as an industry leader

Changing Circuits at Circuit City When Circuit City expanded the big-box warehouse format to consumer electronics retailing in the 1980s, the company was on its way to becoming the place to go for TVs and stereos. By the late 1980s, it had sidestepped its then top competitor, Silo, and it soon put the squeeze on the likes of Tweeter and RadioShack. Circuit City was doing so well in the 1990s that business consultant Jim Collins, in his best seller Good to Great, wrote: "From 1982 to 1999, Circuit City generated cumulative stock returns 22 times better than the market, handily beating Intel, Wal-Mart, GE, Hewlett-Packard and Coca-Cola." Today, Circuit City is in a markedly different position. By 2001, Best Buy had raced past the Richmond, Virginia-based chain, usurping its position as the number one consumer electronics retailer. Best Buy now has 608 stores compared with Circuit City's 599 and nearly $25 billion in revenue to Circuit City's $9.7 billion. Circuit City is ranked by consultancy Retail Forward as the number three seller of consumer electronics, behind Best Buy and Walmart. "Circuit City was the 800-pound gorilla," said Joseph Feldman, a research analyst with the investment bank SG Cowen Co. However, "they woke up one morning and Best Buy had doubled its size with the same number of stores." Catching Best Buy Circuit City has been trying to catch up to Best Buy, or at least cement its position as a serious contender in consumer electronics retailing. Its top executives announced plans to turn the company into a customer-focused business that delivers a personalized experience to all customers across all its channels (stores, web, and call centers). Michael Jones, who took over as Circuit City's CIO in January 2004, speaks passionately about the high-profile role technology will play in delivering personalized customer experiences. However, before he can achieve his vision of store associates recognizing customers through their loyalty cards as soon as they enter the store, he has a lot of unglamorous groundwork to lay. Circuit City's strategy hinges on a robust IT infrastructure that makes information readily accessible to decision makers. Everything the company is doing to improve its business-from developing more effective promotions to deciding which products should be displayed at the ends of aisles in stores-hinges on data. "This is heavy analytical work. It's fact-based, data-driven," said Philip Schoonover, Circuit City's new president who was hired in October 2004 from Best Buy. Circuit City is just starting to invest heavily in the technology needed to act on this strategy. It is upgrading its mostly proprietary point-of-sale (POS) system and building an enterprise data warehouse to replace siloed databases. However, some analysts say Circuit City's turnaround effort has been hampered by a stodgy, overly complacent leadership that lacks vision. Top executives saw the Best Buy locomotive coming but failed to react as it steamed past them. Indeed, some analysts say they doubt Circuit City will ever catch up. Bottom-Up Changes As part of its turnaround effort over the past few years, Circuit City has sold all of its non-core businesses to focus on its core: consumer electronics. It also has changed the pay structure for in-store employees, begun relocating stores (it closed 19), and hired new management. In addition, the company is finally starting to hone its customer-centric strategy. Circuit City is already improving the customer experience in its stores by, among other things, locating accessories and services close to big-ticket items so that customers can see more quickly what they might need to furnish their home office or outfit a home theater. For example, when a customer is looking at a high-definition television, nearby is a selection of furniture to hold the TV, the cables needed to hook it up, and DirectTV or digital cable service products. Circuit City is also making merchandising decisions based on what is important to the customer. For example, its stores are beginning to feature products deemed most important to customers on the displays at the ends of aisles. The company is trying to nail the basics of customer service by making sure that items are not out of stock. Why is keeping up with technology critical to a global company such as Circuit City

Changing Circuits at Circuit City When Circuit City expanded the big-box warehouse format to consumer electronics retailing in the 1980s, the company was on its way to becoming the place to go for TVs and stereos. By the late 1980s, it had sidestepped its then top competitor, Silo, and it soon put the squeeze on the likes of Tweeter and RadioShack. Circuit City was doing so well in the 1990s that business consultant Jim Collins, in his best seller Good to Great, wrote: "From 1982 to 1999, Circuit City generated cumulative stock returns 22 times better than the market, handily beating Intel, Wal-Mart, GE, Hewlett-Packard and Coca-Cola." Today, Circuit City is in a markedly different position. By 2001, Best Buy had raced past the Richmond, Virginia-based chain, usurping its position as the number one consumer electronics retailer. Best Buy now has 608 stores compared with Circuit City's 599 and nearly $25 billion in revenue to Circuit City's $9.7 billion. Circuit City is ranked by consultancy Retail Forward as the number three seller of consumer electronics, behind Best Buy and Walmart. "Circuit City was the 800-pound gorilla," said Joseph Feldman, a research analyst with the investment bank SG Cowen Co. However, "they woke up one morning and Best Buy had doubled its size with the same number of stores." Catching Best Buy Circuit City has been trying to catch up to Best Buy, or at least cement its position as a serious contender in consumer electronics retailing. Its top executives announced plans to turn the company into a customer-focused business that delivers a personalized experience to all customers across all its channels (stores, web, and call centers). Michael Jones, who took over as Circuit City's CIO in January 2004, speaks passionately about the high-profile role technology will play in delivering personalized customer experiences. However, before he can achieve his vision of store associates recognizing customers through their loyalty cards as soon as they enter the store, he has a lot of unglamorous groundwork to lay. Circuit City's strategy hinges on a robust IT infrastructure that makes information readily accessible to decision makers. Everything the company is doing to improve its business-from developing more effective promotions to deciding which products should be displayed at the ends of aisles in stores-hinges on data. "This is heavy analytical work. It's fact-based, data-driven," said Philip Schoonover, Circuit City's new president who was hired in October 2004 from Best Buy. Circuit City is just starting to invest heavily in the technology needed to act on this strategy. It is upgrading its mostly proprietary point-of-sale (POS) system and building an enterprise data warehouse to replace siloed databases. However, some analysts say Circuit City's turnaround effort has been hampered by a stodgy, overly complacent leadership that lacks vision. Top executives saw the Best Buy locomotive coming but failed to react as it steamed past them. Indeed, some analysts say they doubt Circuit City will ever catch up. Bottom-Up Changes As part of its turnaround effort over the past few years, Circuit City has sold all of its non-core businesses to focus on its core: consumer electronics. It also has changed the pay structure for in-store employees, begun relocating stores (it closed 19), and hired new management. In addition, the company is finally starting to hone its customer-centric strategy. Circuit City is already improving the customer experience in its stores by, among other things, locating accessories and services close to big-ticket items so that customers can see more quickly what they might need to furnish their home office or outfit a home theater. For example, when a customer is looking at a high-definition television, nearby is a selection of furniture to hold the TV, the cables needed to hook it up, and DirectTV or digital cable service products. Circuit City is also making merchandising decisions based on what is important to the customer. For example, its stores are beginning to feature products deemed most important to customers on the displays at the ends of aisles. The company is trying to nail the basics of customer service by making sure that items are not out of stock. Highlight some of the potential risks facing Circuit City's new business model.

Changing Circuits at Circuit City When Circuit City expanded the big-box warehouse format to consumer electronics retailing in the 1980s, the company was on its way to becoming the place to go for TVs and stereos. By the late 1980s, it had sidestepped its then top competitor, Silo, and it soon put the squeeze on the likes of Tweeter and RadioShack. Circuit City was doing so well in the 1990s that business consultant Jim Collins, in his best seller Good to Great, wrote: "From 1982 to 1999, Circuit City generated cumulative stock returns 22 times better than the market, handily beating Intel, Wal-Mart, GE, Hewlett-Packard and Coca-Cola." Today, Circuit City is in a markedly different position. By 2001, Best Buy had raced past the Richmond, Virginia-based chain, usurping its position as the number one consumer electronics retailer. Best Buy now has 608 stores compared with Circuit City's 599 and nearly $25 billion in revenue to Circuit City's $9.7 billion. Circuit City is ranked by consultancy Retail Forward as the number three seller of consumer electronics, behind Best Buy and Walmart. "Circuit City was the 800-pound gorilla," said Joseph Feldman, a research analyst with the investment bank SG Cowen Co. However, "they woke up one morning and Best Buy had doubled its size with the same number of stores." Catching Best Buy Circuit City has been trying to catch up to Best Buy, or at least cement its position as a serious contender in consumer electronics retailing. Its top executives announced plans to turn the company into a customer-focused business that delivers a personalized experience to all customers across all its channels (stores, web, and call centers). Michael Jones, who took over as Circuit City's CIO in January 2004, speaks passionately about the high-profile role technology will play in delivering personalized customer experiences. However, before he can achieve his vision of store associates recognizing customers through their loyalty cards as soon as they enter the store, he has a lot of unglamorous groundwork to lay. Circuit City's strategy hinges on a robust IT infrastructure that makes information readily accessible to decision makers. Everything the company is doing to improve its business-from developing more effective promotions to deciding which products should be displayed at the ends of aisles in stores-hinges on data. "This is heavy analytical work. It's fact-based, data-driven," said Philip Schoonover, Circuit City's new president who was hired in October 2004 from Best Buy. Circuit City is just starting to invest heavily in the technology needed to act on this strategy. It is upgrading its mostly proprietary point-of-sale (POS) system and building an enterprise data warehouse to replace siloed databases. However, some analysts say Circuit City's turnaround effort has been hampered by a stodgy, overly complacent leadership that lacks vision. Top executives saw the Best Buy locomotive coming but failed to react as it steamed past them. Indeed, some analysts say they doubt Circuit City will ever catch up. Bottom-Up Changes As part of its turnaround effort over the past few years, Circuit City has sold all of its non-core businesses to focus on its core: consumer electronics. It also has changed the pay structure for in-store employees, begun relocating stores (it closed 19), and hired new management. In addition, the company is finally starting to hone its customer-centric strategy. Circuit City is already improving the customer experience in its stores by, among other things, locating accessories and services close to big-ticket items so that customers can see more quickly what they might need to furnish their home office or outfit a home theater. For example, when a customer is looking at a high-definition television, nearby is a selection of furniture to hold the TV, the cables needed to hook it up, and DirectTV or digital cable service products. Circuit City is also making merchandising decisions based on what is important to the customer. For example, its stores are beginning to feature products deemed most important to customers on the displays at the ends of aisles. The company is trying to nail the basics of customer service by making sure that items are not out of stock. Why is Circuit City benefiting from implementing strategic product placement techniques

Electronic Breaking Points What happens when someone accidentally spills a cup of hot coffee on a laptop, puts a USB memory key in a washing machine, or drops an iPod in the sand How much abuse can electronic products take and keep on working PC World tested several products to determine their breaking points. Laptop A Gateway laptop was placed in a shoulder bag and smashed into several doors and walls. It was also dropped off a six-foot-high bookcase to simulate a drop from an airplane's overhead bin. Finally, it was knocked off a desk onto a carpeted floor without the bag. After all the abuse, the Gateway consistently rebooted and recognized the wireless network; however, the battery did become slightly dislodged and the optical drive opened. Severe physical damage was caused when the laptop was dropped onto a hardwood floor. The laptop's screen cracked, and the black plastic molding above the keyboard cracked. Plastic splinters littered the floor, and the optical drive refused to open. Spilling coffee in a travel-size mug onto the keyboard caused a slight sizzle, after which the Gateway's blue light winked out. The machine was quickly turned off, the battery removed, the liquid drained, the keys mopped, and the unit set aside. Unfortunately, the laptop never recovered. Smartphone The PalmOne Treo 600 smartphone was stepped on, buried in the sand, bounced around in a car, and dropped off a desk onto carpeted and hardwood floors. Even though the Treo 600 was not protected by a shock-absorbent case or plastic screen cover, there were no signs of failure. Repeatedly knocking it off the desk onto a carpeted floor also left it undamaged, although the unit did turn off on several occasions. The desk-to-hardwood-floor test produced scratches but nothing else. If dropped when in phone mode, the Treo automatically turned off. If an application was running-the calculator, for example-the device stayed on and the data remained on the screen, though a mysterious extra numeral nine appeared every time it was dropped. MP3 Player A 6 GB silver iPod Mini went for a bouncy car ride, was dropped on wet grass and dry pavement, was knocked off a desk onto carpeted and hardwood floors, and was finally dropped in dry sand. Bouncing inside the car caused a couple of skips. Drops on soft wet grass and carpet had no ill effect. Dropping it from the car seat to the curb and off a desk onto a hardwood floor produced a few nicks and caused songs to skip and the device to shut down repeatedly. Still, all the unit's features continued to work after the abuse, and songs played. However, the Mini did not like the beach. Without the benefit of a protective case or plastic display covering on the unit, sand wedged under the scroll wheel, affecting all controls. Feature settings could be seen and highlighted, but the crunching sand prevented the Mini from launching them. The unit turned on but could not turn off until the iPod's automatic shutdown feature took over. Memory Stick Lexar claims that its JumpDrive Sport 256 MB USB 2.0 Flash Drive is "built for the rugged life." A rubber cap protects the device, absorbing shock from any drops. For these experiments, the device was used without its cap. It was dropped, stepped on, buried in the sand, and knocked off a desk onto a hardwood floor. It also took a spin through the washing machine and dryer and was even run over by a car. There is truth in advertising. Neither water, heat, sand, nor car could keep the memory stick from its appointed storage rounds. The car did squeeze the metal USB connector tip a tad tighter, but the device was still able to make contact with the USB port, and it worked perfectly. Memory Card The SanDisk SD 64 MB memory card is easy to misplace, but not easy to break. It was swatted off a desk onto a hardwood floor, dropped, stepped on, and buried in the sand. It also underwent a two-rinse cycle in the wash in a jeans pocket and then tumbled in the dryer for an hour on a high-heat setting. The SanDisk memory card aced every torture test. For tips on how to protect electronic products, review Figure B3.14. FIGURE B3.14 How to Protect Electronic Products Identify the six hardware categories and place each product listed in the case in its appropriate category.

Electronic Breaking Points What happens when someone accidentally spills a cup of hot coffee on a laptop, puts a USB memory key in a washing machine, or drops an iPod in the sand How much abuse can electronic products take and keep on working PC World tested several products to determine their breaking points. Laptop A Gateway laptop was placed in a shoulder bag and smashed into several doors and walls. It was also dropped off a six-foot-high bookcase to simulate a drop from an airplane's overhead bin. Finally, it was knocked off a desk onto a carpeted floor without the bag. After all the abuse, the Gateway consistently rebooted and recognized the wireless network; however, the battery did become slightly dislodged and the optical drive opened. Severe physical damage was caused when the laptop was dropped onto a hardwood floor. The laptop's screen cracked, and the black plastic molding above the keyboard cracked. Plastic splinters littered the floor, and the optical drive refused to open. Spilling coffee in a travel-size mug onto the keyboard caused a slight sizzle, after which the Gateway's blue light winked out. The machine was quickly turned off, the battery removed, the liquid drained, the keys mopped, and the unit set aside. Unfortunately, the laptop never recovered. Smartphone The PalmOne Treo 600 smartphone was stepped on, buried in the sand, bounced around in a car, and dropped off a desk onto carpeted and hardwood floors. Even though the Treo 600 was not protected by a shock-absorbent case or plastic screen cover, there were no signs of failure. Repeatedly knocking it off the desk onto a carpeted floor also left it undamaged, although the unit did turn off on several occasions. The desk-to-hardwood-floor test produced scratches but nothing else. If dropped when in phone mode, the Treo automatically turned off. If an application was running-the calculator, for example-the device stayed on and the data remained on the screen, though a mysterious extra numeral nine appeared every time it was dropped. MP3 Player A 6 GB silver iPod Mini went for a bouncy car ride, was dropped on wet grass and dry pavement, was knocked off a desk onto carpeted and hardwood floors, and was finally dropped in dry sand. Bouncing inside the car caused a couple of skips. Drops on soft wet grass and carpet had no ill effect. Dropping it from the car seat to the curb and off a desk onto a hardwood floor produced a few nicks and caused songs to skip and the device to shut down repeatedly. Still, all the unit's features continued to work after the abuse, and songs played. However, the Mini did not like the beach. Without the benefit of a protective case or plastic display covering on the unit, sand wedged under the scroll wheel, affecting all controls. Feature settings could be seen and highlighted, but the crunching sand prevented the Mini from launching them. The unit turned on but could not turn off until the iPod's automatic shutdown feature took over. Memory Stick Lexar claims that its JumpDrive Sport 256 MB USB 2.0 Flash Drive is "built for the rugged life." A rubber cap protects the device, absorbing shock from any drops. For these experiments, the device was used without its cap. It was dropped, stepped on, buried in the sand, and knocked off a desk onto a hardwood floor. It also took a spin through the washing machine and dryer and was even run over by a car. There is truth in advertising. Neither water, heat, sand, nor car could keep the memory stick from its appointed storage rounds. The car did squeeze the metal USB connector tip a tad tighter, but the device was still able to make contact with the USB port, and it worked perfectly. Memory Card The SanDisk SD 64 MB memory card is easy to misplace, but not easy to break. It was swatted off a desk onto a hardwood floor, dropped, stepped on, and buried in the sand. It also underwent a two-rinse cycle in the wash in a jeans pocket and then tumbled in the dryer for an hour on a high-heat setting. The SanDisk memory card aced every torture test. For tips on how to protect electronic products, review Figure B3.14. FIGURE B3.14 How to Protect Electronic Products Describe the CPU and identify which products would use a CPU.

Electronic Breaking Points What happens when someone accidentally spills a cup of hot coffee on a laptop, puts a USB memory key in a washing machine, or drops an iPod in the sand How much abuse can electronic products take and keep on working PC World tested several products to determine their breaking points. Laptop A Gateway laptop was placed in a shoulder bag and smashed into several doors and walls. It was also dropped off a six-foot-high bookcase to simulate a drop from an airplane's overhead bin. Finally, it was knocked off a desk onto a carpeted floor without the bag. After all the abuse, the Gateway consistently rebooted and recognized the wireless network; however, the battery did become slightly dislodged and the optical drive opened. Severe physical damage was caused when the laptop was dropped onto a hardwood floor. The laptop's screen cracked, and the black plastic molding above the keyboard cracked. Plastic splinters littered the floor, and the optical drive refused to open. Spilling coffee in a travel-size mug onto the keyboard caused a slight sizzle, after which the Gateway's blue light winked out. The machine was quickly turned off, the battery removed, the liquid drained, the keys mopped, and the unit set aside. Unfortunately, the laptop never recovered. Smartphone The PalmOne Treo 600 smartphone was stepped on, buried in the sand, bounced around in a car, and dropped off a desk onto carpeted and hardwood floors. Even though the Treo 600 was not protected by a shock-absorbent case or plastic screen cover, there were no signs of failure. Repeatedly knocking it off the desk onto a carpeted floor also left it undamaged, although the unit did turn off on several occasions. The desk-to-hardwood-floor test produced scratches but nothing else. If dropped when in phone mode, the Treo automatically turned off. If an application was running-the calculator, for example-the device stayed on and the data remained on the screen, though a mysterious extra numeral nine appeared every time it was dropped. MP3 Player A 6 GB silver iPod Mini went for a bouncy car ride, was dropped on wet grass and dry pavement, was knocked off a desk onto carpeted and hardwood floors, and was finally dropped in dry sand. Bouncing inside the car caused a couple of skips. Drops on soft wet grass and carpet had no ill effect. Dropping it from the car seat to the curb and off a desk onto a hardwood floor produced a few nicks and caused songs to skip and the device to shut down repeatedly. Still, all the unit's features continued to work after the abuse, and songs played. However, the Mini did not like the beach. Without the benefit of a protective case or plastic display covering on the unit, sand wedged under the scroll wheel, affecting all controls. Feature settings could be seen and highlighted, but the crunching sand prevented the Mini from launching them. The unit turned on but could not turn off until the iPod's automatic shutdown feature took over. Memory Stick Lexar claims that its JumpDrive Sport 256 MB USB 2.0 Flash Drive is "built for the rugged life." A rubber cap protects the device, absorbing shock from any drops. For these experiments, the device was used without its cap. It was dropped, stepped on, buried in the sand, and knocked off a desk onto a hardwood floor. It also took a spin through the washing machine and dryer and was even run over by a car. There is truth in advertising. Neither water, heat, sand, nor car could keep the memory stick from its appointed storage rounds. The car did squeeze the metal USB connector tip a tad tighter, but the device was still able to make contact with the USB port, and it worked perfectly. Memory Card The SanDisk SD 64 MB memory card is easy to misplace, but not easy to break. It was swatted off a desk onto a hardwood floor, dropped, stepped on, and buried in the sand. It also underwent a two-rinse cycle in the wash in a jeans pocket and then tumbled in the dryer for an hour on a high-heat setting. The SanDisk memory card aced every torture test. For tips on how to protect electronic products, review Figure B3.14. FIGURE B3.14 How to Protect Electronic Products Describe the relationship between memory sticks and laptops. How can a user employ one to help protect information loss from the other

Electronic Breaking Points What happens when someone accidentally spills a cup of hot coffee on a laptop, puts a USB memory key in a washing machine, or drops an iPod in the sand How much abuse can electronic products take and keep on working PC World tested several products to determine their breaking points. Laptop A Gateway laptop was placed in a shoulder bag and smashed into several doors and walls. It was also dropped off a six-foot-high bookcase to simulate a drop from an airplane's overhead bin. Finally, it was knocked off a desk onto a carpeted floor without the bag. After all the abuse, the Gateway consistently rebooted and recognized the wireless network; however, the battery did become slightly dislodged and the optical drive opened. Severe physical damage was caused when the laptop was dropped onto a hardwood floor. The laptop's screen cracked, and the black plastic molding above the keyboard cracked. Plastic splinters littered the floor, and the optical drive refused to open. Spilling coffee in a travel-size mug onto the keyboard caused a slight sizzle, after which the Gateway's blue light winked out. The machine was quickly turned off, the battery removed, the liquid drained, the keys mopped, and the unit set aside. Unfortunately, the laptop never recovered. Smartphone The PalmOne Treo 600 smartphone was stepped on, buried in the sand, bounced around in a car, and dropped off a desk onto carpeted and hardwood floors. Even though the Treo 600 was not protected by a shock-absorbent case or plastic screen cover, there were no signs of failure. Repeatedly knocking it off the desk onto a carpeted floor also left it undamaged, although the unit did turn off on several occasions. The desk-to-hardwood-floor test produced scratches but nothing else. If dropped when in phone mode, the Treo automatically turned off. If an application was running-the calculator, for example-the device stayed on and the data remained on the screen, though a mysterious extra numeral nine appeared every time it was dropped. MP3 Player A 6 GB silver iPod Mini went for a bouncy car ride, was dropped on wet grass and dry pavement, was knocked off a desk onto carpeted and hardwood floors, and was finally dropped in dry sand. Bouncing inside the car caused a couple of skips. Drops on soft wet grass and carpet had no ill effect. Dropping it from the car seat to the curb and off a desk onto a hardwood floor produced a few nicks and caused songs to skip and the device to shut down repeatedly. Still, all the unit's features continued to work after the abuse, and songs played. However, the Mini did not like the beach. Without the benefit of a protective case or plastic display covering on the unit, sand wedged under the scroll wheel, affecting all controls. Feature settings could be seen and highlighted, but the crunching sand prevented the Mini from launching them. The unit turned on but could not turn off until the iPod's automatic shutdown feature took over. Memory Stick Lexar claims that its JumpDrive Sport 256 MB USB 2.0 Flash Drive is "built for the rugged life." A rubber cap protects the device, absorbing shock from any drops. For these experiments, the device was used without its cap. It was dropped, stepped on, buried in the sand, and knocked off a desk onto a hardwood floor. It also took a spin through the washing machine and dryer and was even run over by a car. There is truth in advertising. Neither water, heat, sand, nor car could keep the memory stick from its appointed storage rounds. The car did squeeze the metal USB connector tip a tad tighter, but the device was still able to make contact with the USB port, and it worked perfectly. Memory Card The SanDisk SD 64 MB memory card is easy to misplace, but not easy to break. It was swatted off a desk onto a hardwood floor, dropped, stepped on, and buried in the sand. It also underwent a two-rinse cycle in the wash in a jeans pocket and then tumbled in the dryer for an hour on a high-heat setting. The SanDisk memory card aced every torture test. For tips on how to protect electronic products, review Figure B3.14. FIGURE B3.14 How to Protect Electronic Products Identify the different types of software each of the products listed in the case might use.

Purchasing a Computer Dell is considered the fastest company on earth and specializes in computer customization. Connect to Dell's website at www.dell.com. Go to the portion of Dell's site that allows you to customize either a laptop or a desktop computer. First, choose an already prepared system and note its price and capability in terms of CPU speed, RAM size, monitor quality, and storage capacity. Now, customize that system to increase CPU speed, add more RAM, increase monitor size and quality, and add more storage capacity. What is the difference in price between the two Which system is more in your price range Which system has the speed and capacity you need

Web-Enabled Cell Phones When categorizing computers by size for personal needs, we focused on PDAs, laptops, and desktop computers. Other variations include web-enabled cell phones that provide instant text messaging and web computers. For this project, you will need a group of four people, which you will then split into two groups of two. Have the first group research web-enabled cell phones, their capabilities and costs. Have that group make a purchase recommendation based on price and capability. Have the second group do the same for web computers. What is your vision of the future Will we ever get rid of clunky laptops and desktops in favor of more portable and cheaper devices such as web-enabled cell phones and web computers Why or why not

Small Business Computers Many different types of computers are available for small businesses. Use the Internet to find three different vendors of laptops or notebooks that are good for small businesses. Find the most expensive and the least expensive that the vendor offers and create a table comparing the different computers based on the following: CPU Memory Hard drive Optical drive Operating system Utility software Application software Support plan Determine which computer you would recommend for a small business looking for an inexpensive laptop. Determine which computer you would recommend for a small business looking for an expensive laptop.

Chicago Tribune's Server Consolidation a Success The Chicago Tribune is the seventh-largest newspaper in the country. Overhauling its data center and consolidating servers was a difficult task; however, the payoff was tremendous. The Chicago Tribune successfully moved its critical applications from a mishmash of mainframes and older Sun Microsystems servers to a new dual-site enterprise architecture, which has resulted in lower costs and increased reliability throughout the company. The paper's new enterprise architecture clustered its servers over a two-mile distance, lighting up a 1 Gbps dark-fiber link-an optical fiber that is in place but not yet being used-between two data centers. This architecture lets the newspaper spread the processing load between the servers while improving redundancy and options for disaster recovery. The transfer to the new architecture was not smooth. A small piece of software written for the transition contained a coding error that caused the Tribune 's editorial applications to experience intermittent processing failures. As a result, the paper was forced to delay delivery to about 40 percent of its 680,000 readers and cut 24 pages from a Monday edition, costing the newspaper nearly $1 million in advertising revenue. After editorial applications were stabilized, the Tribune proceeded to migrate applications for operations-the physical production and printing of the newspaper-and circulation to the new enterprise architecture. "As we gradually took applications off the mainframe, we realized that we were incurring very high costs in maintaining underutilized mainframes at two different locations," says Darko Dejanovic, vice president and CTO of the Tribune Co., which owned the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, Long Island's Newsday, and about a dozen other metropolitan newspapers. "By moving from two locations to one, we've achieved several million dollars in cost savings. There's no question that server consolidation was the right move for us." The company is excited about its new enterprise architecture and is looking to consolidate software across its newspapers. Currently, each newspaper maintains its own applications for classified advertising and billing, which means the parent company must support about 10 billing packages and the same number of classified-ad programs. Most of the business processes can be standardized. So far, the company has standardized about 95 percent of cl assified-ad processes and about 90 percent of advertising-sales processes. Over three years, the company will replace the disparate billing and ad applications with a single package that will be used by all business units. The different newspapers will not necessarily share the same data, but they will have the same processes and the same systems for accessing them. Over time, that will allow some of the call centers to handle calls for multiple newspapers; East Coast centers will handle the early-morning calls and West Coast centers the late-day and evening calls. The company is looking at a few additional projects including the implementation of hardware that will allow its individual applications to run on partial CPUs, freeing up processor power and making more efficient use of disk space. Review the five characteristics of infrastructure architecture and rank them in order of their potential impact on the Tribune Co.'s business.

Chicago Tribune's Server Consolidation a Success The Chicago Tribune is the seventh-largest newspaper in the country. Overhauling its data center and consolidating servers was a difficult task; however, the payoff was tremendous. The Chicago Tribune successfully moved its critical applications from a mishmash of mainframes and older Sun Microsystems servers to a new dual-site enterprise architecture, which has resulted in lower costs and increased reliability throughout the company. The paper's new enterprise architecture clustered its servers over a two-mile distance, lighting up a 1 Gbps dark-fiber link-an optical fiber that is in place but not yet being used-between two data centers. This architecture lets the newspaper spread the processing load between the servers while improving redundancy and options for disaster recovery. The transfer to the new architecture was not smooth. A small piece of software written for the transition contained a coding error that caused the Tribune 's editorial applications to experience intermittent processing failures. As a result, the paper was forced to delay delivery to about 40 percent of its 680,000 readers and cut 24 pages from a Monday edition, costing the newspaper nearly $1 million in advertising revenue. After editorial applications were stabilized, the Tribune proceeded to migrate applications for operations-the physical production and printing of the newspaper-and circulation to the new enterprise architecture. "As we gradually took applications off the mainframe, we realized that we were incurring very high costs in maintaining underutilized mainframes at two different locations," says Darko Dejanovic, vice president and CTO of the Tribune Co., which owned the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, Long Island's Newsday, and about a dozen other metropolitan newspapers. "By moving from two locations to one, we've achieved several million dollars in cost savings. There's no question that server consolidation was the right move for us." The company is excited about its new enterprise architecture and is looking to consolidate software across its newspapers. Currently, each newspaper maintains its own applications for classified advertising and billing, which means the parent company must support about 10 billing packages and the same number of classified-ad programs. Most of the business processes can be standardized. So far, the company has standardized about 95 percent of cl assified-ad processes and about 90 percent of advertising-sales processes. Over three years, the company will replace the disparate billing and ad applications with a single package that will be used by all business units. The different newspapers will not necessarily share the same data, but they will have the same processes and the same systems for accessing them. Over time, that will allow some of the call centers to handle calls for multiple newspapers; East Coast centers will handle the early-morning calls and West Coast centers the late-day and evening calls. The company is looking at a few additional projects including the implementation of hardware that will allow its individual applications to run on partial CPUs, freeing up processor power and making more efficient use of disk space. What is the disaster recovery cost curve Where should the Tribune Co. operate on the curve

Chicago Tribune's Server Consolidation a Success The Chicago Tribune is the seventh-largest newspaper in the country. Overhauling its data center and consolidating servers was a difficult task; however, the payoff was tremendous. The Chicago Tribune successfully moved its critical applications from a mishmash of mainframes and older Sun Microsystems servers to a new dual-site enterprise architecture, which has resulted in lower costs and increased reliability throughout the company. The paper's new enterprise architecture clustered its servers over a two-mile distance, lighting up a 1 Gbps dark-fiber link-an optical fiber that is in place but not yet being used-between two data centers. This architecture lets the newspaper spread the processing load between the servers while improving redundancy and options for disaster recovery. The transfer to the new architecture was not smooth. A small piece of software written for the transition contained a coding error that caused the Tribune 's editorial applications to experience intermittent processing failures. As a result, the paper was forced to delay delivery to about 40 percent of its 680,000 readers and cut 24 pages from a Monday edition, costing the newspaper nearly $1 million in advertising revenue. After editorial applications were stabilized, the Tribune proceeded to migrate applications for operations-the physical production and printing of the newspaper-and circulation to the new enterprise architecture. "As we gradually took applications off the mainframe, we realized that we were incurring very high costs in maintaining underutilized mainframes at two different locations," says Darko Dejanovic, vice president and CTO of the Tribune Co., which owned the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, Long Island's Newsday, and about a dozen other metropolitan newspapers. "By moving from two locations to one, we've achieved several million dollars in cost savings. There's no question that server consolidation was the right move for us." The company is excited about its new enterprise architecture and is looking to consolidate software across its newspapers. Currently, each newspaper maintains its own applications for classified advertising and billing, which means the parent company must support about 10 billing packages and the same number of classified-ad programs. Most of the business processes can be standardized. So far, the company has standardized about 95 percent of cl assified-ad processes and about 90 percent of advertising-sales processes. Over three years, the company will replace the disparate billing and ad applications with a single package that will be used by all business units. The different newspapers will not necessarily share the same data, but they will have the same processes and the same systems for accessing them. Over time, that will allow some of the call centers to handle calls for multiple newspapers; East Coast centers will handle the early-morning calls and West Coast centers the late-day and evening calls. The company is looking at a few additional projects including the implementation of hardware that will allow its individual applications to run on partial CPUs, freeing up processor power and making more efficient use of disk space. Define backups and recovery. What are the risks to the Tribune Co.'s business if it fails to im plement an adequate backup plan

Chicago Tribune's Server Consolidation a Success The Chicago Tribune is the seventh-largest newspaper in the country. Overhauling its data center and consolidating servers was a difficult task; however, the payoff was tremendous. The Chicago Tribune successfully moved its critical applications from a mishmash of mainframes and older Sun Microsystems servers to a new dual-site enterprise architecture, which has resulted in lower costs and increased reliability throughout the company. The paper's new enterprise architecture clustered its servers over a two-mile distance, lighting up a 1 Gbps dark-fiber link-an optical fiber that is in place but not yet being used-between two data centers. This architecture lets the newspaper spread the processing load between the servers while improving redundancy and options for disaster recovery. The transfer to the new architecture was not smooth. A small piece of software written for the transition contained a coding error that caused the Tribune 's editorial applications to experience intermittent processing failures. As a result, the paper was forced to delay delivery to about 40 percent of its 680,000 readers and cut 24 pages from a Monday edition, costing the newspaper nearly $1 million in advertising revenue. After editorial applications were stabilized, the Tribune proceeded to migrate applications for operations-the physical production and printing of the newspaper-and circulation to the new enterprise architecture. "As we gradually took applications off the mainframe, we realized that we were incurring very high costs in maintaining underutilized mainframes at two different locations," says Darko Dejanovic, vice president and CTO of the Tribune Co., which owned the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, Long Island's Newsday, and about a dozen other metropolitan newspapers. "By moving from two locations to one, we've achieved several million dollars in cost savings. There's no question that server consolidation was the right move for us." The company is excited about its new enterprise architecture and is looking to consolidate software across its newspapers. Currently, each newspaper maintains its own applications for classified advertising and billing, which means the parent company must support about 10 billing packages and the same number of classified-ad programs. Most of the business processes can be standardized. So far, the company has standardized about 95 percent of cl assified-ad processes and about 90 percent of advertising-sales processes. Over three years, the company will replace the disparate billing and ad applications with a single package that will be used by all business units. The different newspapers will not necessarily share the same data, but they will have the same processes and the same systems for accessing them. Over time, that will allow some of the call centers to handle calls for multiple newspapers; East Coast centers will handle the early-morning calls and West Coast centers the late-day and evening calls. The company is looking at a few additional projects including the implementation of hardware that will allow its individual applications to run on partial CPUs, freeing up processor power and making more efficient use of disk space. Why is a scalable and highly available enterprise architecture critical to current operations and future growth

Chicago Tribune's Server Consolidation a Success The Chicago Tribune is the seventh-largest newspaper in the country. Overhauling its data center and consolidating servers was a difficult task; however, the payoff was tremendous. The Chicago Tribune successfully moved its critical applications from a mishmash of mainframes and older Sun Microsystems servers to a new dual-site enterprise architecture, which has resulted in lower costs and increased reliability throughout the company. The paper's new enterprise architecture clustered its servers over a two-mile distance, lighting up a 1 Gbps dark-fiber link-an optical fiber that is in place but not yet being used-between two data centers. This architecture lets the newspaper spread the processing load between the servers while improving redundancy and options for disaster recovery. The transfer to the new architecture was not smooth. A small piece of software written for the transition contained a coding error that caused the Tribune 's editorial applications to experience intermittent processing failures. As a result, the paper was forced to delay delivery to about 40 percent of its 680,000 readers and cut 24 pages from a Monday edition, costing the newspaper nearly $1 million in advertising revenue. After editorial applications were stabilized, the Tribune proceeded to migrate applications for operations-the physical production and printing of the newspaper-and circulation to the new enterprise architecture. "As we gradually took applications off the mainframe, we realized that we were incurring very high costs in maintaining underutilized mainframes at two different locations," says Darko Dejanovic, vice president and CTO of the Tribune Co., which owned the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, Long Island's Newsday, and about a dozen other metropolitan newspapers. "By moving from two locations to one, we've achieved several million dollars in cost savings. There's no question that server consolidation was the right move for us." The company is excited about its new enterprise architecture and is looking to consolidate software across its newspapers. Currently, each newspaper maintains its own applications for classified advertising and billing, which means the parent company must support about 10 billing packages and the same number of classified-ad programs. Most of the business processes can be standardized. So far, the company has standardized about 95 percent of cl assified-ad processes and about 90 percent of advertising-sales processes. Over three years, the company will replace the disparate billing and ad applications with a single package that will be used by all business units. The different newspapers will not necessarily share the same data, but they will have the same processes and the same systems for accessing them. Over time, that will allow some of the call centers to handle calls for multiple newspapers; East Coast centers will handle the early-morning calls and West Coast centers the late-day and evening calls. The company is looking at a few additional projects including the implementation of hardware that will allow its individual applications to run on partial CPUs, freeing up processor power and making more efficient use of disk space. Identify the need for information security at the Tribune Co.

Chicago Tribune's Server Consolidation a Success The Chicago Tribune is the seventh-largest newspaper in the country. Overhauling its data center and consolidating servers was a difficult task; however, the payoff was tremendous. The Chicago Tribune successfully moved its critical applications from a mishmash of mainframes and older Sun Microsystems servers to a new dual-site enterprise architecture, which has resulted in lower costs and increased reliability throughout the company. The paper's new enterprise architecture clustered its servers over a two-mile distance, lighting up a 1 Gbps dark-fiber link-an optical fiber that is in place but not yet being used-between two data centers. This architecture lets the newspaper spread the processing load between the servers while improving redundancy and options for disaster recovery. The transfer to the new architecture was not smooth. A small piece of software written for the transition contained a coding error that caused the Tribune 's editorial applications to experience intermittent processing failures. As a result, the paper was forced to delay delivery to about 40 percent of its 680,000 readers and cut 24 pages from a Monday edition, costing the newspaper nearly $1 million in advertising revenue. After editorial applications were stabilized, the Tribune proceeded to migrate applications for operations-the physical production and printing of the newspaper-and circulation to the new enterprise architecture. "As we gradually took applications off the mainframe, we realized that we were incurring very high costs in maintaining underutilized mainframes at two different locations," says Darko Dejanovic, vice president and CTO of the Tribune Co., which owned the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, Long Island's Newsday, and about a dozen other metropolitan newspapers. "By moving from two locations to one, we've achieved several million dollars in cost savings. There's no question that server consolidation was the right move for us." The company is excited about its new enterprise architecture and is looking to consolidate software across its newspapers. Currently, each newspaper maintains its own applications for classified advertising and billing, which means the parent company must support about 10 billing packages and the same number of classified-ad programs. Most of the business processes can be standardized. So far, the company has standardized about 95 percent of cl assified-ad processes and about 90 percent of advertising-sales processes. Over three years, the company will replace the disparate billing and ad applications with a single package that will be used by all business units. The different newspapers will not necessarily share the same data, but they will have the same processes and the same systems for accessing them. Over time, that will allow some of the call centers to handle calls for multiple newspapers; East Coast centers will handle the early-morning calls and West Coast centers the late-day and evening calls. The company is looking at a few additional projects including the implementation of hardware that will allow its individual applications to run on partial CPUs, freeing up processor power and making more efficient use of disk space. How could the Tribune Co. use a classified ad web service across its different businesses

Fear the Penguin Linux has proved itself the most revolutionary software of the past decade. Spending on Linux was reported to reach $280 million by 2006. Linus Torvalds, who wrote the kernel (the core) of the Linux operating system at age 21, posted the operating system on the Internet and invited other programmers to improve his code and users to download his operating system for free. Since then, tens of thousands of people have, making Linux perhaps the single largest co llaborative project in the planet's history. Today, Linux, if not its penguin mascot, is everywhere. You can find Linux inside a boggling array of computers, machines, and devices. Linux is robust enough to run the world's most powerful supercomputers, yet sleek and versatile enough to run inside consumer items like TiVo, cell phones, and handheld portable devices. Even more impressive than Linux's increasing prevalence in living rooms and pockets is its growth in the market for corporate computers. Since its introduction in 1991, no other operating system in history has spread as quickly across such a broad range of systems as Linux, and it has finally achieved critical mass. According to studies by market research firm IDC, Linux is the fastest-growing server operating system, with shipments expected to grow by 34 percent per year over the next four years. With its innovative open source approach, strong security, reliability, and scalability, Linux can help companies achieve the agility they need to respond to changing consumer needs and stay ahead of the game. Thanks to its unique open source development process, Linux is reliable and secure. A "meritocracy," a team specifically selected for their competence by the technical developer community, governs the entire development process. Each line of code that makes up the Linux kernel is extensively tested and maintained for a variety of different platforms and application scenarios. This open collaborative approach means the Linux code base continually hardens and improves itself. If vulnerabilities appear, they get the immediate attention of experts from around the world, who quickly resolve the problems. According to Security Portal, which tracks vendor response times, it takes an average of 12 days to patch a Linux bug compared to an average of three months for some proprietary platforms. With the core resilience and reliability of Linux, businesses can minimize downtime, which directly increases their bottom line. The Spread of Open Systems Businesses and governments are opting for open source operating systems like Linux instead of Windows. One attendee at the Linux Desktop Consortium in 2004 was Dr. Martin Echt, a cardiologist from Albany, New York. Dr. Echt, chief operating officer of Capital Cardiology Associates, an eight-office practice, discussed his decision to shift his business from Microsoft's Windows to Linux. Dr. Echt is not your typical computer geek or Linux supporter, and he is not the only one switching to Linux. The State Council in China has mandated that all ministries install the local flavor of Linux, dubbed Red Flag, on their PCs. In Spain, the government has installed a Linux operating system that incorporates the regional dialect. The city of Munich, despite a personal visit from Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, is converting its 14,000 PCs from Windows to Linux. "It's open season for open source," declared Walter Raizner, general manager of IBM Germany. One of the biggest corporate backers of Linux, IBM has more than 75 government customers worldwide, including agencies in France, Spain, Britain, Australia, Mexico, the United States, and Japan. The move toward Linux varies for each country or company. For Dr. Echt, it was a question of lower price and long-term flexibility. In China, the government claimed national security as a reason to move to open source code because it permitted engineers to make sure there were no security leaks and no spyware installed on its computers. In Munich, the move was largely political. Regardless of the reason, the market is shifting toward Linux. Microsoft versus Linux Bill Gates has openly stated that Linux is not a threat to Microsoft. According to IDC analysts, Microsoft's operating systems ship with 93.8 percent of all desktops worldwide. Ted Schadler, IDC research principal analyst, states that despite the push of lower cost Linux players into the market, Microsoft will maintain its desktop market share for the following three reasons: 1. Linux adds features to its applications that most computer users have already come to expect. 2. Linux applications might not be compatible with Microsoft applications such as Microsoft Word or Microsoft Excel. 3. Microsoft continues to innovate, and the latest version of Office is beginning to integrate word processing and spreadsheet software to corporate databases and other applications. The Future of Linux IDC analyst Al Gillen predicts that an open source operating system will not enjoy explosive growth on the desktop for at least six or eight years. Still, even Gillen cannot deny that Linux's penetration continues to rise, with an estimated 18 million users. Linux's market share increased from 1.5 percent at the end of 2000 to 4.2 percent at the beginning of 2004. According to IDC, by the end of 2005 it surpassed Apple's Mac OS, which has 2.9 percent of the market, as the second most popular operating system. Gartner Dataquest estimates Linux's server market share will grow seven times faster than Windows. How does Linux differ from traditional software

Fear the Penguin Linux has proved itself the most revolutionary software of the past decade. Spending on Linux was reported to reach $280 million by 2006. Linus Torvalds, who wrote the kernel (the core) of the Linux operating system at age 21, posted the operating system on the Internet and invited other programmers to improve his code and users to download his operating system for free. Since then, tens of thousands of people have, making Linux perhaps the single largest co llaborative project in the planet's history. Today, Linux, if not its penguin mascot, is everywhere. You can find Linux inside a boggling array of computers, machines, and devices. Linux is robust enough to run the world's most powerful supercomputers, yet sleek and versatile enough to run inside consumer items like TiVo, cell phones, and handheld portable devices. Even more impressive than Linux's increasing prevalence in living rooms and pockets is its growth in the market for corporate computers. Since its introduction in 1991, no other operating system in history has spread as quickly across such a broad range of systems as Linux, and it has finally achieved critical mass. According to studies by market research firm IDC, Linux is the fastest-growing server operating system, with shipments expected to grow by 34 percent per year over the next four years. With its innovative open source approach, strong security, reliability, and scalability, Linux can help companies achieve the agility they need to respond to changing consumer needs and stay ahead of the game. Thanks to its unique open source development process, Linux is reliable and secure. A "meritocracy," a team specifically selected for their competence by the technical developer community, governs the entire development process. Each line of code that makes up the Linux kernel is extensively tested and maintained for a variety of different platforms and application scenarios. This open collaborative approach means the Linux code base continually hardens and improves itself. If vulnerabilities appear, they get the immediate attention of experts from around the world, who quickly resolve the problems. According to Security Portal, which tracks vendor response times, it takes an average of 12 days to patch a Linux bug compared to an average of three months for some proprietary platforms. With the core resilience and reliability of Linux, businesses can minimize downtime, which directly increases their bottom line. The Spread of Open Systems Businesses and governments are opting for open source operating systems like Linux instead of Windows. One attendee at the Linux Desktop Consortium in 2004 was Dr. Martin Echt, a cardiologist from Albany, New York. Dr. Echt, chief operating officer of Capital Cardiology Associates, an eight-office practice, discussed his decision to shift his business from Microsoft's Windows to Linux. Dr. Echt is not your typical computer geek or Linux supporter, and he is not the only one switching to Linux. The State Council in China has mandated that all ministries install the local flavor of Linux, dubbed Red Flag, on their PCs. In Spain, the government has installed a Linux operating system that incorporates the regional dialect. The city of Munich, despite a personal visit from Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, is converting its 14,000 PCs from Windows to Linux. "It's open season for open source," declared Walter Raizner, general manager of IBM Germany. One of the biggest corporate backers of Linux, IBM has more than 75 government customers worldwide, including agencies in France, Spain, Britain, Australia, Mexico, the United States, and Japan. The move toward Linux varies for each country or company. For Dr. Echt, it was a question of lower price and long-term flexibility. In China, the government claimed national security as a reason to move to open source code because it permitted engineers to make sure there were no security leaks and no spyware installed on its computers. In Munich, the move was largely political. Regardless of the reason, the market is shifting toward Linux. Microsoft versus Linux Bill Gates has openly stated that Linux is not a threat to Microsoft. According to IDC analysts, Microsoft's operating systems ship with 93.8 percent of all desktops worldwide. Ted Schadler, IDC research principal analyst, states that despite the push of lower cost Linux players into the market, Microsoft will maintain its desktop market share for the following three reasons: 1. Linux adds features to its applications that most computer users have already come to expect. 2. Linux applications might not be compatible with Microsoft applications such as Microsoft Word or Microsoft Excel. 3. Microsoft continues to innovate, and the latest version of Office is beginning to integrate word processing and spreadsheet software to corporate databases and other applications. The Future of Linux IDC analyst Al Gillen predicts that an open source operating system will not enjoy explosive growth on the desktop for at least six or eight years. Still, even Gillen cannot deny that Linux's penetration continues to rise, with an estimated 18 million users. Linux's market share increased from 1.5 percent at the end of 2000 to 4.2 percent at the beginning of 2004. According to IDC, by the end of 2005 it surpassed Apple's Mac OS, which has 2.9 percent of the market, as the second most popular operating system. Gartner Dataquest estimates Linux's server market share will grow seven times faster than Windows. Should Microsoft consider Linux a threat Why or why not

Fear the Penguin Linux has proved itself the most revolutionary software of the past decade. Spending on Linux was reported to reach $280 million by 2006. Linus Torvalds, who wrote the kernel (the core) of the Linux operating system at age 21, posted the operating system on the Internet and invited other programmers to improve his code and users to download his operating system for free. Since then, tens of thousands of people have, making Linux perhaps the single largest co llaborative project in the planet's history. Today, Linux, if not its penguin mascot, is everywhere. You can find Linux inside a boggling array of computers, machines, and devices. Linux is robust enough to run the world's most powerful supercomputers, yet sleek and versatile enough to run inside consumer items like TiVo, cell phones, and handheld portable devices. Even more impressive than Linux's increasing prevalence in living rooms and pockets is its growth in the market for corporate computers. Since its introduction in 1991, no other operating system in history has spread as quickly across such a broad range of systems as Linux, and it has finally achieved critical mass. According to studies by market research firm IDC, Linux is the fastest-growing server operating system, with shipments expected to grow by 34 percent per year over the next four years. With its innovative open source approach, strong security, reliability, and scalability, Linux can help companies achieve the agility they need to respond to changing consumer needs and stay ahead of the game. Thanks to its unique open source development process, Linux is reliable and secure. A "meritocracy," a team specifically selected for their competence by the technical developer community, governs the entire development process. Each line of code that makes up the Linux kernel is extensively tested and maintained for a variety of different platforms and application scenarios. This open collaborative approach means the Linux code base continually hardens and improves itself. If vulnerabilities appear, they get the immediate attention of experts from around the world, who quickly resolve the problems. According to Security Portal, which tracks vendor response times, it takes an average of 12 days to patch a Linux bug compared to an average of three months for some proprietary platforms. With the core resilience and reliability of Linux, businesses can minimize downtime, which directly increases their bottom line. The Spread of Open Systems Businesses and governments are opting for open source operating systems like Linux instead of Windows. One attendee at the Linux Desktop Consortium in 2004 was Dr. Martin Echt, a cardiologist from Albany, New York. Dr. Echt, chief operating officer of Capital Cardiology Associates, an eight-office practice, discussed his decision to shift his business from Microsoft's Windows to Linux. Dr. Echt is not your typical computer geek or Linux supporter, and he is not the only one switching to Linux. The State Council in China has mandated that all ministries install the local flavor of Linux, dubbed Red Flag, on their PCs. In Spain, the government has installed a Linux operating system that incorporates the regional dialect. The city of Munich, despite a personal visit from Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, is converting its 14,000 PCs from Windows to Linux. "It's open season for open source," declared Walter Raizner, general manager of IBM Germany. One of the biggest corporate backers of Linux, IBM has more than 75 government customers worldwide, including agencies in France, Spain, Britain, Australia, Mexico, the United States, and Japan. The move toward Linux varies for each country or company. For Dr. Echt, it was a question of lower price and long-term flexibility. In China, the government claimed national security as a reason to move to open source code because it permitted engineers to make sure there were no security leaks and no spyware installed on its computers. In Munich, the move was largely political. Regardless of the reason, the market is shifting toward Linux. Microsoft versus Linux Bill Gates has openly stated that Linux is not a threat to Microsoft. According to IDC analysts, Microsoft's operating systems ship with 93.8 percent of all desktops worldwide. Ted Schadler, IDC research principal analyst, states that despite the push of lower cost Linux players into the market, Microsoft will maintain its desktop market share for the following three reasons: 1. Linux adds features to its applications that most computer users have already come to expect. 2. Linux applications might not be compatible with Microsoft applications such as Microsoft Word or Microsoft Excel. 3. Microsoft continues to innovate, and the latest version of Office is beginning to integrate word processing and spreadsheet software to corporate databases and other applications. The Future of Linux IDC analyst Al Gillen predicts that an open source operating system will not enjoy explosive growth on the desktop for at least six or eight years. Still, even Gillen cannot deny that Linux's penetration continues to rise, with an estimated 18 million users. Linux's market share increased from 1.5 percent at the end of 2000 to 4.2 percent at the beginning of 2004. According to IDC, by the end of 2005 it surpassed Apple's Mac OS, which has 2.9 percent of the market, as the second most popular operating system. Gartner Dataquest estimates Linux's server market share will grow seven times faster than Windows. How is open source software a potential trend shaping organizations

Fear the Penguin Linux has proved itself the most revolutionary software of the past decade. Spending on Linux was reported to reach $280 million by 2006. Linus Torvalds, who wrote the kernel (the core) of the Linux operating system at age 21, posted the operating system on the Internet and invited other programmers to improve his code and users to download his operating system for free. Since then, tens of thousands of people have, making Linux perhaps the single largest co llaborative project in the planet's history. Today, Linux, if not its penguin mascot, is everywhere. You can find Linux inside a boggling array of computers, machines, and devices. Linux is robust enough to run the world's most powerful supercomputers, yet sleek and versatile enough to run inside consumer items like TiVo, cell phones, and handheld portable devices. Even more impressive than Linux's increasing prevalence in living rooms and pockets is its growth in the market for corporate computers. Since its introduction in 1991, no other operating system in history has spread as quickly across such a broad range of systems as Linux, and it has finally achieved critical mass. According to studies by market research firm IDC, Linux is the fastest-growing server operating system, with shipments expected to grow by 34 percent per year over the next four years. With its innovative open source approach, strong security, reliability, and scalability, Linux can help companies achieve the agility they need to respond to changing consumer needs and stay ahead of the game. Thanks to its unique open source development process, Linux is reliable and secure. A "meritocracy," a team specifically selected for their competence by the technical developer community, governs the entire development process. Each line of code that makes up the Linux kernel is extensively tested and maintained for a variety of different platforms and application scenarios. This open collaborative approach means the Linux code base continually hardens and improves itself. If vulnerabilities appear, they get the immediate attention of experts from around the world, who quickly resolve the problems. According to Security Portal, which tracks vendor response times, it takes an average of 12 days to patch a Linux bug compared to an average of three months for some proprietary platforms. With the core resilience and reliability of Linux, businesses can minimize downtime, which directly increases their bottom line. The Spread of Open Systems Businesses and governments are opting for open source operating systems like Linux instead of Windows. One attendee at the Linux Desktop Consortium in 2004 was Dr. Martin Echt, a cardiologist from Albany, New York. Dr. Echt, chief operating officer of Capital Cardiology Associates, an eight-office practice, discussed his decision to shift his business from Microsoft's Windows to Linux. Dr. Echt is not your typical computer geek or Linux supporter, and he is not the only one switching to Linux. The State Council in China has mandated that all ministries install the local flavor of Linux, dubbed Red Flag, on their PCs. In Spain, the government has installed a Linux operating system that incorporates the regional dialect. The city of Munich, despite a personal visit from Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, is converting its 14,000 PCs from Windows to Linux. "It's open season for open source," declared Walter Raizner, general manager of IBM Germany. One of the biggest corporate backers of Linux, IBM has more than 75 government customers worldwide, including agencies in France, Spain, Britain, Australia, Mexico, the United States, and Japan. The move toward Linux varies for each country or company. For Dr. Echt, it was a question of lower price and long-term flexibility. In China, the government claimed national security as a reason to move to open source code because it permitted engineers to make sure there were no security leaks and no spyware installed on its computers. In Munich, the move was largely political. Regardless of the reason, the market is shifting toward Linux. Microsoft versus Linux Bill Gates has openly stated that Linux is not a threat to Microsoft. According to IDC analysts, Microsoft's operating systems ship with 93.8 percent of all desktops worldwide. Ted Schadler, IDC research principal analyst, states that despite the push of lower cost Linux players into the market, Microsoft will maintain its desktop market share for the following three reasons: 1. Linux adds features to its applications that most computer users have already come to expect. 2. Linux applications might not be compatible with Microsoft applications such as Microsoft Word or Microsoft Excel. 3. Microsoft continues to innovate, and the latest version of Office is beginning to integrate word processing and spreadsheet software to corporate databases and other applications. The Future of Linux IDC analyst Al Gillen predicts that an open source operating system will not enjoy explosive growth on the desktop for at least six or eight years. Still, even Gillen cannot deny that Linux's penetration continues to rise, with an estimated 18 million users. Linux's market share increased from 1.5 percent at the end of 2000 to 4.2 percent at the beginning of 2004. According to IDC, by the end of 2005 it surpassed Apple's Mac OS, which has 2.9 percent of the market, as the second most popular operating system. Gartner Dataquest estimates Linux's server market share will grow seven times faster than Windows. How can you use Linux as an emerging technology to gain a competitive advantage

Fear the Penguin Linux has proved itself the most revolutionary software of the past decade. Spending on Linux was reported to reach $280 million by 2006. Linus Torvalds, who wrote the kernel (the core) of the Linux operating system at age 21, posted the operating system on the Internet and invited other programmers to improve his code and users to download his operating system for free. Since then, tens of thousands of people have, making Linux perhaps the single largest co llaborative project in the planet's history. Today, Linux, if not its penguin mascot, is everywhere. You can find Linux inside a boggling array of computers, machines, and devices. Linux is robust enough to run the world's most powerful supercomputers, yet sleek and versatile enough to run inside consumer items like TiVo, cell phones, and handheld portable devices. Even more impressive than Linux's increasing prevalence in living rooms and pockets is its growth in the market for corporate computers. Since its introduction in 1991, no other operating system in history has spread as quickly across such a broad range of systems as Linux, and it has finally achieved critical mass. According to studies by market research firm IDC, Linux is the fastest-growing server operating system, with shipments expected to grow by 34 percent per year over the next four years. With its innovative open source approach, strong security, reliability, and scalability, Linux can help companies achieve the agility they need to respond to changing consumer needs and stay ahead of the game. Thanks to its unique open source development process, Linux is reliable and secure. A "meritocracy," a team specifically selected for their competence by the technical developer community, governs the entire development process. Each line of code that makes up the Linux kernel is extensively tested and maintained for a variety of different platforms and application scenarios. This open collaborative approach means the Linux code base continually hardens and improves itself. If vulnerabilities appear, they get the immediate attention of experts from around the world, who quickly resolve the problems. According to Security Portal, which tracks vendor response times, it takes an average of 12 days to patch a Linux bug compared to an average of three months for some proprietary platforms. With the core resilience and reliability of Linux, businesses can minimize downtime, which directly increases their bottom line. The Spread of Open Systems Businesses and governments are opting for open source operating systems like Linux instead of Windows. One attendee at the Linux Desktop Consortium in 2004 was Dr. Martin Echt, a cardiologist from Albany, New York. Dr. Echt, chief operating officer of Capital Cardiology Associates, an eight-office practice, discussed his decision to shift his business from Microsoft's Windows to Linux. Dr. Echt is not your typical computer geek or Linux supporter, and he is not the only one switching to Linux. The State Council in China has mandated that all ministries install the local flavor of Linux, dubbed Red Flag, on their PCs. In Spain, the government has installed a Linux operating system that incorporates the regional dialect. The city of Munich, despite a personal visit from Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, is converting its 14,000 PCs from Windows to Linux. "It's open season for open source," declared Walter Raizner, general manager of IBM Germany. One of the biggest corporate backers of Linux, IBM has more than 75 government customers worldwide, including agencies in France, Spain, Britain, Australia, Mexico, the United States, and Japan. The move toward Linux varies for each country or company. For Dr. Echt, it was a question of lower price and long-term flexibility. In China, the government claimed national security as a reason to move to open source code because it permitted engineers to make sure there were no security leaks and no spyware installed on its computers. In Munich, the move was largely political. Regardless of the reason, the market is shifting toward Linux. Microsoft versus Linux Bill Gates has openly stated that Linux is not a threat to Microsoft. According to IDC analysts, Microsoft's operating systems ship with 93.8 percent of all desktops worldwide. Ted Schadler, IDC research principal analyst, states that despite the push of lower cost Linux players into the market, Microsoft will maintain its desktop market share for the following three reasons: 1. Linux adds features to its applications that most computer users have already come to expect. 2. Linux applications might not be compatible with Microsoft applications such as Microsoft Word or Microsoft Excel. 3. Microsoft continues to innovate, and the latest version of Office is beginning to integrate word processing and spreadsheet software to corporate databases and other applications. The Future of Linux IDC analyst Al Gillen predicts that an open source operating system will not enjoy explosive growth on the desktop for at least six or eight years. Still, even Gillen cannot deny that Linux's penetration continues to rise, with an estimated 18 million users. Linux's market share increased from 1.5 percent at the end of 2000 to 4.2 percent at the beginning of 2004. According to IDC, by the end of 2005 it surpassed Apple's Mac OS, which has 2.9 percent of the market, as the second most popular operating system. Gartner Dataquest estimates Linux's server market share will grow seven times faster than Windows. Research the Internet and discover potential ways that open source software might revolutionize business in the future.

Planning for Disaster Recovery You are the new senior analyst in the IT department at Beltz, a large snack food manufacturing company. The company is located on the beautiful shoreline in Charleston, North Carolina. The company's location is one of its best and also worst features. The weather and surroundings are beautiful, but the threat of hurricanes and other natural disasters is high. Compile a disaster recovery plan that will minimize any risks involved with a natural disaster.

Comparing Backup and Recovery Systems Research the Internet to find three different vendors of backup and recovery systems. Compare and contrast the three systems and determine which one you would recommend if you were installing a backup and recovery system for a medium-sized business with 3,500 employees that maintains information on the stock market. Compile your findings in a presentation that you can give to your class that details the three systems' strengths and weaknesses, along with your recommendation.

Ranking the -ilities In a group, review the MIS infrastructure characteristics and rank them in order of their impact on an organization's success. Use a rating system of 1 to 7, where 1 indicates the biggest impact and 7 indicates the least impact.

Designing an Enterprise Architecture Components of a solid enterprise architecture include everything from documentation to business concepts to software and hardware. Deciding which components to implement and how to implement them can be a challenge. New IT components are released daily, and business needs continually change. An enterprise architecture that meets your organization's needs today may not meet those needs tomorrow. Building an enterprise architecture that is scalable, flexible, available, accessible, and reliable is key to your organization's success. You are the enterprise architect (EA) for a large clothing company called Xedous. You are responsible for developing the initial enterprise architecture. Create a list of questions you will need answered to develop your architecture. Below is an example of a few of the questions you might ask. What are the company's growth expectations Will systems be able to handle additional users How long will information be stored in the systems How much customer history must be stored What are the organization's business hours What are the organization's backup requirements

Watching Where You Step-Prada Prada estimates its sales per year at $22 million. The luxury retailer recently spent millions on IT for its futuristic "epicenter" store-but the flashy technology turned into a high-priced hassle. The company needed to generate annual sales of $75 million by 2007 to turn a profit on its new high-tech investment. When Prada opened its $40 million Manhattan flagship, hotshot architect Rem Koolhaas promised a radically new shopping experience. And he kept the promise-though not quite according to plan. Customers were soon enduring hordes of tourists, neglected technology, and the occasional thrill of getting stuck in experimental dressing rooms. A few of the problems associated with the store: 1. Fickle fitting rooms -Doors that turn from clear to opaque confuse shoppers and frequently fail to open on cue. Failed RFID -Touch screens meant to spring to life when items are placed in the RFID "closets" are often just blank. 3. Pointless PDAs -Salesclerks let the handheld devices gather dust and instead check the stockroom for inventory. 4. Neglected network -A lag between sales and inventory systems makes the wireless ne twork nearly irrelevant. This was not exactly the vision for the high-end boutique when it debuted in December 2001. Instead, the 22,000-square-foot SoHo shop was to be the first of four "epicenter" stores around the world that would combine cutting-edge architecture and 21st century technology to revolutionize the luxury shopping experience. Prada poured roughly 25 percent of the store's budget into IT, including a wireless network to link every item to an Oracle inventory database in real-time using radio frequency identification (RFID) tags on the clothes. The staff would roam the floor armed with PDAs to check whether items were in stock, and customers could do the same through touch screens in the dressing rooms. But most of the flashy technology today sits idle, abandoned by employees who never quite embraced computing chic and are now too overwhelmed by large crowds to assist shoppers with handhelds. On top of that, many gadgets, such as automated dressing-room doors and touch screens, are either malfunctioning or ignored. Packed with experimental technology, the clear-glass dressing-room doors were designed to open and close automatically at the tap of a foot pedal, then turn opaque when a second pedal sent an electric current through the glass. Inside, an RFID-aware rack would recognize a customer's selections and display them on a touch screen linked to the inventory system. In practice, the process was hardly that smooth. Many shoppers never quite understood the pedals and disrobed in full view, thinking the door had turned opaque. That is no longer a problem, since staff members usually leave the glass opaque, but often the doors get stuck. Some of the chambers are open only to VIP customers during peak traffic times. With the smart closets and handhelds out of commission, the wireless network in the store is nearly irrelevant, despite its considerable expense. As Prada's debt reportedly climbed to around $1 billion in late 2001, the company shelved plans for the fourth epicenter store, in San Francisco. A second store opened in Tokyo to great acclaim, albeit with different architects in a different market. Though that store incorporates similar cutting-edge concepts, architect Jacques Herzog emphasized that avant-garde retail plays well only in Japan. "This building is clearly a building for Tokyo," he told The New York Times. "It couldn't be somewhere else." The multimillion-dollar technology is starting to look more like technology for technology's sake than an enhancement of the shopping experience, and the store's failings have prompted Prada to reevaluate its epicenter strategy. Explain how Prada was anticipating using its wireless network to help its stores operate more efficiently. What prevented the system from working correctly

Watching Where You Step-Prada Prada estimates its sales per year at $22 million. The luxury retailer recently spent millions on IT for its futuristic "epicenter" store-but the flashy technology turned into a high-priced hassle. The company needed to generate annual sales of $75 million by 2007 to turn a profit on its new high-tech investment. When Prada opened its $40 million Manhattan flagship, hotshot architect Rem Koolhaas promised a radically new shopping experience. And he kept the promise-though not quite according to plan. Customers were soon enduring hordes of tourists, neglected technology, and the occasional thrill of getting stuck in experimental dressing rooms. A few of the problems associated with the store: 1. Fickle fitting rooms -Doors that turn from clear to opaque confuse shoppers and frequently fail to open on cue. Failed RFID -Touch screens meant to spring to life when items are placed in the RFID "closets" are often just blank. 3. Pointless PDAs -Salesclerks let the handheld devices gather dust and instead check the stockroom for inventory. 4. Neglected network -A lag between sales and inventory systems makes the wireless ne twork nearly irrelevant. This was not exactly the vision for the high-end boutique when it debuted in December 2001. Instead, the 22,000-square-foot SoHo shop was to be the first of four "epicenter" stores around the world that would combine cutting-edge architecture and 21st century technology to revolutionize the luxury shopping experience. Prada poured roughly 25 percent of the store's budget into IT, including a wireless network to link every item to an Oracle inventory database in real-time using radio frequency identification (RFID) tags on the clothes. The staff would roam the floor armed with PDAs to check whether items were in stock, and customers could do the same through touch screens in the dressing rooms. But most of the flashy technology today sits idle, abandoned by employees who never quite embraced computing chic and are now too overwhelmed by large crowds to assist shoppers with handhelds. On top of that, many gadgets, such as automated dressing-room doors and touch screens, are either malfunctioning or ignored. Packed with experimental technology, the clear-glass dressing-room doors were designed to open and close automatically at the tap of a foot pedal, then turn opaque when a second pedal sent an electric current through the glass. Inside, an RFID-aware rack would recognize a customer's selections and display them on a touch screen linked to the inventory system. In practice, the process was hardly that smooth. Many shoppers never quite understood the pedals and disrobed in full view, thinking the door had turned opaque. That is no longer a problem, since staff members usually leave the glass opaque, but often the doors get stuck. Some of the chambers are open only to VIP customers during peak traffic times. With the smart closets and handhelds out of commission, the wireless network in the store is nearly irrelevant, despite its considerable expense. As Prada's debt reportedly climbed to around $1 billion in late 2001, the company shelved plans for the fourth epicenter store, in San Francisco. A second store opened in Tokyo to great acclaim, albeit with different architects in a different market. Though that store incorporates similar cutting-edge concepts, architect Jacques Herzog emphasized that avant-garde retail plays well only in Japan. "This building is clearly a building for Tokyo," he told The New York Times. "It couldn't be somewhere else." The multimillion-dollar technology is starting to look more like technology for technology's sake than an enhancement of the shopping experience, and the store's failings have prompted Prada to reevaluate its epicenter strategy. What could Prada have done to help its employees embrace the wireless network

Watching Where You Step-Prada Prada estimates its sales per year at $22 million. The luxury retailer recently spent millions on IT for its futuristic "epicenter" store-but the flashy technology turned into a high-priced hassle. The company needed to generate annual sales of $75 million by 2007 to turn a profit on its new high-tech investment. When Prada opened its $40 million Manhattan flagship, hotshot architect Rem Koolhaas promised a radically new shopping experience. And he kept the promise-though not quite according to plan. Customers were soon enduring hordes of tourists, neglected technology, and the occasional thrill of getting stuck in experimental dressing rooms. A few of the problems associated with the store: 1. Fickle fitting rooms -Doors that turn from clear to opaque confuse shoppers and frequently fail to open on cue. Failed RFID -Touch screens meant to spring to life when items are placed in the RFID "closets" are often just blank. 3. Pointless PDAs -Salesclerks let the handheld devices gather dust and instead check the stockroom for inventory. 4. Neglected network -A lag between sales and inventory systems makes the wireless ne twork nearly irrelevant. This was not exactly the vision for the high-end boutique when it debuted in December 2001. Instead, the 22,000-square-foot SoHo shop was to be the first of four "epicenter" stores around the world that would combine cutting-edge architecture and 21st century technology to revolutionize the luxury shopping experience. Prada poured roughly 25 percent of the store's budget into IT, including a wireless network to link every item to an Oracle inventory database in real-time using radio frequency identification (RFID) tags on the clothes. The staff would roam the floor armed with PDAs to check whether items were in stock, and customers could do the same through touch screens in the dressing rooms. But most of the flashy technology today sits idle, abandoned by employees who never quite embraced computing chic and are now too overwhelmed by large crowds to assist shoppers with handhelds. On top of that, many gadgets, such as automated dressing-room doors and touch screens, are either malfunctioning or ignored. Packed with experimental technology, the clear-glass dressing-room doors were designed to open and close automatically at the tap of a foot pedal, then turn opaque when a second pedal sent an electric current through the glass. Inside, an RFID-aware rack would recognize a customer's selections and display them on a touch screen linked to the inventory system. In practice, the process was hardly that smooth. Many shoppers never quite understood the pedals and disrobed in full view, thinking the door had turned opaque. That is no longer a problem, since staff members usually leave the glass opaque, but often the doors get stuck. Some of the chambers are open only to VIP customers during peak traffic times. With the smart closets and handhelds out of commission, the wireless network in the store is nearly irrelevant, despite its considerable expense. As Prada's debt reportedly climbed to around $1 billion in late 2001, the company shelved plans for the fourth epicenter store, in San Francisco. A second store opened in Tokyo to great acclaim, albeit with different architects in a different market. Though that store incorporates similar cutting-edge concepts, architect Jacques Herzog emphasized that avant-garde retail plays well only in Japan. "This building is clearly a building for Tokyo," he told The New York Times. "It couldn't be somewhere else." The multimillion-dollar technology is starting to look more like technology for technology's sake than an enhancement of the shopping experience, and the store's failings have prompted Prada to reevaluate its epicenter strategy. Would Prada have experienced the same issues if it had used a wire (guided) network instead of a wireless (unguided) network

Watching Where You Step-Prada Prada estimates its sales per year at $22 million. The luxury retailer recently spent millions on IT for its futuristic "epicenter" store-but the flashy technology turned into a high-priced hassle. The company needed to generate annual sales of $75 million by 2007 to turn a profit on its new high-tech investment. When Prada opened its $40 million Manhattan flagship, hotshot architect Rem Koolhaas promised a radically new shopping experience. And he kept the promise-though not quite according to plan. Customers were soon enduring hordes of tourists, neglected technology, and the occasional thrill of getting stuck in experimental dressing rooms. A few of the problems associated with the store: 1. Fickle fitting rooms -Doors that turn from clear to opaque confuse shoppers and frequently fail to open on cue. Failed RFID -Touch screens meant to spring to life when items are placed in the RFID "closets" are often just blank. 3. Pointless PDAs -Salesclerks let the handheld devices gather dust and instead check the stockroom for inventory. 4. Neglected network -A lag between sales and inventory systems makes the wireless ne twork nearly irrelevant. This was not exactly the vision for the high-end boutique when it debuted in December 2001. Instead, the 22,000-square-foot SoHo shop was to be the first of four "epicenter" stores around the world that would combine cutting-edge architecture and 21st century technology to revolutionize the luxury shopping experience. Prada poured roughly 25 percent of the store's budget into IT, including a wireless network to link every item to an Oracle inventory database in real-time using radio frequency identification (RFID) tags on the clothes. The staff would roam the floor armed with PDAs to check whether items were in stock, and customers could do the same through touch screens in the dressing rooms. But most of the flashy technology today sits idle, abandoned by employees who never quite embraced computing chic and are now too overwhelmed by large crowds to assist shoppers with handhelds. On top of that, many gadgets, such as automated dressing-room doors and touch screens, are either malfunctioning or ignored. Packed with experimental technology, the clear-glass dressing-room doors were designed to open and close automatically at the tap of a foot pedal, then turn opaque when a second pedal sent an electric current through the glass. Inside, an RFID-aware rack would recognize a customer's selections and display them on a touch screen linked to the inventory system. In practice, the process was hardly that smooth. Many shoppers never quite understood the pedals and disrobed in full view, thinking the door had turned opaque. That is no longer a problem, since staff members usually leave the glass opaque, but often the doors get stuck. Some of the chambers are open only to VIP customers during peak traffic times. With the smart closets and handhelds out of commission, the wireless network in the store is nearly irrelevant, despite its considerable expense. As Prada's debt reportedly climbed to around $1 billion in late 2001, the company shelved plans for the fourth epicenter store, in San Francisco. A second store opened in Tokyo to great acclaim, albeit with different architects in a different market. Though that store incorporates similar cutting-edge concepts, architect Jacques Herzog emphasized that avant-garde retail plays well only in Japan. "This building is clearly a building for Tokyo," he told The New York Times. "It couldn't be somewhere else." The multimillion-dollar technology is starting to look more like technology for technology's sake than an enhancement of the shopping experience, and the store's failings have prompted Prada to reevaluate its epicenter strategy. What security issues would Prada need to be aware of concerning its wireless network

Watching Where You Step-Prada Prada estimates its sales per year at $22 million. The luxury retailer recently spent millions on IT for its futuristic "epicenter" store-but the flashy technology turned into a high-priced hassle. The company needed to generate annual sales of $75 million by 2007 to turn a profit on its new high-tech investment. When Prada opened its $40 million Manhattan flagship, hotshot architect Rem Koolhaas promised a radically new shopping experience. And he kept the promise-though not quite according to plan. Customers were soon enduring hordes of tourists, neglected technology, and the occasional thrill of getting stuck in experimental dressing rooms. A few of the problems associated with the store: 1. Fickle fitting rooms -Doors that turn from clear to opaque confuse shoppers and frequently fail to open on cue. Failed RFID -Touch screens meant to spring to life when items are placed in the RFID "closets" are often just blank. 3. Pointless PDAs -Salesclerks let the handheld devices gather dust and instead check the stockroom for inventory. 4. Neglected network -A lag between sales and inventory systems makes the wireless ne twork nearly irrelevant. This was not exactly the vision for the high-end boutique when it debuted in December 2001. Instead, the 22,000-square-foot SoHo shop was to be the first of four "epicenter" stores around the world that would combine cutting-edge architecture and 21st century technology to revolutionize the luxury shopping experience. Prada poured roughly 25 percent of the store's budget into IT, including a wireless network to link every item to an Oracle inventory database in real-time using radio frequency identification (RFID) tags on the clothes. The staff would roam the floor armed with PDAs to check whether items were in stock, and customers could do the same through touch screens in the dressing rooms. But most of the flashy technology today sits idle, abandoned by employees who never quite embraced computing chic and are now too overwhelmed by large crowds to assist shoppers with handhelds. On top of that, many gadgets, such as automated dressing-room doors and touch screens, are either malfunctioning or ignored. Packed with experimental technology, the clear-glass dressing-room doors were designed to open and close automatically at the tap of a foot pedal, then turn opaque when a second pedal sent an electric current through the glass. Inside, an RFID-aware rack would recognize a customer's selections and display them on a touch screen linked to the inventory system. In practice, the process was hardly that smooth. Many shoppers never quite understood the pedals and disrobed in full view, thinking the door had turned opaque. That is no longer a problem, since staff members usually leave the glass opaque, but often the doors get stuck. Some of the chambers are open only to VIP customers during peak traffic times. With the smart closets and handhelds out of commission, the wireless network in the store is nearly irrelevant, despite its considerable expense. As Prada's debt reportedly climbed to around $1 billion in late 2001, the company shelved plans for the fourth epicenter store, in San Francisco. A second store opened in Tokyo to great acclaim, albeit with different architects in a different market. Though that store incorporates similar cutting-edge concepts, architect Jacques Herzog emphasized that avant-garde retail plays well only in Japan. "This building is clearly a building for Tokyo," he told The New York Times. "It couldn't be somewhere else." The multimillion-dollar technology is starting to look more like technology for technology's sake than an enhancement of the shopping experience, and the store's failings have prompted Prada to reevaluate its epicenter strategy. What should Prada do differently when designing its fourth store to ensure its success

Banks Banking on Network Security Bank of America, Commerce Bancorp, PNC Financial Services Group, and Wachovia were victims of a crime involving a person trying to obtain customer data and sell it to law firms and debt-collection agencies. New Jersey police seized 13 computers from the alleged mastermind with 670,000 account numbers and balances. There is no indication the data were used for identity theft, but it highlights how increasingly difficult it is to protect information against such schemes as the market value of personal information grows. In the past, banks were wary of the cost or customer backlash from adopting network security technologies. Today, banks are beefing up network security as more customers begin to view security as a key factor when choosing a bank. Bank of America Bank of America is moving toward a stronger authentication process for its 13 million online customers. Bank of America's new SiteKey service is designed to thwart scams in which customers think they are entering data on the bank's website, when they are actually on a thief's site built to steal data. This occurs when a worm tells a computer to reroute the bank's URL into a browser to another site that looks exactly like the bank's. SiteKey offers two-factor authentication. When enrolling in SiteKey, a customer picks an image from a library and writes a brief phrase. Each time the customer signs on, the image and phrase are displayed, indicating that the bank recognizes the computer the customer is using and letting the customer know that he or she is at the bank's official website. The customer then enters a password and proceeds. When signing on from a different computer than usual, the customer must answer one of three prearranged questions. Wells Fargo Company "Out-of-wallet" questions contain information that is not found on a driver's license or ATM card. Wells Fargo is implementing a security strategy that operates based on "out-ofwallet" questions as a second factor for network password enrollment and maintenance. It is also offering network security hardware such as key fobs that change passwords every 60 seconds. Last fall It launched a two-factor authentication pilot in which small businesses making electronic funds transfers need a key fob to complete transactions. E*Trade Financial Corporation E*Trade Financial Corporation provides customers holding account balances of more than $50,000 with a free Digital Security ID for network authentication. The device displays a new six-digit code every 60 seconds, which the customer must use to log on. Accounts under $50,000 can purchase the Digital Security ID device for $25. Barclays Bank Barclays Bank instituted online-transfer delays of between several hours and one day. The delays, which apply the first time a transfer is attempted between two accounts, are intended to give the bank time to detect suspicious activity, such as a large number of transfers from multiple accounts into a single account. The online-transfer delay was adopted in response to a wave of phishing incidents in which thieves transferred funds from victims' bank accounts into accounts owned by "mules." Mules are people who open bank accounts based on email solicitations, usually under the guise of a business proposal. From the mule accounts, the thieves withdraw cash, open credit cards, or otherwise loot the account. Barclays also offers account monitoring of customers' actions to compare them with historical profile data to detect unusual behavior. For instance, the service would alert the bank to contact the customer if the customer normally logs on from England and suddenly logs on from New York and performs 20 transactions. What reason would a bank have for not wanting to adopt an online-transfer delay policy

Banks Banking on Network Security Bank of America, Commerce Bancorp, PNC Financial Services Group, and Wachovia were victims of a crime involving a person trying to obtain customer data and sell it to law firms and debt-collection agencies. New Jersey police seized 13 computers from the alleged mastermind with 670,000 account numbers and balances. There is no indication the data were used for identity theft, but it highlights how increasingly difficult it is to protect information against such schemes as the market value of personal information grows. In the past, banks were wary of the cost or customer backlash from adopting network security technologies. Today, banks are beefing up network security as more customers begin to view security as a key factor when choosing a bank. Bank of America Bank of America is moving toward a stronger authentication process for its 13 million online customers. Bank of America's new SiteKey service is designed to thwart scams in which customers think they are entering data on the bank's website, when they are actually on a thief's site built to steal data. This occurs when a worm tells a computer to reroute the bank's URL into a browser to another site that looks exactly like the bank's. SiteKey offers two-factor authentication. When enrolling in SiteKey, a customer picks an image from a library and writes a brief phrase. Each time the customer signs on, the image and phrase are displayed, indicating that the bank recognizes the computer the customer is using and letting the customer know that he or she is at the bank's official website. The customer then enters a password and proceeds. When signing on from a different computer than usual, the customer must answer one of three prearranged questions. Wells Fargo Company "Out-of-wallet" questions contain information that is not found on a driver's license or ATM card. Wells Fargo is implementing a security strategy that operates based on "out-ofwallet" questions as a second factor for network password enrollment and maintenance. It is also offering network security hardware such as key fobs that change passwords every 60 seconds. Last fall It launched a two-factor authentication pilot in which small businesses making electronic funds transfers need a key fob to complete transactions. E*Trade Financial Corporation E*Trade Financial Corporation provides customers holding account balances of more than $50,000 with a free Digital Security ID for network authentication. The device displays a new six-digit code every 60 seconds, which the customer must use to log on. Accounts under $50,000 can purchase the Digital Security ID device for $25. Barclays Bank Barclays Bank instituted online-transfer delays of between several hours and one day. The delays, which apply the first time a transfer is attempted between two accounts, are intended to give the bank time to detect suspicious activity, such as a large number of transfers from multiple accounts into a single account. The online-transfer delay was adopted in response to a wave of phishing incidents in which thieves transferred funds from victims' bank accounts into accounts owned by "mules." Mules are people who open bank accounts based on email solicitations, usually under the guise of a business proposal. From the mule accounts, the thieves withdraw cash, open credit cards, or otherwise loot the account. Barclays also offers account monitoring of customers' actions to compare them with historical profile data to detect unusual behavior. For instance, the service would alert the bank to contact the customer if the customer normally logs on from England and suddenly logs on from New York and performs 20 transactions. Why is network security critical to financial institutions

Banks Banking on Network Security Bank of America, Commerce Bancorp, PNC Financial Services Group, and Wachovia were victims of a crime involving a person trying to obtain customer data and sell it to law firms and debt-collection agencies. New Jersey police seized 13 computers from the alleged mastermind with 670,000 account numbers and balances. There is no indication the data were used for identity theft, but it highlights how increasingly difficult it is to protect information against such schemes as the market value of personal information grows. In the past, banks were wary of the cost or customer backlash from adopting network security technologies. Today, banks are beefing up network security as more customers begin to view security as a key factor when choosing a bank. Bank of America Bank of America is moving toward a stronger authentication process for its 13 million online customers. Bank of America's new SiteKey service is designed to thwart scams in which customers think they are entering data on the bank's website, when they are actually on a thief's site built to steal data. This occurs when a worm tells a computer to reroute the bank's URL into a browser to another site that looks exactly like the bank's. SiteKey offers two-factor authentication. When enrolling in SiteKey, a customer picks an image from a library and writes a brief phrase. Each time the customer signs on, the image and phrase are displayed, indicating that the bank recognizes the computer the customer is using and letting the customer know that he or she is at the bank's official website. The customer then enters a password and proceeds. When signing on from a different computer than usual, the customer must answer one of three prearranged questions. Wells Fargo Company "Out-of-wallet" questions contain information that is not found on a driver's license or ATM card. Wells Fargo is implementing a security strategy that operates based on "out-ofwallet" questions as a second factor for network password enrollment and maintenance. It is also offering network security hardware such as key fobs that change passwords every 60 seconds. Last fall It launched a two-factor authentication pilot in which small businesses making electronic funds transfers need a key fob to complete transactions. E*Trade Financial Corporation E*Trade Financial Corporation provides customers holding account balances of more than $50,000 with a free Digital Security ID for network authentication. The device displays a new six-digit code every 60 seconds, which the customer must use to log on. Accounts under $50,000 can purchase the Digital Security ID device for $25. Barclays Bank Barclays Bank instituted online-transfer delays of between several hours and one day. The delays, which apply the first time a transfer is attempted between two accounts, are intended to give the bank time to detect suspicious activity, such as a large number of transfers from multiple accounts into a single account. The online-transfer delay was adopted in response to a wave of phishing incidents in which thieves transferred funds from victims' bank accounts into accounts owned by "mules." Mules are people who open bank accounts based on email solicitations, usually under the guise of a business proposal. From the mule accounts, the thieves withdraw cash, open credit cards, or otherwise loot the account. Barclays also offers account monitoring of customers' actions to compare them with historical profile data to detect unusual behavior. For instance, the service would alert the bank to contact the customer if the customer normally logs on from England and suddenly logs on from New York and performs 20 transactions. Explain the differences between the types of network security offered by the banks in the case. Which bank would you open an account with and why

Banks Banking on Network Security Bank of America, Commerce Bancorp, PNC Financial Services Group, and Wachovia were victims of a crime involving a person trying to obtain customer data and sell it to law firms and debt-collection agencies. New Jersey police seized 13 computers from the alleged mastermind with 670,000 account numbers and balances. There is no indication the data were used for identity theft, but it highlights how increasingly difficult it is to protect information against such schemes as the market value of personal information grows. In the past, banks were wary of the cost or customer backlash from adopting network security technologies. Today, banks are beefing up network security as more customers begin to view security as a key factor when choosing a bank. Bank of America Bank of America is moving toward a stronger authentication process for its 13 million online customers. Bank of America's new SiteKey service is designed to thwart scams in which customers think they are entering data on the bank's website, when they are actually on a thief's site built to steal data. This occurs when a worm tells a computer to reroute the bank's URL into a browser to another site that looks exactly like the bank's. SiteKey offers two-factor authentication. When enrolling in SiteKey, a customer picks an image from a library and writes a brief phrase. Each time the customer signs on, the image and phrase are displayed, indicating that the bank recognizes the computer the customer is using and letting the customer know that he or she is at the bank's official website. The customer then enters a password and proceeds. When signing on from a different computer than usual, the customer must answer one of three prearranged questions. Wells Fargo Company "Out-of-wallet" questions contain information that is not found on a driver's license or ATM card. Wells Fargo is implementing a security strategy that operates based on "out-ofwallet" questions as a second factor for network password enrollment and maintenance. It is also offering network security hardware such as key fobs that change passwords every 60 seconds. Last fall It launched a two-factor authentication pilot in which small businesses making electronic funds transfers need a key fob to complete transactions. E*Trade Financial Corporation E*Trade Financial Corporation provides customers holding account balances of more than $50,000 with a free Digital Security ID for network authentication. The device displays a new six-digit code every 60 seconds, which the customer must use to log on. Accounts under $50,000 can purchase the Digital Security ID device for $25. Barclays Bank Barclays Bank instituted online-transfer delays of between several hours and one day. The delays, which apply the first time a transfer is attempted between two accounts, are intended to give the bank time to detect suspicious activity, such as a large number of transfers from multiple accounts into a single account. The online-transfer delay was adopted in response to a wave of phishing incidents in which thieves transferred funds from victims' bank accounts into accounts owned by "mules." Mules are people who open bank accounts based on email solicitations, usually under the guise of a business proposal. From the mule accounts, the thieves withdraw cash, open credit cards, or otherwise loot the account. Barclays also offers account monitoring of customers' actions to compare them with historical profile data to detect unusual behavior. For instance, the service would alert the bank to contact the customer if the customer normally logs on from England and suddenly logs on from New York and performs 20 transactions. What additional types of network security, not mentioned in the case, would you recommend a bank implement

Banks Banking on Network Security Bank of America, Commerce Bancorp, PNC Financial Services Group, and Wachovia were victims of a crime involving a person trying to obtain customer data and sell it to law firms and debt-collection agencies. New Jersey police seized 13 computers from the alleged mastermind with 670,000 account numbers and balances. There is no indication the data were used for identity theft, but it highlights how increasingly difficult it is to protect information against such schemes as the market value of personal information grows. In the past, banks were wary of the cost or customer backlash from adopting network security technologies. Today, banks are beefing up network security as more customers begin to view security as a key factor when choosing a bank. Bank of America Bank of America is moving toward a stronger authentication process for its 13 million online customers. Bank of America's new SiteKey service is designed to thwart scams in which customers think they are entering data on the bank's website, when they are actually on a thief's site built to steal data. This occurs when a worm tells a computer to reroute the bank's URL into a browser to another site that looks exactly like the bank's. SiteKey offers two-factor authentication. When enrolling in SiteKey, a customer picks an image from a library and writes a brief phrase. Each time the customer signs on, the image and phrase are displayed, indicating that the bank recognizes the computer the customer is using and letting the customer know that he or she is at the bank's official website. The customer then enters a password and proceeds. When signing on from a different computer than usual, the customer must answer one of three prearranged questions. Wells Fargo Company "Out-of-wallet" questions contain information that is not found on a driver's license or ATM card. Wells Fargo is implementing a security strategy that operates based on "out-ofwallet" questions as a second factor for network password enrollment and maintenance. It is also offering network security hardware such as key fobs that change passwords every 60 seconds. Last fall It launched a two-factor authentication pilot in which small businesses making electronic funds transfers need a key fob to complete transactions. E*Trade Financial Corporation E*Trade Financial Corporation provides customers holding account balances of more than $50,000 with a free Digital Security ID for network authentication. The device displays a new six-digit code every 60 seconds, which the customer must use to log on. Accounts under $50,000 can purchase the Digital Security ID device for $25. Barclays Bank Barclays Bank instituted online-transfer delays of between several hours and one day. The delays, which apply the first time a transfer is attempted between two accounts, are intended to give the bank time to detect suspicious activity, such as a large number of transfers from multiple accounts into a single account. The online-transfer delay was adopted in response to a wave of phishing incidents in which thieves transferred funds from victims' bank accounts into accounts owned by "mules." Mules are people who open bank accounts based on email solicitations, usually under the guise of a business proposal. From the mule accounts, the thieves withdraw cash, open credit cards, or otherwise loot the account. Barclays also offers account monitoring of customers' actions to compare them with historical profile data to detect unusual behavior. For instance, the service would alert the bank to contact the customer if the customer normally logs on from England and suddenly logs on from New York and performs 20 transactions. Identity three policies a bank should implement to help it improve network information security.

Secure Access Organizations that have traditionally maintained private, closed systems have begun to look at the potential of the Internet as a ready-made network resource. The Internet is inexpensive and globally pervasive: Every phone jack is a potential connection. However, the Internet lacks security. What obstacles must organizations overcome to allow secure network connections

Rolling Out with Networks As organizations begin to realize the benefits of adding a wireless component to their network, they must understand how to leverage this emerging technology. Wireless solutions have come to the forefront for many organizations with the rollout of more standard, cost-effective, and secure wireless protocols. With wireless networks, increased business agility may be realized by continuous data access and synchronization. However, with the increased flexibility comes many challenges. Develop a report detailing the benefits an organization could obtain by implementing wireless technology. Also, include the challenges that a wireless network presents along with recommendations for any solutions.

Wireless Fitness Sandifer's Fitness Club is located in beautiful South Carolina. Rosie Sandifer has owned and operated the club for 20 years. The club has three outdoor pools, two indoor pools, 10 racquetball courts, 10 tennis courts, an indoor and outdoor track, along with a four-story exercise equipment and massage therapy building. Rosie has hired you as a summer intern specializing in information technology. The extent of Rosie's current technology includes a few PCs in the accounting department and two PCs with Internet access for the rest of the staff. Your first assignment is to create a report detailing networks and wireless technologies. The report should explain how the club could gain a business advantage by implementing a wireless network. If Rosie likes your report, she will hire you as the full-time employee in charge of information technology. Be sure to include all of the different uses for wireless devices the club could implement to improve its operations.

Network Analysis Global Manufacturing is considering a new technology application. The company wants to process orders in a central location and then assign production to different plants. Each plant will operate its own production scheduling and control system. Data on work in process and completed assemblies will be transmitted back to the central location that processes orders. At each plant, Global uses personal computers that perform routine tasks such as payroll and accounting. The production scheduling and control systems will be a package program running on a new computer dedicated to this application. The MIS personnel at Global have retained you as a consultant to help with further analysis. What kind of network configuration seems most appropriate How much bandwidth is needed What data should be collected Prepare a plan showing the information Global must develop to establish this network system. Should Global use a private network or can it accomplish its objectives through the Internet

Telecommunications Options Research the telecommunications options that currently exist for you to link to the Internet from where you live. Prepare a list of criteria on which to compare the different technologies, such as price (is there tiered pricing depending on speed and amount you can download ), start-up cost (do you need to buy a special modem, or is there an installation fee), maximum data transfer rate, and so on. Compare your responses with several classmates, and then develop a summary of all telecommunications options that you identified, including the criteria and your group comparison based on the criteria.

Frying Your Brains Radio waves, microwaves, and infrared all belong to the electromagnetic radiation spectrum used. These terms reference ranges of radiation frequencies we use every day in our wireless networking environments. However, the very word radiation strikes fear in many people. Cell towers have sprouted from fields all along highways. Tall rooftops harbor many more cell stations in cities. Millions of cell phone users place microwave transmitters/ receivers next to their heads each time they make a call. With all this radiation zapping around, should we be concerned Research the Internet to find out what the World Health Organization (WHO) has had to say about this.

Home Network Experience If you maintain a home computer network (or have set one up in the past), create a document that describes the benefits that the network provides along with the difficulties that you have experienced. Include in your document a network topology, a detailed description of the type of network you have and the equipment you use. If you have no experience with home networking, interview someone who does, and write up his or her comments. Compare this with several classmates, and discuss the benefits and challenges.

Thinking Like the Enemy David and Barry Kaufman, the founders of the Intense School, recently added several security courses, including the five-day "Professional Hacking Boot Camp" and "Social Engineering in Two Days." Information technology departments must know how to protect organizational information. Therefore, organizations must teach their IT personnel how to protect their systems, especially in light of the many new government regulations, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), that demand secure systems. The concept of sending IT professionals to a hacking school seems counterintuitive; it is somewhat similar to sending accountants to an Embezzling 101 course. The Intense School does not strive to breed the next generation of hackers, however, but to teach its students how to be "ethical" hackers: to use their skills to build better locks, and to understand the minds of those who would attempt to crack them. The main philosophy of the security courses at the Intense School is simply "To know thy enemy." In fact, one of the teachers at the Intense School is none other than Kevin Mitnick, the famous hacker who was imprisoned from 1995 to 2000. Teaching security from the hacker's perspective, as Mitnick does, is more difficult than teaching hacking itself: A hacker just needs to know one way into a system, David Kaufman notes, but a security professional needs to know all of the system's vulnerabilities. The two courses analyze those vulnerabilities from different perspectives. The hacking course, which costs $3,500, teaches ways to protect against the mischief typically associated with hackers: worming through computer systems through vulnerabilities that are susceptible to technical, or computer-based, attacks. Mitnick's $1,950 social engineering course, by contrast, teaches the more frightening art of worming through the vulnerabilities of the people using and maintaining systems-getting passwords and access through duplicity, not technology. People that take this class, or read Mitnick's book, The Art of Deception, never again think of passwords or the trash bin the same way. So how does the Intense School teach hacking With sessions on dumpster diving (the unsavory practice of looking for passwords and other bits of information on discarded papers), with field trips to case target systems, and with practice runs at the company's in-house "target range," a network of computers set up to thwart and educate students. One feature of the Intense School that raises a few questions is that the school does not check on morals at the door: Anyone paying the tuition can attend the school. Given the potential danger that an unchecked graduate of a hacking school could represent, it is surprising that the FBI does not collect the names of the graduates. But perhaps it gets them anyhow-several governmental agencies have sent students to the school. How could an organization benefit from attending one of the courses offered at the Intense School

Thinking Like the Enemy David and Barry Kaufman, the founders of the Intense School, recently added several security courses, including the five-day "Professional Hacking Boot Camp" and "Social Engineering in Two Days." Information technology departments must know how to protect organizational information. Therefore, organizations must teach their IT personnel how to protect their systems, especially in light of the many new government regulations, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), that demand secure systems. The concept of sending IT professionals to a hacking school seems counterintuitive; it is somewhat similar to sending accountants to an Embezzling 101 course. The Intense School does not strive to breed the next generation of hackers, however, but to teach its students how to be "ethical" hackers: to use their skills to build better locks, and to understand the minds of those who would attempt to crack them. The main philosophy of the security courses at the Intense School is simply "To know thy enemy." In fact, one of the teachers at the Intense School is none other than Kevin Mitnick, the famous hacker who was imprisoned from 1995 to 2000. Teaching security from the hacker's perspective, as Mitnick does, is more difficult than teaching hacking itself: A hacker just needs to know one way into a system, David Kaufman notes, but a security professional needs to know all of the system's vulnerabilities. The two courses analyze those vulnerabilities from different perspectives. The hacking course, which costs $3,500, teaches ways to protect against the mischief typically associated with hackers: worming through computer systems through vulnerabilities that are susceptible to technical, or computer-based, attacks. Mitnick's $1,950 social engineering course, by contrast, teaches the more frightening art of worming through the vulnerabilities of the people using and maintaining systems-getting passwords and access through duplicity, not technology. People that take this class, or read Mitnick's book, The Art of Deception, never again think of passwords or the trash bin the same way. So how does the Intense School teach hacking With sessions on dumpster diving (the unsavory practice of looking for passwords and other bits of information on discarded papers), with field trips to case target systems, and with practice runs at the company's in-house "target range," a network of computers set up to thwart and educate students. One feature of the Intense School that raises a few questions is that the school does not check on morals at the door: Anyone paying the tuition can attend the school. Given the potential danger that an unchecked graduate of a hacking school could represent, it is surprising that the FBI does not collect the names of the graduates. But perhaps it gets them anyhow-several governmental agencies have sent students to the school. What are the two primary lines of security defense and how can organizational employees use the information taught by the Intense School when drafting an information security plan

Thinking Like the Enemy David and Barry Kaufman, the founders of the Intense School, recently added several security courses, including the five-day "Professional Hacking Boot Camp" and "Social Engineering in Two Days." Information technology departments must know how to protect organizational information. Therefore, organizations must teach their IT personnel how to protect their systems, especially in light of the many new government regulations, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), that demand secure systems. The concept of sending IT professionals to a hacking school seems counterintuitive; it is somewhat similar to sending accountants to an Embezzling 101 course. The Intense School does not strive to breed the next generation of hackers, however, but to teach its students how to be "ethical" hackers: to use their skills to build better locks, and to understand the minds of those who would attempt to crack them. The main philosophy of the security courses at the Intense School is simply "To know thy enemy." In fact, one of the teachers at the Intense School is none other than Kevin Mitnick, the famous hacker who was imprisoned from 1995 to 2000. Teaching security from the hacker's perspective, as Mitnick does, is more difficult than teaching hacking itself: A hacker just needs to know one way into a system, David Kaufman notes, but a security professional needs to know all of the system's vulnerabilities. The two courses analyze those vulnerabilities from different perspectives. The hacking course, which costs $3,500, teaches ways to protect against the mischief typically associated with hackers: worming through computer systems through vulnerabilities that are susceptible to technical, or computer-based, attacks. Mitnick's $1,950 social engineering course, by contrast, teaches the more frightening art of worming through the vulnerabilities of the people using and maintaining systems-getting passwords and access through duplicity, not technology. People that take this class, or read Mitnick's book, The Art of Deception, never again think of passwords or the trash bin the same way. So how does the Intense School teach hacking With sessions on dumpster diving (the unsavory practice of looking for passwords and other bits of information on discarded papers), with field trips to case target systems, and with practice runs at the company's in-house "target range," a network of computers set up to thwart and educate students. One feature of the Intense School that raises a few questions is that the school does not check on morals at the door: Anyone paying the tuition can attend the school. Given the potential danger that an unchecked graduate of a hacking school could represent, it is surprising that the FBI does not collect the names of the graduates. But perhaps it gets them anyhow-several governmental agencies have sent students to the school. Determine the differences between the two primary courses offered at the Intense School, "Professional Hacking Boot Camp" and "Social Engineering in Two Days." Which course is more important for organizational employees to attend

Thinking Like the Enemy David and Barry Kaufman, the founders of the Intense School, recently added several security courses, including the five-day "Professional Hacking Boot Camp" and "Social Engineering in Two Days." Information technology departments must know how to protect organizational information. Therefore, organizations must teach their IT personnel how to protect their systems, especially in light of the many new government regulations, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), that demand secure systems. The concept of sending IT professionals to a hacking school seems counterintuitive; it is somewhat similar to sending accountants to an Embezzling 101 course. The Intense School does not strive to breed the next generation of hackers, however, but to teach its students how to be "ethical" hackers: to use their skills to build better locks, and to understand the minds of those who would attempt to crack them. The main philosophy of the security courses at the Intense School is simply "To know thy enemy." In fact, one of the teachers at the Intense School is none other than Kevin Mitnick, the famous hacker who was imprisoned from 1995 to 2000. Teaching security from the hacker's perspective, as Mitnick does, is more difficult than teaching hacking itself: A hacker just needs to know one way into a system, David Kaufman notes, but a security professional needs to know all of the system's vulnerabilities. The two courses analyze those vulnerabilities from different perspectives. The hacking course, which costs $3,500, teaches ways to protect against the mischief typically associated with hackers: worming through computer systems through vulnerabilities that are susceptible to technical, or computer-based, attacks. Mitnick's $1,950 social engineering course, by contrast, teaches the more frightening art of worming through the vulnerabilities of the people using and maintaining systems-getting passwords and access through duplicity, not technology. People that take this class, or read Mitnick's book, The Art of Deception, never again think of passwords or the trash bin the same way. So how does the Intense School teach hacking With sessions on dumpster diving (the unsavory practice of looking for passwords and other bits of information on discarded papers), with field trips to case target systems, and with practice runs at the company's in-house "target range," a network of computers set up to thwart and educate students. One feature of the Intense School that raises a few questions is that the school does not check on morals at the door: Anyone paying the tuition can attend the school. Given the potential danger that an unchecked graduate of a hacking school could represent, it is surprising that the FBI does not collect the names of the graduates. But perhaps it gets them anyhow-several governmental agencies have sent students to the school. If your employer sent you to take a course at the Intense School, which one would you choose and why

Thinking Like the Enemy David and Barry Kaufman, the founders of the Intense School, recently added several security courses, including the five-day "Professional Hacking Boot Camp" and "Social Engineering in Two Days." Information technology departments must know how to protect organizational information. Therefore, organizations must teach their IT personnel how to protect their systems, especially in light of the many new government regulations, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), that demand secure systems. The concept of sending IT professionals to a hacking school seems counterintuitive; it is somewhat similar to sending accountants to an Embezzling 101 course. The Intense School does not strive to breed the next generation of hackers, however, but to teach its students how to be "ethical" hackers: to use their skills to build better locks, and to understand the minds of those who would attempt to crack them. The main philosophy of the security courses at the Intense School is simply "To know thy enemy." In fact, one of the teachers at the Intense School is none other than Kevin Mitnick, the famous hacker who was imprisoned from 1995 to 2000. Teaching security from the hacker's perspective, as Mitnick does, is more difficult than teaching hacking itself: A hacker just needs to know one way into a system, David Kaufman notes, but a security professional needs to know all of the system's vulnerabilities. The two courses analyze those vulnerabilities from different perspectives. The hacking course, which costs $3,500, teaches ways to protect against the mischief typically associated with hackers: worming through computer systems through vulnerabilities that are susceptible to technical, or computer-based, attacks. Mitnick's $1,950 social engineering course, by contrast, teaches the more frightening art of worming through the vulnerabilities of the people using and maintaining systems-getting passwords and access through duplicity, not technology. People that take this class, or read Mitnick's book, The Art of Deception, never again think of passwords or the trash bin the same way. So how does the Intense School teach hacking With sessions on dumpster diving (the unsavory practice of looking for passwords and other bits of information on discarded papers), with field trips to case target systems, and with practice runs at the company's in-house "target range," a network of computers set up to thwart and educate students. One feature of the Intense School that raises a few questions is that the school does not check on morals at the door: Anyone paying the tuition can attend the school. Given the potential danger that an unchecked graduate of a hacking school could represent, it is surprising that the FBI does not collect the names of the graduates. But perhaps it gets them anyhow-several governmental agencies have sent students to the school. What are the ethical dilemmas involved with having such a course offered by a private company

Hacker Hunters Hacker hunters are the new breed of crime-fighter. They employ the same methodology used to fight organized crime in the 1980s-informants and the cyberworld equivalent of wiretaps. Daniel Larking, a 20-year veteran who runs the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center, taps online service providers to help track down criminal hackers. Leads supplied by the FBI and eBay helped Romanian police round up 11 members of a gang that set up fake eBay accounts and auctioned off cell phones, laptops, and cameras they never intended to deliver. On October 26, 2004, the FBI unleashed Operation Firewall, targeting the ShadowCrew, a gang whose members were schooled in identity theft, bank account pillage, and selling illegal goods on the Internet. ShadowCrew's 4,000 gang members lived in a dozen countries and across the United States. For months, agents had been watching their every move through a clandestine gateway into their website, shadowcrew.com. One member turned informant called a group meeting, ensuring the members would be at home on their computers during a certain time. At 9 p.m. the Secret Service issued orders to move in on the gang. The move was synchronized around the globe to prevent gang members from warning each other via instant messages. Twenty-eight gang members in eight states and six countries were arrested, most still at their computers. Authorities seized dozens of computers and found 1.7 million credit card numbers and more than 18 million email accounts. ShadowCrew's Operations The alleged ringleaders of ShadowCrew included Andres Mantovani, 23, a part-time community college student in Arizona, and David Appleyard, 45, a former New Jersey mortgage broker. Mantovani and Appleyard allegedly were administrators in charge of running the website and recruiting members. The site created a marketplace for over 4,000 gang members who bought and sold hot information and merchandise. The website was open for business 24 hours a day, but since most of the members held jobs, the busiest time was from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Sundays. Hundreds of gang members would meet online to trade credit card information, passports, and even equipment to make fake identity documents. Platinum credit cards cost more than gold ones and discounts were offered for package deals. One member known as "Scarface" sold 115,695 stolen credit card numbers in a single trade. Overall, the gang made more than $4 million in credit card purchases over two years. ShadowCrew was equivalent to an eBay for the underworld. The site even posted crime tips on how to use stolen credit cards and fake IDs at big retailers. The gang stole credit card numbers and other valuable information through clever tricks. One of the favorites was sending millions of phishing emails-messages that appeared to be from legitimate companies such as Yahoo!-designed to steal passwords and credit card numbers. The gang also hacked into corporate databases to steal account data. According to sources familiar with the investigation, the gang cracked the networks of 12 unidentified companies that were not even aware their systems had been breached. Police Operations Brian Nagel, an assistant director at the Secret Service, coordinated the effort to track the ShadowCrew. Allies included Britain's National High-Tech Crimes unit, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and the Bulgarian Interior Ministry. Authorities turned one of the highranking members of the gang into a snitch and had the man help the Secret Service set up a new electronic doorway for ShadowCrew members to enter their website. The snitch spread the word that the new gateway was a more secure way to the website. It was the first-ever tap of a private computer network. "We became shadowcrew.com," Nagel said. What types of technology could big retailers use to prevent identity thieves from purchasing merchandise

Hacker Hunters Hacker hunters are the new breed of crime-fighter. They employ the same methodology used to fight organized crime in the 1980s-informants and the cyberworld equivalent of wiretaps. Daniel Larking, a 20-year veteran who runs the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center, taps online service providers to help track down criminal hackers. Leads supplied by the FBI and eBay helped Romanian police round up 11 members of a gang that set up fake eBay accounts and auctioned off cell phones, laptops, and cameras they never intended to deliver. On October 26, 2004, the FBI unleashed Operation Firewall, targeting the ShadowCrew, a gang whose members were schooled in identity theft, bank account pillage, and selling illegal goods on the Internet. ShadowCrew's 4,000 gang members lived in a dozen countries and across the United States. For months, agents had been watching their every move through a clandestine gateway into their website, shadowcrew.com. One member turned informant called a group meeting, ensuring the members would be at home on their computers during a certain time. At 9 p.m. the Secret Service issued orders to move in on the gang. The move was synchronized around the globe to prevent gang members from warning each other via instant messages. Twenty-eight gang members in eight states and six countries were arrested, most still at their computers. Authorities seized dozens of computers and found 1.7 million credit card numbers and more than 18 million email accounts. ShadowCrew's Operations The alleged ringleaders of ShadowCrew included Andres Mantovani, 23, a part-time community college student in Arizona, and David Appleyard, 45, a former New Jersey mortgage broker. Mantovani and Appleyard allegedly were administrators in charge of running the website and recruiting members. The site created a marketplace for over 4,000 gang members who bought and sold hot information and merchandise. The website was open for business 24 hours a day, but since most of the members held jobs, the busiest time was from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Sundays. Hundreds of gang members would meet online to trade credit card information, passports, and even equipment to make fake identity documents. Platinum credit cards cost more than gold ones and discounts were offered for package deals. One member known as "Scarface" sold 115,695 stolen credit card numbers in a single trade. Overall, the gang made more than $4 million in credit card purchases over two years. ShadowCrew was equivalent to an eBay for the underworld. The site even posted crime tips on how to use stolen credit cards and fake IDs at big retailers. The gang stole credit card numbers and other valuable information through clever tricks. One of the favorites was sending millions of phishing emails-messages that appeared to be from legitimate companies such as Yahoo!-designed to steal passwords and credit card numbers. The gang also hacked into corporate databases to steal account data. According to sources familiar with the investigation, the gang cracked the networks of 12 unidentified companies that were not even aware their systems had been breached. Police Operations Brian Nagel, an assistant director at the Secret Service, coordinated the effort to track the ShadowCrew. Allies included Britain's National High-Tech Crimes unit, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and the Bulgarian Interior Ministry. Authorities turned one of the highranking members of the gang into a snitch and had the man help the Secret Service set up a new electronic doorway for ShadowCrew members to enter their website. The snitch spread the word that the new gateway was a more secure way to the website. It was the first-ever tap of a private computer network. "We became shadowcrew.com," Nagel said. What can organizations do to protect themselves from hackers looking to steal account data

Hacker Hunters Hacker hunters are the new breed of crime-fighter. They employ the same methodology used to fight organized crime in the 1980s-informants and the cyberworld equivalent of wiretaps. Daniel Larking, a 20-year veteran who runs the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center, taps online service providers to help track down criminal hackers. Leads supplied by the FBI and eBay helped Romanian police round up 11 members of a gang that set up fake eBay accounts and auctioned off cell phones, laptops, and cameras they never intended to deliver. On October 26, 2004, the FBI unleashed Operation Firewall, targeting the ShadowCrew, a gang whose members were schooled in identity theft, bank account pillage, and selling illegal goods on the Internet. ShadowCrew's 4,000 gang members lived in a dozen countries and across the United States. For months, agents had been watching their every move through a clandestine gateway into their website, shadowcrew.com. One member turned informant called a group meeting, ensuring the members would be at home on their computers during a certain time. At 9 p.m. the Secret Service issued orders to move in on the gang. The move was synchronized around the globe to prevent gang members from warning each other via instant messages. Twenty-eight gang members in eight states and six countries were arrested, most still at their computers. Authorities seized dozens of computers and found 1.7 million credit card numbers and more than 18 million email accounts. ShadowCrew's Operations The alleged ringleaders of ShadowCrew included Andres Mantovani, 23, a part-time community college student in Arizona, and David Appleyard, 45, a former New Jersey mortgage broker. Mantovani and Appleyard allegedly were administrators in charge of running the website and recruiting members. The site created a marketplace for over 4,000 gang members who bought and sold hot information and merchandise. The website was open for business 24 hours a day, but since most of the members held jobs, the busiest time was from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Sundays. Hundreds of gang members would meet online to trade credit card information, passports, and even equipment to make fake identity documents. Platinum credit cards cost more than gold ones and discounts were offered for package deals. One member known as "Scarface" sold 115,695 stolen credit card numbers in a single trade. Overall, the gang made more than $4 million in credit card purchases over two years. ShadowCrew was equivalent to an eBay for the underworld. The site even posted crime tips on how to use stolen credit cards and fake IDs at big retailers. The gang stole credit card numbers and other valuable information through clever tricks. One of the favorites was sending millions of phishing emails-messages that appeared to be from legitimate companies such as Yahoo!-designed to steal passwords and credit card numbers. The gang also hacked into corporate databases to steal account data. According to sources familiar with the investigation, the gang cracked the networks of 12 unidentified companies that were not even aware their systems had been breached. Police Operations Brian Nagel, an assistant director at the Secret Service, coordinated the effort to track the ShadowCrew. Allies included Britain's National High-Tech Crimes unit, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and the Bulgarian Interior Ministry. Authorities turned one of the highranking members of the gang into a snitch and had the man help the Secret Service set up a new electronic doorway for ShadowCrew members to enter their website. The snitch spread the word that the new gateway was a more secure way to the website. It was the first-ever tap of a private computer network. "We became shadowcrew.com," Nagel said. Authorities frequently tap online service providers to track down hackers. Do you think it is ethical for authorities to tap an online service provider and read people's email Why or why not

Hacker Hunters Hacker hunters are the new breed of crime-fighter. They employ the same methodology used to fight organized crime in the 1980s-informants and the cyberworld equivalent of wiretaps. Daniel Larking, a 20-year veteran who runs the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center, taps online service providers to help track down criminal hackers. Leads supplied by the FBI and eBay helped Romanian police round up 11 members of a gang that set up fake eBay accounts and auctioned off cell phones, laptops, and cameras they never intended to deliver. On October 26, 2004, the FBI unleashed Operation Firewall, targeting the ShadowCrew, a gang whose members were schooled in identity theft, bank account pillage, and selling illegal goods on the Internet. ShadowCrew's 4,000 gang members lived in a dozen countries and across the United States. For months, agents had been watching their every move through a clandestine gateway into their website, shadowcrew.com. One member turned informant called a group meeting, ensuring the members would be at home on their computers during a certain time. At 9 p.m. the Secret Service issued orders to move in on the gang. The move was synchronized around the globe to prevent gang members from warning each other via instant messages. Twenty-eight gang members in eight states and six countries were arrested, most still at their computers. Authorities seized dozens of computers and found 1.7 million credit card numbers and more than 18 million email accounts. ShadowCrew's Operations The alleged ringleaders of ShadowCrew included Andres Mantovani, 23, a part-time community college student in Arizona, and David Appleyard, 45, a former New Jersey mortgage broker. Mantovani and Appleyard allegedly were administrators in charge of running the website and recruiting members. The site created a marketplace for over 4,000 gang members who bought and sold hot information and merchandise. The website was open for business 24 hours a day, but since most of the members held jobs, the busiest time was from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Sundays. Hundreds of gang members would meet online to trade credit card information, passports, and even equipment to make fake identity documents. Platinum credit cards cost more than gold ones and discounts were offered for package deals. One member known as "Scarface" sold 115,695 stolen credit card numbers in a single trade. Overall, the gang made more than $4 million in credit card purchases over two years. ShadowCrew was equivalent to an eBay for the underworld. The site even posted crime tips on how to use stolen credit cards and fake IDs at big retailers. The gang stole credit card numbers and other valuable information through clever tricks. One of the favorites was sending millions of phishing emails-messages that appeared to be from legitimate companies such as Yahoo!-designed to steal passwords and credit card numbers. The gang also hacked into corporate databases to steal account data. According to sources familiar with the investigation, the gang cracked the networks of 12 unidentified companies that were not even aware their systems had been breached. Police Operations Brian Nagel, an assistant director at the Secret Service, coordinated the effort to track the ShadowCrew. Allies included Britain's National High-Tech Crimes unit, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and the Bulgarian Interior Ministry. Authorities turned one of the highranking members of the gang into a snitch and had the man help the Secret Service set up a new electronic doorway for ShadowCrew members to enter their website. The snitch spread the word that the new gateway was a more secure way to the website. It was the first-ever tap of a private computer network. "We became shadowcrew.com," Nagel said. Do you think it was ethical for authorities to use one of the high-ranking members to trap other gang members Why or why not

Hacker Hunters Hacker hunters are the new breed of crime-fighter. They employ the same methodology used to fight organized crime in the 1980s-informants and the cyberworld equivalent of wiretaps. Daniel Larking, a 20-year veteran who runs the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center, taps online service providers to help track down criminal hackers. Leads supplied by the FBI and eBay helped Romanian police round up 11 members of a gang that set up fake eBay accounts and auctioned off cell phones, laptops, and cameras they never intended to deliver. On October 26, 2004, the FBI unleashed Operation Firewall, targeting the ShadowCrew, a gang whose members were schooled in identity theft, bank account pillage, and selling illegal goods on the Internet. ShadowCrew's 4,000 gang members lived in a dozen countries and across the United States. For months, agents had been watching their every move through a clandestine gateway into their website, shadowcrew.com. One member turned informant called a group meeting, ensuring the members would be at home on their computers during a certain time. At 9 p.m. the Secret Service issued orders to move in on the gang. The move was synchronized around the globe to prevent gang members from warning each other via instant messages. Twenty-eight gang members in eight states and six countries were arrested, most still at their computers. Authorities seized dozens of computers and found 1.7 million credit card numbers and more than 18 million email accounts. ShadowCrew's Operations The alleged ringleaders of ShadowCrew included Andres Mantovani, 23, a part-time community college student in Arizona, and David Appleyard, 45, a former New Jersey mortgage broker. Mantovani and Appleyard allegedly were administrators in charge of running the website and recruiting members. The site created a marketplace for over 4,000 gang members who bought and sold hot information and merchandise. The website was open for business 24 hours a day, but since most of the members held jobs, the busiest time was from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Sundays. Hundreds of gang members would meet online to trade credit card information, passports, and even equipment to make fake identity documents. Platinum credit cards cost more than gold ones and discounts were offered for package deals. One member known as "Scarface" sold 115,695 stolen credit card numbers in a single trade. Overall, the gang made more than $4 million in credit card purchases over two years. ShadowCrew was equivalent to an eBay for the underworld. The site even posted crime tips on how to use stolen credit cards and fake IDs at big retailers. The gang stole credit card numbers and other valuable information through clever tricks. One of the favorites was sending millions of phishing emails-messages that appeared to be from legitimate companies such as Yahoo!-designed to steal passwords and credit card numbers. The gang also hacked into corporate databases to steal account data. According to sources familiar with the investigation, the gang cracked the networks of 12 unidentified companies that were not even aware their systems had been breached. Police Operations Brian Nagel, an assistant director at the Secret Service, coordinated the effort to track the ShadowCrew. Allies included Britain's National High-Tech Crimes unit, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and the Bulgarian Interior Ministry. Authorities turned one of the highranking members of the gang into a snitch and had the man help the Secret Service set up a new electronic doorway for ShadowCrew members to enter their website. The snitch spread the word that the new gateway was a more secure way to the website. It was the first-ever tap of a private computer network. "We became shadowcrew.com," Nagel said. In a team, research the Internet and find the best ways to protect yourself from identity theft.

Firewall Decisions You are the CEO of Inverness Investments, a medium-sized venture capital firm that specializes in investing in high-tech companies. The company receives more than 30,000 email messages per year. On average, there are two viruses and three successful hackings against the company each year, which result in losses to the company of about $250,000. Currently, the company has antivirus software installed but does not have any firewalls. Your CIO is suggesting implementing 10 firewalls for a total cost of $80,000. The estimated life of each firewall is about three years. The chances of hackers breaking into the system with the firewalls installed are about 3 percent. Annual maintenance costs on the firewalls are estimated around $15,000. Create an argument for or against supporting your CIO's recommendation to purchase the firewalls.

Drafting an Information Security Plan Making The Grade is a nonprofit organization that helps students learn how to achieve better grades in school. The organization has 40 offices in 25 states and more than 2,000 employees. The company is currently building a website to offer its services online. You have recently been hired by the CIO as the director of information security. Your first assignment is to develop a document discussing the importance of creating information security policies and an information security plan. Be sure to include the following: The importance of educating employees on information security. A few samples of employee information security policies. Other major areas the information security plan should address. Signs the company should look for to determine if the new site is being hacked. The major types of attacks the company should expect to experience.

Discussing the Three Areas of Security Great Granola Inc. is a small business operating out of northern California. The company specializes in selling unique homemade granola, and its primary sales vehicle is through its website. The company is growing exponentially and expects its revenues to triple this year to $12 million. The company also expects to hire 60 additional employees to support its growing number of customers. Joan Martin, the CEO, is aware that if her competitors discover the recipe for her granola, or who her primary customers are, it could easily ruin her business. Joan has hired you to draft a document discussing the different areas of information security, along with your recommendations for providing a secure ebusiness environment.

College Security Computer and online security is a growing concern for businesses of all sizes. Computer security issues range from viruses to automated Internet attacks to outright theft, the result of which is lost information and lost time. Security issues pop up in news articles daily, and most business owners understand the need to secure their businesses. Your college is no different from any other business when it comes to information security. Draft a document identifying the questions you should ask your college's CIO to ensure information security across your campus.

Sarbanes-Oxley: Where Information Technology, Finance, and Ethics Meet The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) of 2002 was enacted in response to the high-profile Enron and WorldCom financial scandals to protect shareholders and the general public from accounting errors and fraudulent practices by organizations. One primary component of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act is the definition of which records are to be stored and for how long. For this reason, the legislation not only affects financial departments, but also IT departments whose job it is to store electronic records. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act states that all business records, including electronic records and electronic messages, must be saved for "not less than five years." The consequences for noncompliance are fines, imprisonment, or both. The following are the three rules of Sarbanes-Oxley that affect the management of electronic records. 1. The first rule deals with destruction, alteration, or falsification of records and states that persons who knowingly alter, destroy, mutilate, conceal, or falsify documents shall be fined or imprisoned for not more than 20 years or both. 2. The second rule defines the retention period for records storage. Best practices indicate that corporations securely store all business records using the same guidelines set for public accountants, which state that organizations shall maintain all audit or review workpapers for a period of five years from the end of the fiscal period in which the audit or review was concluded. 3. The third rule specifies all business records and communications that need to be stored, including electronic communications. IT departments are facing the challenge of creating and maintaining a corporate records archive in a cost-effective fashion that satisfies the requirements put forth by the legislation. Essentially, any public organization that uses IT as part of its financial business processes will find that it must put in place IT controls in order to be compliant with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The following are a few practices you can follow to begin to ensure organizational compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Overhaul or upgrade your financial systems in order to meet regulatory requirements for more accurate, detailed, and speedy filings. Examine the control processes within your IT department and apply best practices to comply with the act's goals. For example, segregation of duties within the systems development staff is a widely recognized best practice that helps prevent errors and outright fraud. The people who code program changes should be different from the people who test them, and a separate team should be responsible for changes in production environments. Homegrown financial systems are fraught with potential information-integrity issues. Although leading ERP systems offer audit-trail functionality, customizations of these systems often bypass those controls. You must work with internal and external auditors to ensure that customizations are not overriding controls. Work with your CIO, CEO, CFO, and corporate attorneys to create a document-retention-and- destruction policy that addresses what types of electronic documents should be saved, and for how long. Ultimately, Sarbanes-Oxley compliance will require a great deal of work among all of your departments. Compliance starts with running IT as a business and strengthening IT internal controls. Define the relationship between ethics and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

Sarbanes-Oxley: Where Information Technology, Finance, and Ethics Meet The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) of 2002 was enacted in response to the high-profile Enron and WorldCom financial scandals to protect shareholders and the general public from accounting errors and fraudulent practices by organizations. One primary component of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act is the definition of which records are to be stored and for how long. For this reason, the legislation not only affects financial departments, but also IT departments whose job it is to store electronic records. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act states that all business records, including electronic records and electronic messages, must be saved for "not less than five years." The consequences for noncompliance are fines, imprisonment, or both. The following are the three rules of Sarbanes-Oxley that affect the management of electronic records. 1. The first rule deals with destruction, alteration, or falsification of records and states that persons who knowingly alter, destroy, mutilate, conceal, or falsify documents shall be fined or imprisoned for not more than 20 years or both. 2. The second rule defines the retention period for records storage. Best practices indicate that corporations securely store all business records using the same guidelines set for public accountants, which state that organizations shall maintain all audit or review workpapers for a period of five years from the end of the fiscal period in which the audit or review was concluded. 3. The third rule specifies all business records and communications that need to be stored, including electronic communications. IT departments are facing the challenge of creating and maintaining a corporate records archive in a cost-effective fashion that satisfies the requirements put forth by the legislation. Essentially, any public organization that uses IT as part of its financial business processes will find that it must put in place IT controls in order to be compliant with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The following are a few practices you can follow to begin to ensure organizational compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Overhaul or upgrade your financial systems in order to meet regulatory requirements for more accurate, detailed, and speedy filings. Examine the control processes within your IT department and apply best practices to comply with the act's goals. For example, segregation of duties within the systems development staff is a widely recognized best practice that helps prevent errors and outright fraud. The people who code program changes should be different from the people who test them, and a separate team should be responsible for changes in production environments. Homegrown financial systems are fraught with potential information-integrity issues. Although leading ERP systems offer audit-trail functionality, customizations of these systems often bypass those controls. You must work with internal and external auditors to ensure that customizations are not overriding controls. Work with your CIO, CEO, CFO, and corporate attorneys to create a document-retention-and- destruction policy that addresses what types of electronic documents should be saved, and for how long. Ultimately, Sarbanes-Oxley compliance will require a great deal of work among all of your departments. Compliance starts with running IT as a business and strengthening IT internal controls. Why is records management an area of concern for the entire organization

Sarbanes-Oxley: Where Information Technology, Finance, and Ethics Meet The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) of 2002 was enacted in response to the high-profile Enron and WorldCom financial scandals to protect shareholders and the general public from accounting errors and fraudulent practices by organizations. One primary component of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act is the definition of which records are to be stored and for how long. For this reason, the legislation not only affects financial departments, but also IT departments whose job it is to store electronic records. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act states that all business records, including electronic records and electronic messages, must be saved for "not less than five years." The consequences for noncompliance are fines, imprisonment, or both. The following are the three rules of Sarbanes-Oxley that affect the management of electronic records. 1. The first rule deals with destruction, alteration, or falsification of records and states that persons who knowingly alter, destroy, mutilate, conceal, or falsify documents shall be fined or imprisoned for not more than 20 years or both. 2. The second rule defines the retention period for records storage. Best practices indicate that corporations securely store all business records using the same guidelines set for public accountants, which state that organizations shall maintain all audit or review workpapers for a period of five years from the end of the fiscal period in which the audit or review was concluded. 3. The third rule specifies all business records and communications that need to be stored, including electronic communications. IT departments are facing the challenge of creating and maintaining a corporate records archive in a cost-effective fashion that satisfies the requirements put forth by the legislation. Essentially, any public organization that uses IT as part of its financial business processes will find that it must put in place IT controls in order to be compliant with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The following are a few practices you can follow to begin to ensure organizational compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Overhaul or upgrade your financial systems in order to meet regulatory requirements for more accurate, detailed, and speedy filings. Examine the control processes within your IT department and apply best practices to comply with the act's goals. For example, segregation of duties within the systems development staff is a widely recognized best practice that helps prevent errors and outright fraud. The people who code program changes should be different from the people who test them, and a separate team should be responsible for changes in production environments. Homegrown financial systems are fraught with potential information-integrity issues. Although leading ERP systems offer audit-trail functionality, customizations of these systems often bypass those controls. You must work with internal and external auditors to ensure that customizations are not overriding controls. Work with your CIO, CEO, CFO, and corporate attorneys to create a document-retention-and- destruction policy that addresses what types of electronic documents should be saved, and for how long. Ultimately, Sarbanes-Oxley compliance will require a great deal of work among all of your departments. Compliance starts with running IT as a business and strengthening IT internal controls. What are two policies an organization can implement to achieve Sarbanes-Oxley compliance Be sure to elaborate on how these policies can achieve compliance.

Sarbanes-Oxley: Where Information Technology, Finance, and Ethics Meet The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) of 2002 was enacted in response to the high-profile Enron and WorldCom financial scandals to protect shareholders and the general public from accounting errors and fraudulent practices by organizations. One primary component of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act is the definition of which records are to be stored and for how long. For this reason, the legislation not only affects financial departments, but also IT departments whose job it is to store electronic records. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act states that all business records, including electronic records and electronic messages, must be saved for "not less than five years." The consequences for noncompliance are fines, imprisonment, or both. The following are the three rules of Sarbanes-Oxley that affect the management of electronic records. 1. The first rule deals with destruction, alteration, or falsification of records and states that persons who knowingly alter, destroy, mutilate, conceal, or falsify documents shall be fined or imprisoned for not more than 20 years or both. 2. The second rule defines the retention period for records storage. Best practices indicate that corporations securely store all business records using the same guidelines set for public accountants, which state that organizations shall maintain all audit or review workpapers for a period of five years from the end of the fiscal period in which the audit or review was concluded. 3. The third rule specifies all business records and communications that need to be stored, including electronic communications. IT departments are facing the challenge of creating and maintaining a corporate records archive in a cost-effective fashion that satisfies the requirements put forth by the legislation. Essentially, any public organization that uses IT as part of its financial business processes will find that it must put in place IT controls in order to be compliant with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The following are a few practices you can follow to begin to ensure organizational compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Overhaul or upgrade your financial systems in order to meet regulatory requirements for more accurate, detailed, and speedy filings. Examine the control processes within your IT department and apply best practices to comply with the act's goals. For example, segregation of duties within the systems development staff is a widely recognized best practice that helps prevent errors and outright fraud. The people who code program changes should be different from the people who test them, and a separate team should be responsible for changes in production environments. Homegrown financial systems are fraught with potential information-integrity issues. Although leading ERP systems offer audit-trail functionality, customizations of these systems often bypass those controls. You must work with internal and external auditors to ensure that customizations are not overriding controls. Work with your CIO, CEO, CFO, and corporate attorneys to create a document-retention-and- destruction policy that addresses what types of electronic documents should be saved, and for how long. Ultimately, Sarbanes-Oxley compliance will require a great deal of work among all of your departments. Compliance starts with running IT as a business and strengthening IT internal controls. Identify the biggest roadblock for organizations that are attempting to achieve Sarbanes- Oxley compliance.

Sarbanes-Oxley: Where Information Technology, Finance, and Ethics Meet The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) of 2002 was enacted in response to the high-profile Enron and WorldCom financial scandals to protect shareholders and the general public from accounting errors and fraudulent practices by organizations. One primary component of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act is the definition of which records are to be stored and for how long. For this reason, the legislation not only affects financial departments, but also IT departments whose job it is to store electronic records. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act states that all business records, including electronic records and electronic messages, must be saved for "not less than five years." The consequences for noncompliance are fines, imprisonment, or both. The following are the three rules of Sarbanes-Oxley that affect the management of electronic records. 1. The first rule deals with destruction, alteration, or falsification of records and states that persons who knowingly alter, destroy, mutilate, conceal, or falsify documents shall be fined or imprisoned for not more than 20 years or both. 2. The second rule defines the retention period for records storage. Best practices indicate that corporations securely store all business records using the same guidelines set for public accountants, which state that organizations shall maintain all audit or review workpapers for a period of five years from the end of the fiscal period in which the audit or review was concluded. 3. The third rule specifies all business records and communications that need to be stored, including electronic communications. IT departments are facing the challenge of creating and maintaining a corporate records archive in a cost-effective fashion that satisfies the requirements put forth by the legislation. Essentially, any public organization that uses IT as part of its financial business processes will find that it must put in place IT controls in order to be compliant with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The following are a few practices you can follow to begin to ensure organizational compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Overhaul or upgrade your financial systems in order to meet regulatory requirements for more accurate, detailed, and speedy filings. Examine the control processes within your IT department and apply best practices to comply with the act's goals. For example, segregation of duties within the systems development staff is a widely recognized best practice that helps prevent errors and outright fraud. The people who code program changes should be different from the people who test them, and a separate team should be responsible for changes in production environments. Homegrown financial systems are fraught with potential information-integrity issues. Although leading ERP systems offer audit-trail functionality, customizations of these systems often bypass those controls. You must work with internal and external auditors to ensure that customizations are not overriding controls. Work with your CIO, CEO, CFO, and corporate attorneys to create a document-retention-and- destruction policy that addresses what types of electronic documents should be saved, and for how long. Ultimately, Sarbanes-Oxley compliance will require a great deal of work among all of your departments. Compliance starts with running IT as a business and strengthening IT internal controls. What types of information systems might facilitate SOX compliance

Sarbanes-Oxley: Where Information Technology, Finance, and Ethics Meet The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) of 2002 was enacted in response to the high-profile Enron and WorldCom financial scandals to protect shareholders and the general public from accounting errors and fraudulent practices by organizations. One primary component of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act is the definition of which records are to be stored and for how long. For this reason, the legislation not only affects financial departments, but also IT departments whose job it is to store electronic records. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act states that all business records, including electronic records and electronic messages, must be saved for "not less than five years." The consequences for noncompliance are fines, imprisonment, or both. The following are the three rules of Sarbanes-Oxley that affect the management of electronic records. 1. The first rule deals with destruction, alteration, or falsification of records and states that persons who knowingly alter, destroy, mutilate, conceal, or falsify documents shall be fined or imprisoned for not more than 20 years or both. 2. The second rule defines the retention period for records storage. Best practices indicate that corporations securely store all business records using the same guidelines set for public accountants, which state that organizations shall maintain all audit or review workpapers for a period of five years from the end of the fiscal period in which the audit or review was concluded. 3. The third rule specifies all business records and communications that need to be stored, including electronic communications. IT departments are facing the challenge of creating and maintaining a corporate records archive in a cost-effective fashion that satisfies the requirements put forth by the legislation. Essentially, any public organization that uses IT as part of its financial business processes will find that it must put in place IT controls in order to be compliant with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The following are a few practices you can follow to begin to ensure organizational compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Overhaul or upgrade your financial systems in order to meet regulatory requirements for more accurate, detailed, and speedy filings. Examine the control processes within your IT department and apply best practices to comply with the act's goals. For example, segregation of duties within the systems development staff is a widely recognized best practice that helps prevent errors and outright fraud. The people who code program changes should be different from the people who test them, and a separate team should be responsible for changes in production environments. Homegrown financial systems are fraught with potential information-integrity issues. Although leading ERP systems offer audit-trail functionality, customizations of these systems often bypass those controls. You must work with internal and external auditors to ensure that customizations are not overriding controls. Work with your CIO, CEO, CFO, and corporate attorneys to create a document-retention-and- destruction policy that addresses what types of electronic documents should be saved, and for how long. Ultimately, Sarbanes-Oxley compliance will require a great deal of work among all of your departments. Compliance starts with running IT as a business and strengthening IT internal controls. How will electronic monitoring affect the morale and performance of employees in the workplace

Sarbanes-Oxley: Where Information Technology, Finance, and Ethics Meet The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) of 2002 was enacted in response to the high-profile Enron and WorldCom financial scandals to protect shareholders and the general public from accounting errors and fraudulent practices by organizations. One primary component of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act is the definition of which records are to be stored and for how long. For this reason, the legislation not only affects financial departments, but also IT departments whose job it is to store electronic records. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act states that all business records, including electronic records and electronic messages, must be saved for "not less than five years." The consequences for noncompliance are fines, imprisonment, or both. The following are the three rules of Sarbanes-Oxley that affect the management of electronic records. 1. The first rule deals with destruction, alteration, or falsification of records and states that persons who knowingly alter, destroy, mutilate, conceal, or falsify documents shall be fined or imprisoned for not more than 20 years or both. 2. The second rule defines the retention period for records storage. Best practices indicate that corporations securely store all business records using the same guidelines set for public accountants, which state that organizations shall maintain all audit or review workpapers for a period of five years from the end of the fiscal period in which the audit or review was concluded. 3. The third rule specifies all business records and communications that need to be stored, including electronic communications. IT departments are facing the challenge of creating and maintaining a corporate records archive in a cost-effective fashion that satisfies the requirements put forth by the legislation. Essentially, any public organization that uses IT as part of its financial business processes will find that it must put in place IT controls in order to be compliant with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The following are a few practices you can follow to begin to ensure organizational compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Overhaul or upgrade your financial systems in order to meet regulatory requirements for more accurate, detailed, and speedy filings. Examine the control processes within your IT department and apply best practices to comply with the act's goals. For example, segregation of duties within the systems development staff is a widely recognized best practice that helps prevent errors and outright fraud. The people who code program changes should be different from the people who test them, and a separate team should be responsible for changes in production environments. Homegrown financial systems are fraught with potential information-integrity issues. Although leading ERP systems offer audit-trail functionality, customizations of these systems often bypass those controls. You must work with internal and external auditors to ensure that customizations are not overriding controls. Work with your CIO, CEO, CFO, and corporate attorneys to create a document-retention-and- destruction policy that addresses what types of electronic documents should be saved, and for how long. Ultimately, Sarbanes-Oxley compliance will require a great deal of work among all of your departments. Compliance starts with running IT as a business and strengthening IT internal controls. What do you think an unethical accountant or manager at Enron thought were the rewards and responsibilities associated with his or her job

Invading Your Privacy Can your employer invade your privacy through monitoring technologies Numerous lawsuits have been filed by employees who believed their employer was wrong to invade their privacy with monitoring technologies. Below are a few cases highlighting lawsuits over employee privacy and employer rights to monitor. Smyth versus Pillsbury Company An employee was terminated for sending inappropriate and unprofessional messages over the company's email system. The company had repeatedly assured its employees that email was confidential, that it would not be intercepted, and that it would not be used as a basis for discipline or discharge. Michael Smyth retrieved, from his home computer, email sent from his supervisor over Pillsbury's email system. Smyth allegedly responded with several comments concerning the sales management staff, including a threat to "kill the backstabbing bastards" and a reference to an upcoming holiday party as "the Jim Jones Kool-aid affair." Pillsbury intercepted the email and terminated Smyth, who then sued the company for wrongful discharge and invasion of privacy. The court dismissed the case in 1996, finding that Smyth did not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the contents of his email messages, despite Pillsbury's assurances, because the messages had been voluntarily communicated over the company's computer system to a second person. The court went on to find that, even if some reasonable expectation of privacy existed, that expectation was outweighed by Pillsbury's legitimate interest in preventing inappropriate or unprofessional communications over its email system. Bourke versus Nissan Motor Corporation While training new employees on the email system, a message sent by Bonita Bourke was randomly selected and reviewed by the company. The message turned out to be a personal email of a sexual nature. Once Bourke's email was discovered, the company decided to review the emails of the rest of Bourke's workgroup. As a result of this investigation, several other personal emails were discovered. Nissan gave the employees who had sent the personal messages written warnings for violating the company's email policy. The disciplined employees sued Nissan for invasion of privacy. The employees argued that although they signed a form acknowledging the company's policy that company-owned hardware and software was restricted for company business use only, their expectation of privacy was reasonable because the company gave the plaintiffs passwords to access the computer system and told them to guard their passwords. However, a California court in 1993 held that this was not an objectively reasonable expectation of privacy because the plaintiffs knew that email messages "were read from time to time by individuals other than the intended recipient." McLaren versus Microsoft Corporation The Texas Court of Appeals in 1999 dismissed an employee's claim that his employer's review and dissemination of email stored in the employee's workplace personal computer constituted an invasion of privacy. The employee argued that he had a reasonable expectation of privacy because the email was kept in a personal computer folder protected by a password. The court found this argument unconvincing because the email was transmitted over his employer's network. However, according to a news account of one case, a court held that an employer's use of a supervisor's password to review an employee's email may have violated a Massachusetts state statute against interference with privacy. In that case, Burk Technology allowed employees to use the company's email system to send personal messages, but prohibited "excessive chatting." To use the email system, each employee used a password. The employer never informed employees that their messages would or could be monitored by supervisors or the company president. The president of the company reviewed the emails of two employees who had referred to him by various nicknames and discussed his extramarital affair. The two employees were fired by the company president, who claimed the terminations were for their excessive email use and not because of the messages' content. The court denied the company's attempt to dismiss the suit and allowed the matter to be set for trial on the merits. The court focused on the fact that the employees were never informed that their email could be monitored. This case illustrates the importance of informing employees that their use of company equipment to send email and to surf the Internet is subject to monitoring to prevent subsequent confusion, and a possible future defense, on the part of employees. Pick one of the preceding cases and create an argument on behalf of the employee.

Invading Your Privacy Can your employer invade your privacy through monitoring technologies Numerous lawsuits have been filed by employees who believed their employer was wrong to invade their privacy with monitoring technologies. Below are a few cases highlighting lawsuits over employee privacy and employer rights to monitor. Smyth versus Pillsbury Company An employee was terminated for sending inappropriate and unprofessional messages over the company's email system. The company had repeatedly assured its employees that email was confidential, that it would not be intercepted, and that it would not be used as a basis for discipline or discharge. Michael Smyth retrieved, from his home computer, email sent from his supervisor over Pillsbury's email system. Smyth allegedly responded with several comments concerning the sales management staff, including a threat to "kill the backstabbing bastards" and a reference to an upcoming holiday party as "the Jim Jones Kool-aid affair." Pillsbury intercepted the email and terminated Smyth, who then sued the company for wrongful discharge and invasion of privacy. The court dismissed the case in 1996, finding that Smyth did not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the contents of his email messages, despite Pillsbury's assurances, because the messages had been voluntarily communicated over the company's computer system to a second person. The court went on to find that, even if some reasonable expectation of privacy existed, that expectation was outweighed by Pillsbury's legitimate interest in preventing inappropriate or unprofessional communications over its email system. Bourke versus Nissan Motor Corporation While training new employees on the email system, a message sent by Bonita Bourke was randomly selected and reviewed by the company. The message turned out to be a personal email of a sexual nature. Once Bourke's email was discovered, the company decided to review the emails of the rest of Bourke's workgroup. As a result of this investigation, several other personal emails were discovered. Nissan gave the employees who had sent the personal messages written warnings for violating the company's email policy. The disciplined employees sued Nissan for invasion of privacy. The employees argued that although they signed a form acknowledging the company's policy that company-owned hardware and software was restricted for company business use only, their expectation of privacy was reasonable because the company gave the plaintiffs passwords to access the computer system and told them to guard their passwords. However, a California court in 1993 held that this was not an objectively reasonable expectation of privacy because the plaintiffs knew that email messages "were read from time to time by individuals other than the intended recipient." McLaren versus Microsoft Corporation The Texas Court of Appeals in 1999 dismissed an employee's claim that his employer's review and dissemination of email stored in the employee's workplace personal computer constituted an invasion of privacy. The employee argued that he had a reasonable expectation of privacy because the email was kept in a personal computer folder protected by a password. The court found this argument unconvincing because the email was transmitted over his employer's network. However, according to a news account of one case, a court held that an employer's use of a supervisor's password to review an employee's email may have violated a Massachusetts state statute against interference with privacy. In that case, Burk Technology allowed employees to use the company's email system to send personal messages, but prohibited "excessive chatting." To use the email system, each employee used a password. The employer never informed employees that their messages would or could be monitored by supervisors or the company president. The president of the company reviewed the emails of two employees who had referred to him by various nicknames and discussed his extramarital affair. The two employees were fired by the company president, who claimed the terminations were for their excessive email use and not because of the messages' content. The court denied the company's attempt to dismiss the suit and allowed the matter to be set for trial on the merits. The court focused on the fact that the employees were never informed that their email could be monitored. This case illustrates the importance of informing employees that their use of company equipment to send email and to surf the Internet is subject to monitoring to prevent subsequent confusion, and a possible future defense, on the part of employees. Pick one of the preceding cases and create an argument against the employee.

Invading Your Privacy Can your employer invade your privacy through monitoring technologies Numerous lawsuits have been filed by employees who believed their employer was wrong to invade their privacy with monitoring technologies. Below are a few cases highlighting lawsuits over employee privacy and employer rights to monitor. Smyth versus Pillsbury Company An employee was terminated for sending inappropriate and unprofessional messages over the company's email system. The company had repeatedly assured its employees that email was confidential, that it would not be intercepted, and that it would not be used as a basis for discipline or discharge. Michael Smyth retrieved, from his home computer, email sent from his supervisor over Pillsbury's email system. Smyth allegedly responded with several comments concerning the sales management staff, including a threat to "kill the backstabbing bastards" and a reference to an upcoming holiday party as "the Jim Jones Kool-aid affair." Pillsbury intercepted the email and terminated Smyth, who then sued the company for wrongful discharge and invasion of privacy. The court dismissed the case in 1996, finding that Smyth did not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the contents of his email messages, despite Pillsbury's assurances, because the messages had been voluntarily communicated over the company's computer system to a second person. The court went on to find that, even if some reasonable expectation of privacy existed, that expectation was outweighed by Pillsbury's legitimate interest in preventing inappropriate or unprofessional communications over its email system. Bourke versus Nissan Motor Corporation While training new employees on the email system, a message sent by Bonita Bourke was randomly selected and reviewed by the company. The message turned out to be a personal email of a sexual nature. Once Bourke's email was discovered, the company decided to review the emails of the rest of Bourke's workgroup. As a result of this investigation, several other personal emails were discovered. Nissan gave the employees who had sent the personal messages written warnings for violating the company's email policy. The disciplined employees sued Nissan for invasion of privacy. The employees argued that although they signed a form acknowledging the company's policy that company-owned hardware and software was restricted for company business use only, their expectation of privacy was reasonable because the company gave the plaintiffs passwords to access the computer system and told them to guard their passwords. However, a California court in 1993 held that this was not an objectively reasonable expectation of privacy because the plaintiffs knew that email messages "were read from time to time by individuals other than the intended recipient." McLaren versus Microsoft Corporation The Texas Court of Appeals in 1999 dismissed an employee's claim that his employer's review and dissemination of email stored in the employee's workplace personal computer constituted an invasion of privacy. The employee argued that he had a reasonable expectation of privacy because the email was kept in a personal computer folder protected by a password. The court found this argument unconvincing because the email was transmitted over his employer's network. However, according to a news account of one case, a court held that an employer's use of a supervisor's password to review an employee's email may have violated a Massachusetts state statute against interference with privacy. In that case, Burk Technology allowed employees to use the company's email system to send personal messages, but prohibited "excessive chatting." To use the email system, each employee used a password. The employer never informed employees that their messages would or could be monitored by supervisors or the company president. The president of the company reviewed the emails of two employees who had referred to him by various nicknames and discussed his extramarital affair. The two employees were fired by the company president, who claimed the terminations were for their excessive email use and not because of the messages' content. The court denied the company's attempt to dismiss the suit and allowed the matter to be set for trial on the merits. The court focused on the fact that the employees were never informed that their email could be monitored. This case illustrates the importance of informing employees that their use of company equipment to send email and to surf the Internet is subject to monitoring to prevent subsequent confusion, and a possible future defense, on the part of employees. Pick one of the preceding cases and create an argument on behalf of the employer's use of monitoring technologies.

Invading Your Privacy Can your employer invade your privacy through monitoring technologies Numerous lawsuits have been filed by employees who believed their employer was wrong to invade their privacy with monitoring technologies. Below are a few cases highlighting lawsuits over employee privacy and employer rights to monitor. Smyth versus Pillsbury Company An employee was terminated for sending inappropriate and unprofessional messages over the company's email system. The company had repeatedly assured its employees that email was confidential, that it would not be intercepted, and that it would not be used as a basis for discipline or discharge. Michael Smyth retrieved, from his home computer, email sent from his supervisor over Pillsbury's email system. Smyth allegedly responded with several comments concerning the sales management staff, including a threat to "kill the backstabbing bastards" and a reference to an upcoming holiday party as "the Jim Jones Kool-aid affair." Pillsbury intercepted the email and terminated Smyth, who then sued the company for wrongful discharge and invasion of privacy. The court dismissed the case in 1996, finding that Smyth did not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the contents of his email messages, despite Pillsbury's assurances, because the messages had been voluntarily communicated over the company's computer system to a second person. The court went on to find that, even if some reasonable expectation of privacy existed, that expectation was outweighed by Pillsbury's legitimate interest in preventing inappropriate or unprofessional communications over its email system. Bourke versus Nissan Motor Corporation While training new employees on the email system, a message sent by Bonita Bourke was randomly selected and reviewed by the company. The message turned out to be a personal email of a sexual nature. Once Bourke's email was discovered, the company decided to review the emails of the rest of Bourke's workgroup. As a result of this investigation, several other personal emails were discovered. Nissan gave the employees who had sent the personal messages written warnings for violating the company's email policy. The disciplined employees sued Nissan for invasion of privacy. The employees argued that although they signed a form acknowledging the company's policy that company-owned hardware and software was restricted for company business use only, their expectation of privacy was reasonable because the company gave the plaintiffs passwords to access the computer system and told them to guard their passwords. However, a California court in 1993 held that this was not an objectively reasonable expectation of privacy because the plaintiffs knew that email messages "were read from time to time by individuals other than the intended recipient." McLaren versus Microsoft Corporation The Texas Court of Appeals in 1999 dismissed an employee's claim that his employer's review and dissemination of email stored in the employee's workplace personal computer constituted an invasion of privacy. The employee argued that he had a reasonable expectation of privacy because the email was kept in a personal computer folder protected by a password. The court found this argument unconvincing because the email was transmitted over his employer's network. However, according to a news account of one case, a court held that an employer's use of a supervisor's password to review an employee's email may have violated a Massachusetts state statute against interference with privacy. In that case, Burk Technology allowed employees to use the company's email system to send personal messages, but prohibited "excessive chatting." To use the email system, each employee used a password. The employer never informed employees that their messages would or could be monitored by supervisors or the company president. The president of the company reviewed the emails of two employees who had referred to him by various nicknames and discussed his extramarital affair. The two employees were fired by the company president, who claimed the terminations were for their excessive email use and not because of the messages' content. The court denied the company's attempt to dismiss the suit and allowed the matter to be set for trial on the merits. The court focused on the fact that the employees were never informed that their email could be monitored. This case illustrates the importance of informing employees that their use of company equipment to send email and to surf the Internet is subject to monitoring to prevent subsequent confusion, and a possible future defense, on the part of employees. Pick one of the preceding cases and create an argument against the employer's use of mo nitoring technologies.

Information Privacy A study by the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania shows that 95 percent of people who use the Internet at home think they should have a legal right to know everything about the information that websites collect from them. Research also shows that 57 percent of home Internet users incorrectly believe that when a website has an information privacy policy it will not share personal information with other websites or companies. In fact, the research found that after showing the users how companies track, extract, and share website information to make money, 85 percent found the methods unacceptable, even for a highly valued site. Write a short paper arguing for or against an organization's right to use and distribute personal information gathered from its website.

Acting Ethically Describe how you would react to the following scenarios: A senior marketing manager informs you that one of her employees is looking for another job and she wants you to give her access to look through her email. A vice president of sales informs you that he has made a deal to provide customer information to a strategic partner and he wants you to burn all of the customer information onto a CD. You start monitoring one of your employees' email and discover that he is having an affair with one of the other employees in the office. You install a video surveillance system in your office and discover that employees are taking office supplies home with them.

Spying on Email Technology advances now allow individuals to monitor computers that they do not even have physical access to. New types of software can capture an individual's incoming and outgoing email and then immediately forward that email to another person. For example, if you are at work and your child is home from school and she receives an email from John at 3:00 p.m., at 3:01 p.m. you will receive a copy of that email sent to your email address. A few minutes later, if she replies to John's email, within seconds you will again receive a copy of what she sent to John. Describe two scenarios (other than the above) for the use of this type of software: (1) where the use would be ethical, (2) where the use would be unethical.

Stealing Software The issue of pirated software is one that the software industry fights on a daily basis. The major centers of software piracy are in places like Russia and China where salaries and disposable income are comparatively low. People in developing and economically depressed countries will fall behind the industrialized world technologically if they cannot afford access to new generations of software. Considering this, is it reasonable to blame someone for using pirated software when it could potentially cost him or her two months' salary to purchase a legal copy Create an argument for or against the following statement: "Individuals who are economically less fortunate should be allowed access to software free of charge in order to ensure that they are provided with an equal technological advantage."

How Levi's Got Its Jeans into Walmart People around the world recognize Levi's as an American icon, the cool jeans worn by movie stars James Dean and Marilyn Monroe. However, the company failed to keep up with the fastchanging tastes of American teenagers. In particular, it missed the trend to baggy jeans that caught hold in the mid-1990s. Sales plummeted from $7.1 billion in 1996 to $4.1 billion in 2003, and Levi's U.S. market share dropped from 18.7 percent in 1997 to 12 percent in 2003, a huge decline of almost one-third in both dollars and market share. Analyzing and Responding to What Happened Competition hit Levi Strauss on both the high and low ends. Fashion-conscious buyers were drawn to high-priced brands like Blue Cult, Juicy, and Seven, which had more fashion cachet than Levi's. On the low end, parents were buying Wrangler and Lee jeans for their kids because on average they cost about $10 less than Levi's Red Tab brand. Wrangler and Lee were also the brands they found at discount retailers such as Walmart, Target, and T. J. Maxx. David Bergen, Levi's chief information officer (CIO), described the company as "getting squeezed," and "caught in the jaws of death." Levi Strauss's new CEO, Philip A. Marineau, came to the company from PepsiCo in 1999, a year after he helped PepsiCo surpass Coca-Cola in sales for the first time. Marineau recruited Bergen in 2000 from Carstation.com. Marineau quickly realized that turning Levi Strauss around would entail manufacturing, marketing, and distributing jeans that customers demanded, particularly customers at the low end where the mass market was located. Bergen was eager to join Marineau's team because of his background in clothing, retailing, and manufacturing with companies such as The Gap and Esprit de Corps in the 1980s. He knew that Marineau's plan to anticipate customer wants would require up-to-date IT applications such as data warehousing, data mining, and customer relationship management (CRM) systems. He also knew that selling to mass market retailers would require upgrades to the supply chain management (SCM) systems, and he understood that globalization would necessitate standardized enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. Overall, it was a challenge any ambitious CIO would covet. After all, designing and installing IT systems that drive and achieve key business initiatives is what it is all about. Joining Walmart Walmart was a pioneer in supply chain management systems, having learned early on that driving costs out of the supply chain would let it offer products to customers at the lowest possible prices, while at the same time assuring that products the customers demanded were always on store shelves. Becoming one of Walmart's 30,000 suppliers is not easy. Walmart insists that its suppliers do business using up-to-date IT systems to manage the supply chain-not just the supply chain between Walmart and its suppliers, but the supply chains between the suppliers and their suppliers as well. Walmart has strict supply chain management system requirements that its business partners must meet. Walmart's requirements presented Levi Strauss with a serious hurdle to overcome because its supply chain management systems were in bad shape. Levi Strauss executives did not even have access to key information required to track where products were moving in the supply chain. For example, they did not know how many pairs of jeans were in the factory awaiting shipment, how many were somewhere en route, or how many had just been unloaded at a customer's warehouse. According to Greg Hammann, Levi's U.S. chief customer officer, "Our supply chain could not deliver the services Walmart expected." Bergen created a cross-functional team of key managers from IT, finance, and sales to transform Levi Strauss's systems to meet Walmart's requirements. Their recommendations included network upgrades, modifications to ordering and logistics applications, and data warehouse improvements, among others. Although Bergen realized that about half the changes required to current IT systems to accommodate the state-of-the-art demands of Walmart would be a waste of resources since these systems were being replaced by a new SAP enterprise software system over the next five years, Levi Strauss could not wait for the SAP installation if it wanted Walmart's business now, so it decided to move forward with the changes to the current systems. The successful transformation of its supply chain management system allowed the company to collaborate with Walmart. The company introduced its new signature line at Walmart, which sells for around $23 and has fewer details in the finish than Levi's other lines, no trademark pocket stitching or red tab, for example. Walmart wants big-name brands to lure more affluent customers into its stores, while still maintaining the low price points all Walmart customers have come to expect. Walmart Senior Vice President Lois Mikita noted that Walmart "continues to tailor its selection to meet the needs of customers from a cross section of income levels and lifestyles." She also stated she is impressed with the level of detail Levi Strauss has put into its systems transformation efforts to "make the execution of this new launch 100 percent." Achieving Business Success through IT Bergen's changes were a success and the percentage of products delivered on time quickly rose from 65 percent to 95 percent primarily because of the updated supply chain management system. Levi's total sales were also up in the third and fourth quarters of 2003, for the first time since 1996. NPD Group's Fashionworld is a research group that tracks apparel and footwear market trends. In 2003, Levi's appeared on NPD Fashionworld's top 10 list of brands preferred by young women, ending an absence of several years. Marshall Cohen, a senior industry analyst at NPD Fashionworld, noted that Levi's "hadn't been close to that for a while. Teens hadn't gravitated toward Levi's in years. That was incredible. A lot of that has to do with having the right style in the right place at the right time." The improved systems, Cohen noted, also helped the company get the right sizes to the right stores. Another highly successful IT system implemented by Levi Strauss is a digital dashboard that executives can display on their PC screens. The dashboard lets an executive see the status of a product as it moves from the factory floor to distribution centers to retail stores. For example, the dashboard can display how Levi's 501 jeans are selling at an individual Kohl's store compared to forecasted sales. "When I first got here I didn't see anything," Hammann said. "Now I can drill down to the product level." The digital dashboard alerts executives to trends that under the previous systems would have taken weeks to detect. For example, in 2003 Levi Strauss started to ship Dockers Stain Defender pants. Expected sales for the pants were around 2 million pairs. The digital dashboard quickly notified key executives that the trousers were selling around 2.5 million pairs. This information enabled them to adjust production upward in time to ship more pants, meet the increased demand, and avoid lost sales. Levi Strauss also uses the systems to control supply during key seasonal sales periods such as back-to-school and Christmas. "If I look overconfident, I'm not," Bergen said. "I'm very nervous about this change. When we trip, we have to stand up real quick and get back on the horse, as they say." As if to reinforce Bergen's point, Gib Carey, a supply chain analyst at Bain, noted, "The place where companies do fail is when they aren't bringing anything new to Walmart. Walmart is constantly looking at 'How can I get the same product I am selling today at a lower price somewhere else ' " How did Levi Strauss achieve business success through the use of supply chain management

How Levi's Got Its Jeans into Walmart People around the world recognize Levi's as an American icon, the cool jeans worn by movie stars James Dean and Marilyn Monroe. However, the company failed to keep up with the fastchanging tastes of American teenagers. In particular, it missed the trend to baggy jeans that caught hold in the mid-1990s. Sales plummeted from $7.1 billion in 1996 to $4.1 billion in 2003, and Levi's U.S. market share dropped from 18.7 percent in 1997 to 12 percent in 2003, a huge decline of almost one-third in both dollars and market share. Analyzing and Responding to What Happened Competition hit Levi Strauss on both the high and low ends. Fashion-conscious buyers were drawn to high-priced brands like Blue Cult, Juicy, and Seven, which had more fashion cachet than Levi's. On the low end, parents were buying Wrangler and Lee jeans for their kids because on average they cost about $10 less than Levi's Red Tab brand. Wrangler and Lee were also the brands they found at discount retailers such as Walmart, Target, and T. J. Maxx. David Bergen, Levi's chief information officer (CIO), described the company as "getting squeezed," and "caught in the jaws of death." Levi Strauss's new CEO, Philip A. Marineau, came to the company from PepsiCo in 1999, a year after he helped PepsiCo surpass Coca-Cola in sales for the first time. Marineau recruited Bergen in 2000 from Carstation.com. Marineau quickly realized that turning Levi Strauss around would entail manufacturing, marketing, and distributing jeans that customers demanded, particularly customers at the low end where the mass market was located. Bergen was eager to join Marineau's team because of his background in clothing, retailing, and manufacturing with companies such as The Gap and Esprit de Corps in the 1980s. He knew that Marineau's plan to anticipate customer wants would require up-to-date IT applications such as data warehousing, data mining, and customer relationship management (CRM) systems. He also knew that selling to mass market retailers would require upgrades to the supply chain management (SCM) systems, and he understood that globalization would necessitate standardized enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. Overall, it was a challenge any ambitious CIO would covet. After all, designing and installing IT systems that drive and achieve key business initiatives is what it is all about. Joining Walmart Walmart was a pioneer in supply chain management systems, having learned early on that driving costs out of the supply chain would let it offer products to customers at the lowest possible prices, while at the same time assuring that products the customers demanded were always on store shelves. Becoming one of Walmart's 30,000 suppliers is not easy. Walmart insists that its suppliers do business using up-to-date IT systems to manage the supply chain-not just the supply chain between Walmart and its suppliers, but the supply chains between the suppliers and their suppliers as well. Walmart has strict supply chain management system requirements that its business partners must meet. Walmart's requirements presented Levi Strauss with a serious hurdle to overcome because its supply chain management systems were in bad shape. Levi Strauss executives did not even have access to key information required to track where products were moving in the supply chain. For example, they did not know how many pairs of jeans were in the factory awaiting shipment, how many were somewhere en route, or how many had just been unloaded at a customer's warehouse. According to Greg Hammann, Levi's U.S. chief customer officer, "Our supply chain could not deliver the services Walmart expected." Bergen created a cross-functional team of key managers from IT, finance, and sales to transform Levi Strauss's systems to meet Walmart's requirements. Their recommendations included network upgrades, modifications to ordering and logistics applications, and data warehouse improvements, among others. Although Bergen realized that about half the changes required to current IT systems to accommodate the state-of-the-art demands of Walmart would be a waste of resources since these systems were being replaced by a new SAP enterprise software system over the next five years, Levi Strauss could not wait for the SAP installation if it wanted Walmart's business now, so it decided to move forward with the changes to the current systems. The successful transformation of its supply chain management system allowed the company to collaborate with Walmart. The company introduced its new signature line at Walmart, which sells for around $23 and has fewer details in the finish than Levi's other lines, no trademark pocket stitching or red tab, for example. Walmart wants big-name brands to lure more affluent customers into its stores, while still maintaining the low price points all Walmart customers have come to expect. Walmart Senior Vice President Lois Mikita noted that Walmart "continues to tailor its selection to meet the needs of customers from a cross section of income levels and lifestyles." She also stated she is impressed with the level of detail Levi Strauss has put into its systems transformation efforts to "make the execution of this new launch 100 percent." Achieving Business Success through IT Bergen's changes were a success and the percentage of products delivered on time quickly rose from 65 percent to 95 percent primarily because of the updated supply chain management system. Levi's total sales were also up in the third and fourth quarters of 2003, for the first time since 1996. NPD Group's Fashionworld is a research group that tracks apparel and footwear market trends. In 2003, Levi's appeared on NPD Fashionworld's top 10 list of brands preferred by young women, ending an absence of several years. Marshall Cohen, a senior industry analyst at NPD Fashionworld, noted that Levi's "hadn't been close to that for a while. Teens hadn't gravitated toward Levi's in years. That was incredible. A lot of that has to do with having the right style in the right place at the right time." The improved systems, Cohen noted, also helped the company get the right sizes to the right stores. Another highly successful IT system implemented by Levi Strauss is a digital dashboard that executives can display on their PC screens. The dashboard lets an executive see the status of a product as it moves from the factory floor to distribution centers to retail stores. For example, the dashboard can display how Levi's 501 jeans are selling at an individual Kohl's store compared to forecasted sales. "When I first got here I didn't see anything," Hammann said. "Now I can drill down to the product level." The digital dashboard alerts executives to trends that under the previous systems would have taken weeks to detect. For example, in 2003 Levi Strauss started to ship Dockers Stain Defender pants. Expected sales for the pants were around 2 million pairs. The digital dashboard quickly notified key executives that the trousers were selling around 2.5 million pairs. This information enabled them to adjust production upward in time to ship more pants, meet the increased demand, and avoid lost sales. Levi Strauss also uses the systems to control supply during key seasonal sales periods such as back-to-school and Christmas. "If I look overconfident, I'm not," Bergen said. "I'm very nervous about this change. When we trip, we have to stand up real quick and get back on the horse, as they say." As if to reinforce Bergen's point, Gib Carey, a supply chain analyst at Bain, noted, "The place where companies do fail is when they aren't bringing anything new to Walmart. Walmart is constantly looking at 'How can I get the same product I am selling today at a lower price somewhere else ' " What might have happened to Levi Strauss if its top executives had not supported investments in SCM

How Levi's Got Its Jeans into Walmart People around the world recognize Levi's as an American icon, the cool jeans worn by movie stars James Dean and Marilyn Monroe. However, the company failed to keep up with the fastchanging tastes of American teenagers. In particular, it missed the trend to baggy jeans that caught hold in the mid-1990s. Sales plummeted from $7.1 billion in 1996 to $4.1 billion in 2003, and Levi's U.S. market share dropped from 18.7 percent in 1997 to 12 percent in 2003, a huge decline of almost one-third in both dollars and market share. Analyzing and Responding to What Happened Competition hit Levi Strauss on both the high and low ends. Fashion-conscious buyers were drawn to high-priced brands like Blue Cult, Juicy, and Seven, which had more fashion cachet than Levi's. On the low end, parents were buying Wrangler and Lee jeans for their kids because on average they cost about $10 less than Levi's Red Tab brand. Wrangler and Lee were also the brands they found at discount retailers such as Walmart, Target, and T. J. Maxx. David Bergen, Levi's chief information officer (CIO), described the company as "getting squeezed," and "caught in the jaws of death." Levi Strauss's new CEO, Philip A. Marineau, came to the company from PepsiCo in 1999, a year after he helped PepsiCo surpass Coca-Cola in sales for the first time. Marineau recruited Bergen in 2000 from Carstation.com. Marineau quickly realized that turning Levi Strauss around would entail manufacturing, marketing, and distributing jeans that customers demanded, particularly customers at the low end where the mass market was located. Bergen was eager to join Marineau's team because of his background in clothing, retailing, and manufacturing with companies such as The Gap and Esprit de Corps in the 1980s. He knew that Marineau's plan to anticipate customer wants would require up-to-date IT applications such as data warehousing, data mining, and customer relationship management (CRM) systems. He also knew that selling to mass market retailers would require upgrades to the supply chain management (SCM) systems, and he understood that globalization would necessitate standardized enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. Overall, it was a challenge any ambitious CIO would covet. After all, designing and installing IT systems that drive and achieve key business initiatives is what it is all about. Joining Walmart Walmart was a pioneer in supply chain management systems, having learned early on that driving costs out of the supply chain would let it offer products to customers at the lowest possible prices, while at the same time assuring that products the customers demanded were always on store shelves. Becoming one of Walmart's 30,000 suppliers is not easy. Walmart insists that its suppliers do business using up-to-date IT systems to manage the supply chain-not just the supply chain between Walmart and its suppliers, but the supply chains between the suppliers and their suppliers as well. Walmart has strict supply chain management system requirements that its business partners must meet. Walmart's requirements presented Levi Strauss with a serious hurdle to overcome because its supply chain management systems were in bad shape. Levi Strauss executives did not even have access to key information required to track where products were moving in the supply chain. For example, they did not know how many pairs of jeans were in the factory awaiting shipment, how many were somewhere en route, or how many had just been unloaded at a customer's warehouse. According to Greg Hammann, Levi's U.S. chief customer officer, "Our supply chain could not deliver the services Walmart expected." Bergen created a cross-functional team of key managers from IT, finance, and sales to transform Levi Strauss's systems to meet Walmart's requirements. Their recommendations included network upgrades, modifications to ordering and logistics applications, and data warehouse improvements, among others. Although Bergen realized that about half the changes required to current IT systems to accommodate the state-of-the-art demands of Walmart would be a waste of resources since these systems were being replaced by a new SAP enterprise software system over the next five years, Levi Strauss could not wait for the SAP installation if it wanted Walmart's business now, so it decided to move forward with the changes to the current systems. The successful transformation of its supply chain management system allowed the company to collaborate with Walmart. The company introduced its new signature line at Walmart, which sells for around $23 and has fewer details in the finish than Levi's other lines, no trademark pocket stitching or red tab, for example. Walmart wants big-name brands to lure more affluent customers into its stores, while still maintaining the low price points all Walmart customers have come to expect. Walmart Senior Vice President Lois Mikita noted that Walmart "continues to tailor its selection to meet the needs of customers from a cross section of income levels and lifestyles." She also stated she is impressed with the level of detail Levi Strauss has put into its systems transformation efforts to "make the execution of this new launch 100 percent." Achieving Business Success through IT Bergen's changes were a success and the percentage of products delivered on time quickly rose from 65 percent to 95 percent primarily because of the updated supply chain management system. Levi's total sales were also up in the third and fourth quarters of 2003, for the first time since 1996. NPD Group's Fashionworld is a research group that tracks apparel and footwear market trends. In 2003, Levi's appeared on NPD Fashionworld's top 10 list of brands preferred by young women, ending an absence of several years. Marshall Cohen, a senior industry analyst at NPD Fashionworld, noted that Levi's "hadn't been close to that for a while. Teens hadn't gravitated toward Levi's in years. That was incredible. A lot of that has to do with having the right style in the right place at the right time." The improved systems, Cohen noted, also helped the company get the right sizes to the right stores. Another highly successful IT system implemented by Levi Strauss is a digital dashboard that executives can display on their PC screens. The dashboard lets an executive see the status of a product as it moves from the factory floor to distribution centers to retail stores. For example, the dashboard can display how Levi's 501 jeans are selling at an individual Kohl's store compared to forecasted sales. "When I first got here I didn't see anything," Hammann said. "Now I can drill down to the product level." The digital dashboard alerts executives to trends that under the previous systems would have taken weeks to detect. For example, in 2003 Levi Strauss started to ship Dockers Stain Defender pants. Expected sales for the pants were around 2 million pairs. The digital dashboard quickly notified key executives that the trousers were selling around 2.5 million pairs. This information enabled them to adjust production upward in time to ship more pants, meet the increased demand, and avoid lost sales. Levi Strauss also uses the systems to control supply during key seasonal sales periods such as back-to-school and Christmas. "If I look overconfident, I'm not," Bergen said. "I'm very nervous about this change. When we trip, we have to stand up real quick and get back on the horse, as they say." As if to reinforce Bergen's point, Gib Carey, a supply chain analyst at Bain, noted, "The place where companies do fail is when they aren't bringing anything new to Walmart. Walmart is constantly looking at 'How can I get the same product I am selling today at a lower price somewhere else ' " David Bergen, Levi's CIO, put together a cross-functional team of key managers from IT, finance, and sales to transform Levi's systems to meet Walmart's requirements. Analyze the relationships between these three business areas and OM. How can OM help support these three critical business areas

How Levi's Got Its Jeans into Walmart People around the world recognize Levi's as an American icon, the cool jeans worn by movie stars James Dean and Marilyn Monroe. However, the company failed to keep up with the fastchanging tastes of American teenagers. In particular, it missed the trend to baggy jeans that caught hold in the mid-1990s. Sales plummeted from $7.1 billion in 1996 to $4.1 billion in 2003, and Levi's U.S. market share dropped from 18.7 percent in 1997 to 12 percent in 2003, a huge decline of almost one-third in both dollars and market share. Analyzing and Responding to What Happened Competition hit Levi Strauss on both the high and low ends. Fashion-conscious buyers were drawn to high-priced brands like Blue Cult, Juicy, and Seven, which had more fashion cachet than Levi's. On the low end, parents were buying Wrangler and Lee jeans for their kids because on average they cost about $10 less than Levi's Red Tab brand. Wrangler and Lee were also the brands they found at discount retailers such as Walmart, Target, and T. J. Maxx. David Bergen, Levi's chief information officer (CIO), described the company as "getting squeezed," and "caught in the jaws of death." Levi Strauss's new CEO, Philip A. Marineau, came to the company from PepsiCo in 1999, a year after he helped PepsiCo surpass Coca-Cola in sales for the first time. Marineau recruited Bergen in 2000 from Carstation.com. Marineau quickly realized that turning Levi Strauss around would entail manufacturing, marketing, and distributing jeans that customers demanded, particularly customers at the low end where the mass market was located. Bergen was eager to join Marineau's team because of his background in clothing, retailing, and manufacturing with companies such as The Gap and Esprit de Corps in the 1980s. He knew that Marineau's plan to anticipate customer wants would require up-to-date IT applications such as data warehousing, data mining, and customer relationship management (CRM) systems. He also knew that selling to mass market retailers would require upgrades to the supply chain management (SCM) systems, and he understood that globalization would necessitate standardized enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. Overall, it was a challenge any ambitious CIO would covet. After all, designing and installing IT systems that drive and achieve key business initiatives is what it is all about. Joining Walmart Walmart was a pioneer in supply chain management systems, having learned early on that driving costs out of the supply chain would let it offer products to customers at the lowest possible prices, while at the same time assuring that products the customers demanded were always on store shelves. Becoming one of Walmart's 30,000 suppliers is not easy. Walmart insists that its suppliers do business using up-to-date IT systems to manage the supply chain-not just the supply chain between Walmart and its suppliers, but the supply chains between the suppliers and their suppliers as well. Walmart has strict supply chain management system requirements that its business partners must meet. Walmart's requirements presented Levi Strauss with a serious hurdle to overcome because its supply chain management systems were in bad shape. Levi Strauss executives did not even have access to key information required to track where products were moving in the supply chain. For example, they did not know how many pairs of jeans were in the factory awaiting shipment, how many were somewhere en route, or how many had just been unloaded at a customer's warehouse. According to Greg Hammann, Levi's U.S. chief customer officer, "Our supply chain could not deliver the services Walmart expected." Bergen created a cross-functional team of key managers from IT, finance, and sales to transform Levi Strauss's systems to meet Walmart's requirements. Their recommendations included network upgrades, modifications to ordering and logistics applications, and data warehouse improvements, among others. Although Bergen realized that about half the changes required to current IT systems to accommodate the state-of-the-art demands of Walmart would be a waste of resources since these systems were being replaced by a new SAP enterprise software system over the next five years, Levi Strauss could not wait for the SAP installation if it wanted Walmart's business now, so it decided to move forward with the changes to the current systems. The successful transformation of its supply chain management system allowed the company to collaborate with Walmart. The company introduced its new signature line at Walmart, which sells for around $23 and has fewer details in the finish than Levi's other lines, no trademark pocket stitching or red tab, for example. Walmart wants big-name brands to lure more affluent customers into its stores, while still maintaining the low price points all Walmart customers have come to expect. Walmart Senior Vice President Lois Mikita noted that Walmart "continues to tailor its selection to meet the needs of customers from a cross section of income levels and lifestyles." She also stated she is impressed with the level of detail Levi Strauss has put into its systems transformation efforts to "make the execution of this new launch 100 percent." Achieving Business Success through IT Bergen's changes were a success and the percentage of products delivered on time quickly rose from 65 percent to 95 percent primarily because of the updated supply chain management system. Levi's total sales were also up in the third and fourth quarters of 2003, for the first time since 1996. NPD Group's Fashionworld is a research group that tracks apparel and footwear market trends. In 2003, Levi's appeared on NPD Fashionworld's top 10 list of brands preferred by young women, ending an absence of several years. Marshall Cohen, a senior industry analyst at NPD Fashionworld, noted that Levi's "hadn't been close to that for a while. Teens hadn't gravitated toward Levi's in years. That was incredible. A lot of that has to do with having the right style in the right place at the right time." The improved systems, Cohen noted, also helped the company get the right sizes to the right stores. Another highly successful IT system implemented by Levi Strauss is a digital dashboard that executives can display on their PC screens. The dashboard lets an executive see the status of a product as it moves from the factory floor to distribution centers to retail stores. For example, the dashboard can display how Levi's 501 jeans are selling at an individual Kohl's store compared to forecasted sales. "When I first got here I didn't see anything," Hammann said. "Now I can drill down to the product level." The digital dashboard alerts executives to trends that under the previous systems would have taken weeks to detect. For example, in 2003 Levi Strauss started to ship Dockers Stain Defender pants. Expected sales for the pants were around 2 million pairs. The digital dashboard quickly notified key executives that the trousers were selling around 2.5 million pairs. This information enabled them to adjust production upward in time to ship more pants, meet the increased demand, and avoid lost sales. Levi Strauss also uses the systems to control supply during key seasonal sales periods such as back-to-school and Christmas. "If I look overconfident, I'm not," Bergen said. "I'm very nervous about this change. When we trip, we have to stand up real quick and get back on the horse, as they say." As if to reinforce Bergen's point, Gib Carey, a supply chain analyst at Bain, noted, "The place where companies do fail is when they aren't bringing anything new to Walmart. Walmart is constantly looking at 'How can I get the same product I am selling today at a lower price somewhere else ' " Describe the five basic SCM components in reference to Walmart's business model.

How Levi's Got Its Jeans into Walmart People around the world recognize Levi's as an American icon, the cool jeans worn by movie stars James Dean and Marilyn Monroe. However, the company failed to keep up with the fastchanging tastes of American teenagers. In particular, it missed the trend to baggy jeans that caught hold in the mid-1990s. Sales plummeted from $7.1 billion in 1996 to $4.1 billion in 2003, and Levi's U.S. market share dropped from 18.7 percent in 1997 to 12 percent in 2003, a huge decline of almost one-third in both dollars and market share. Analyzing and Responding to What Happened Competition hit Levi Strauss on both the high and low ends. Fashion-conscious buyers were drawn to high-priced brands like Blue Cult, Juicy, and Seven, which had more fashion cachet than Levi's. On the low end, parents were buying Wrangler and Lee jeans for their kids because on average they cost about $10 less than Levi's Red Tab brand. Wrangler and Lee were also the brands they found at discount retailers such as Walmart, Target, and T. J. Maxx. David Bergen, Levi's chief information officer (CIO), described the company as "getting squeezed," and "caught in the jaws of death." Levi Strauss's new CEO, Philip A. Marineau, came to the company from PepsiCo in 1999, a year after he helped PepsiCo surpass Coca-Cola in sales for the first time. Marineau recruited Bergen in 2000 from Carstation.com. Marineau quickly realized that turning Levi Strauss around would entail manufacturing, marketing, and distributing jeans that customers demanded, particularly customers at the low end where the mass market was located. Bergen was eager to join Marineau's team because of his background in clothing, retailing, and manufacturing with companies such as The Gap and Esprit de Corps in the 1980s. He knew that Marineau's plan to anticipate customer wants would require up-to-date IT applications such as data warehousing, data mining, and customer relationship management (CRM) systems. He also knew that selling to mass market retailers would require upgrades to the supply chain management (SCM) systems, and he understood that globalization would necessitate standardized enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. Overall, it was a challenge any ambitious CIO would covet. After all, designing and installing IT systems that drive and achieve key business initiatives is what it is all about. Joining Walmart Walmart was a pioneer in supply chain management systems, having learned early on that driving costs out of the supply chain would let it offer products to customers at the lowest possible prices, while at the same time assuring that products the customers demanded were always on store shelves. Becoming one of Walmart's 30,000 suppliers is not easy. Walmart insists that its suppliers do business using up-to-date IT systems to manage the supply chain-not just the supply chain between Walmart and its suppliers, but the supply chains between the suppliers and their suppliers as well. Walmart has strict supply chain management system requirements that its business partners must meet. Walmart's requirements presented Levi Strauss with a serious hurdle to overcome because its supply chain management systems were in bad shape. Levi Strauss executives did not even have access to key information required to track where products were moving in the supply chain. For example, they did not know how many pairs of jeans were in the factory awaiting shipment, how many were somewhere en route, or how many had just been unloaded at a customer's warehouse. According to Greg Hammann, Levi's U.S. chief customer officer, "Our supply chain could not deliver the services Walmart expected." Bergen created a cross-functional team of key managers from IT, finance, and sales to transform Levi Strauss's systems to meet Walmart's requirements. Their recommendations included network upgrades, modifications to ordering and logistics applications, and data warehouse improvements, among others. Although Bergen realized that about half the changes required to current IT systems to accommodate the state-of-the-art demands of Walmart would be a waste of resources since these systems were being replaced by a new SAP enterprise software system over the next five years, Levi Strauss could not wait for the SAP installation if it wanted Walmart's business now, so it decided to move forward with the changes to the current systems. The successful transformation of its supply chain management system allowed the company to collaborate with Walmart. The company introduced its new signature line at Walmart, which sells for around $23 and has fewer details in the finish than Levi's other lines, no trademark pocket stitching or red tab, for example. Walmart wants big-name brands to lure more affluent customers into its stores, while still maintaining the low price points all Walmart customers have come to expect. Walmart Senior Vice President Lois Mikita noted that Walmart "continues to tailor its selection to meet the needs of customers from a cross section of income levels and lifestyles." She also stated she is impressed with the level of detail Levi Strauss has put into its systems transformation efforts to "make the execution of this new launch 100 percent." Achieving Business Success through IT Bergen's changes were a success and the percentage of products delivered on time quickly rose from 65 percent to 95 percent primarily because of the updated supply chain management system. Levi's total sales were also up in the third and fourth quarters of 2003, for the first time since 1996. NPD Group's Fashionworld is a research group that tracks apparel and footwear market trends. In 2003, Levi's appeared on NPD Fashionworld's top 10 list of brands preferred by young women, ending an absence of several years. Marshall Cohen, a senior industry analyst at NPD Fashionworld, noted that Levi's "hadn't been close to that for a while. Teens hadn't gravitated toward Levi's in years. That was incredible. A lot of that has to do with having the right style in the right place at the right time." The improved systems, Cohen noted, also helped the company get the right sizes to the right stores. Another highly successful IT system implemented by Levi Strauss is a digital dashboard that executives can display on their PC screens. The dashboard lets an executive see the status of a product as it moves from the factory floor to distribution centers to retail stores. For example, the dashboard can display how Levi's 501 jeans are selling at an individual Kohl's store compared to forecasted sales. "When I first got here I didn't see anything," Hammann said. "Now I can drill down to the product level." The digital dashboard alerts executives to trends that under the previous systems would have taken weeks to detect. For example, in 2003 Levi Strauss started to ship Dockers Stain Defender pants. Expected sales for the pants were around 2 million pairs. The digital dashboard quickly notified key executives that the trousers were selling around 2.5 million pairs. This information enabled them to adjust production upward in time to ship more pants, meet the increased demand, and avoid lost sales. Levi Strauss also uses the systems to control supply during key seasonal sales periods such as back-to-school and Christmas. "If I look overconfident, I'm not," Bergen said. "I'm very nervous about this change. When we trip, we have to stand up real quick and get back on the horse, as they say." As if to reinforce Bergen's point, Gib Carey, a supply chain analyst at Bain, noted, "The place where companies do fail is when they aren't bringing anything new to Walmart. Walmart is constantly looking at 'How can I get the same product I am selling today at a lower price somewhere else ' " Explain the future trends of SCM and provide an example of how Levi Strauss could use these technologies to streamline its business operations.

How Levi's Got Its Jeans into Walmart People around the world recognize Levi's as an American icon, the cool jeans worn by movie stars James Dean and Marilyn Monroe. However, the company failed to keep up with the fastchanging tastes of American teenagers. In particular, it missed the trend to baggy jeans that caught hold in the mid-1990s. Sales plummeted from $7.1 billion in 1996 to $4.1 billion in 2003, and Levi's U.S. market share dropped from 18.7 percent in 1997 to 12 percent in 2003, a huge decline of almost one-third in both dollars and market share. Analyzing and Responding to What Happened Competition hit Levi Strauss on both the high and low ends. Fashion-conscious buyers were drawn to high-priced brands like Blue Cult, Juicy, and Seven, which had more fashion cachet than Levi's. On the low end, parents were buying Wrangler and Lee jeans for their kids because on average they cost about $10 less than Levi's Red Tab brand. Wrangler and Lee were also the brands they found at discount retailers such as Walmart, Target, and T. J. Maxx. David Bergen, Levi's chief information officer (CIO), described the company as "getting squeezed," and "caught in the jaws of death." Levi Strauss's new CEO, Philip A. Marineau, came to the company from PepsiCo in 1999, a year after he helped PepsiCo surpass Coca-Cola in sales for the first time. Marineau recruited Bergen in 2000 from Carstation.com. Marineau quickly realized that turning Levi Strauss around would entail manufacturing, marketing, and distributing jeans that customers demanded, particularly customers at the low end where the mass market was located. Bergen was eager to join Marineau's team because of his background in clothing, retailing, and manufacturing with companies such as The Gap and Esprit de Corps in the 1980s. He knew that Marineau's plan to anticipate customer wants would require up-to-date IT applications such as data warehousing, data mining, and customer relationship management (CRM) systems. He also knew that selling to mass market retailers would require upgrades to the supply chain management (SCM) systems, and he understood that globalization would necessitate standardized enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. Overall, it was a challenge any ambitious CIO would covet. After all, designing and installing IT systems that drive and achieve key business initiatives is what it is all about. Joining Walmart Walmart was a pioneer in supply chain management systems, having learned early on that driving costs out of the supply chain would let it offer products to customers at the lowest possible prices, while at the same time assuring that products the customers demanded were always on store shelves. Becoming one of Walmart's 30,000 suppliers is not easy. Walmart insists that its suppliers do business using up-to-date IT systems to manage the supply chain-not just the supply chain between Walmart and its suppliers, but the supply chains between the suppliers and their suppliers as well. Walmart has strict supply chain management system requirements that its business partners must meet. Walmart's requirements presented Levi Strauss with a serious hurdle to overcome because its supply chain management systems were in bad shape. Levi Strauss executives did not even have access to key information required to track where products were moving in the supply chain. For example, they did not know how many pairs of jeans were in the factory awaiting shipment, how many were somewhere en route, or how many had just been unloaded at a customer's warehouse. According to Greg Hammann, Levi's U.S. chief customer officer, "Our supply chain could not deliver the services Walmart expected." Bergen created a cross-functional team of key managers from IT, finance, and sales to transform Levi Strauss's systems to meet Walmart's requirements. Their recommendations included network upgrades, modifications to ordering and logistics applications, and data warehouse improvements, among others. Although Bergen realized that about half the changes required to current IT systems to accommodate the state-of-the-art demands of Walmart would be a waste of resources since these systems were being replaced by a new SAP enterprise software system over the next five years, Levi Strauss could not wait for the SAP installation if it wanted Walmart's business now, so it decided to move forward with the changes to the current systems. The successful transformation of its supply chain management system allowed the company to collaborate with Walmart. The company introduced its new signature line at Walmart, which sells for around $23 and has fewer details in the finish than Levi's other lines, no trademark pocket stitching or red tab, for example. Walmart wants big-name brands to lure more affluent customers into its stores, while still maintaining the low price points all Walmart customers have come to expect. Walmart Senior Vice President Lois Mikita noted that Walmart "continues to tailor its selection to meet the needs of customers from a cross section of income levels and lifestyles." She also stated she is impressed with the level of detail Levi Strauss has put into its systems transformation efforts to "make the execution of this new launch 100 percent." Achieving Business Success through IT Bergen's changes were a success and the percentage of products delivered on time quickly rose from 65 percent to 95 percent primarily because of the updated supply chain management system. Levi's total sales were also up in the third and fourth quarters of 2003, for the first time since 1996. NPD Group's Fashionworld is a research group that tracks apparel and footwear market trends. In 2003, Levi's appeared on NPD Fashionworld's top 10 list of brands preferred by young women, ending an absence of several years. Marshall Cohen, a senior industry analyst at NPD Fashionworld, noted that Levi's "hadn't been close to that for a while. Teens hadn't gravitated toward Levi's in years. That was incredible. A lot of that has to do with having the right style in the right place at the right time." The improved systems, Cohen noted, also helped the company get the right sizes to the right stores. Another highly successful IT system implemented by Levi Strauss is a digital dashboard that executives can display on their PC screens. The dashboard lets an executive see the status of a product as it moves from the factory floor to distribution centers to retail stores. For example, the dashboard can display how Levi's 501 jeans are selling at an individual Kohl's store compared to forecasted sales. "When I first got here I didn't see anything," Hammann said. "Now I can drill down to the product level." The digital dashboard alerts executives to trends that under the previous systems would have taken weeks to detect. For example, in 2003 Levi Strauss started to ship Dockers Stain Defender pants. Expected sales for the pants were around 2 million pairs. The digital dashboard quickly notified key executives that the trousers were selling around 2.5 million pairs. This information enabled them to adjust production upward in time to ship more pants, meet the increased demand, and avoid lost sales. Levi Strauss also uses the systems to control supply during key seasonal sales periods such as back-to-school and Christmas. "If I look overconfident, I'm not," Bergen said. "I'm very nervous about this change. When we trip, we have to stand up real quick and get back on the horse, as they say." As if to reinforce Bergen's point, Gib Carey, a supply chain analyst at Bain, noted, "The place where companies do fail is when they aren't bringing anything new to Walmart. Walmart is constantly looking at 'How can I get the same product I am selling today at a lower price somewhere else ' " Identify any security and ethical issues that might occur for a company doing business with Walmart.

The Digital Hospital For years, health care has missed the huge benefits that information technology has bestowed upon the rest of the economy. During the 1990s, productivity in health care services declined, according to estimates from Economy.com Inc. That is a huge underachievement in a decade of strong gains from the overall economy. This is beginning to change as hospitals, along with insurers and the government, are stepping up their IT investments. Hospitals are finally discarding their clumsy, sluggish first-generation networks and are beginning to install laptops, software, and Internet technologies. Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack, New Jersey, is one of the nation's most aggressive technology adopters, investing $72 million in IT projects. The IT investments are paying off for the hospital with patient mortality rates decreasing-down 16 percent in four years-and quality of care and productivity increasing. The most important piece of Hackensack's digital initiatives is the networked software that acts as the hospital's central nervous system. Using wireless laptops, nurses log in to the system to record patient information and progress. Doctors tap into the network via wireless devices to order prescriptions and lab tests. Everything is linked, from the automated pharmacy to the X-ray lab, eliminating the need for faxes, phone calls, and other administrative hassles. Figure B8.7 displays the hospital's IT systems development projects. More important than saving money is saving lives. Poor information kills some 7,000 Americans each year just by missing drug-interaction problems, according to the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine. Hospital errors result in 100,000 deaths annually. Early evidence indicates that proper technology can reduce this amount. Hospitals using electronic prescription systems have seen 80 percent fewer prescription errors. FIGURE B8.7 Hospital IT Systems Development Projects How would operations management be a critical component to a hospital

The Digital Hospital For years, health care has missed the huge benefits that information technology has bestowed upon the rest of the economy. During the 1990s, productivity in health care services declined, according to estimates from Economy.com Inc. That is a huge underachievement in a decade of strong gains from the overall economy. This is beginning to change as hospitals, along with insurers and the government, are stepping up their IT investments. Hospitals are finally discarding their clumsy, sluggish first-generation networks and are beginning to install laptops, software, and Internet technologies. Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack, New Jersey, is one of the nation's most aggressive technology adopters, investing $72 million in IT projects. The IT investments are paying off for the hospital with patient mortality rates decreasing-down 16 percent in four years-and quality of care and productivity increasing. The most important piece of Hackensack's digital initiatives is the networked software that acts as the hospital's central nervous system. Using wireless laptops, nurses log in to the system to record patient information and progress. Doctors tap into the network via wireless devices to order prescriptions and lab tests. Everything is linked, from the automated pharmacy to the X-ray lab, eliminating the need for faxes, phone calls, and other administrative hassles. Figure B8.7 displays the hospital's IT systems development projects. More important than saving money is saving lives. Poor information kills some 7,000 Americans each year just by missing drug-interaction problems, according to the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine. Hospital errors result in 100,000 deaths annually. Early evidence indicates that proper technology can reduce this amount. Hospitals using electronic prescription systems have seen 80 percent fewer prescription errors. FIGURE B8.7 Hospital IT Systems Development Projects How would a hospital use each of the three OM planning strategies to improve its operations

The Digital Hospital For years, health care has missed the huge benefits that information technology has bestowed upon the rest of the economy. During the 1990s, productivity in health care services declined, according to estimates from Economy.com Inc. That is a huge underachievement in a decade of strong gains from the overall economy. This is beginning to change as hospitals, along with insurers and the government, are stepping up their IT investments. Hospitals are finally discarding their clumsy, sluggish first-generation networks and are beginning to install laptops, software, and Internet technologies. Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack, New Jersey, is one of the nation's most aggressive technology adopters, investing $72 million in IT projects. The IT investments are paying off for the hospital with patient mortality rates decreasing-down 16 percent in four years-and quality of care and productivity increasing. The most important piece of Hackensack's digital initiatives is the networked software that acts as the hospital's central nervous system. Using wireless laptops, nurses log in to the system to record patient information and progress. Doctors tap into the network via wireless devices to order prescriptions and lab tests. Everything is linked, from the automated pharmacy to the X-ray lab, eliminating the need for faxes, phone calls, and other administrative hassles. Figure B8.7 displays the hospital's IT systems development projects. More important than saving money is saving lives. Poor information kills some 7,000 Americans each year just by missing drug-interaction problems, according to the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine. Hospital errors result in 100,000 deaths annually. Early evidence indicates that proper technology can reduce this amount. Hospitals using electronic prescription systems have seen 80 percent fewer prescription errors. FIGURE B8.7 Hospital IT Systems Development Projects How might a hospital use each of the five competitive priorities to increase value to its goods and services

Operational Mowing Mary Lou has worked for the same Fortune 500 company for almost 15 years. Although the company had gone through some tough times, things were starting to turn around. Customer orders were up, and quality and productivity had improved dramatically from what they had been only a few years earlier due to a companywide quality improvement program. So it came as a real shock to Mary Lou and about 400 of her co-workers when they were suddenly terminated following the new CEO's decision to downsize the company. After recovering from the initial shock, Mary Lou tried to find employment elsewhere. Despite her efforts, after eight months of searching she was no closer to finding a job than the day she started. Her funds were being depleted and she was getting more discouraged. There was one bright spot, though: She was able to bring in a little money by mowing lawns for her neighbors. She got involved quite by chance when she heard one neighbor remark that now that his children were on their own, nobody was around to cut the grass. Almost jokingly, Mary Lou asked him how much he'd be willing to pay. Soon Mary Lou was mowing the lawns of 10 neighbors. Other neighbors wanted her to work on their lawns, but she did not feel that she could spare any more time from her job search. However, as the rejection letters began to pile up, Mary Lou knew she had to make a decision if she would go into business for herself or continue her job search. By the end of her first year in business, Mary Lou was easily earning a good living. She began performing other services such as fertilizing lawns, weeding gardens, trimming shrubs, and installing sprinkler systems. Business was so good that Mary Lou hired several employees to assist her and believed she could further expand her business. As Mary Lou begins to plan her expansion, she needs your assistance in answering the following questions: 1. In what ways are Mary Lou's customers most likely to judge the quality of her lawn care services 2. Mary Lou is the operations manager of her business. Among her responsibilities are forecasting, inventory management, scheduling, quality assurance, and maintenance. 1. What kinds of things would likely require forecasts 2. What inventory items does Mary Lou probably have Name one inventory decision she has to make periodically. 3. What scheduling must she do What things might occur to disrupt schedules and cause Mary Lou to reschedule 4. How important is quality assurance to Mary Lou's business 3. What are some of the trade-offs that Mary Lou probably considered relative to: 1. Working for a company instead of for herself 2. Expanding the business 3. Launching a website 4. The town is considering an ordinance that would prohibit grass clippings at the curb for pickup because local landfills cannot handle the volume. What options might Mary Lou consider if the ordinance is passed 5. Mary Lou decided to offer her employees a bonus of $250 for ideas on how to improve the business, and they provided several good ideas. One idea that she initially rejected now appears to hold great promise. The employee who proposed the idea has left the company and is currently working for a competitor. Should Mary Lou send the employee a check for the idea

Total Recall In mid-2000, the Firestone Tire Company issued a recall of some of its tires-those mounted on certain sport-utility vehicles (SUV) of the Ford Motor Company. This was done in response to reports that tire treads on some SUVs separated in use, causing accidents, some of which involved fatal injuries as vehicles rolled over. At first, Firestone denied there was a problem with its tires, but it issued the recall under pressure from consumer groups and various government agencies. All of the tires in question were produced at the same tire plant, and there were calls to shut down that facility. Firestone suggested that Ford incorrectly matched the wrong tires with its SUVs. There were also suggestions that the shock absorbers of the SUVs were rubbing against the tires, causing or aggravating the problem. Both Ford and Firestone denied that this had been an ongoing problem. However, there was a public outcry when it was learned that Firestone had previously issued recalls of these tires in South America, and the companies had settled at least one lawsuit involving an accident caused by tread separation several years earlier. This case raises a number of issues, some related to possible causes and others to ethics. Discuss each of these factors and their actual or potential relevance to what happened: 1. Product 2. Quality control 3. Ethics

UPS Invests $1 Billion to Go Green United Parcel Service (UPS) will make about $1 billion in technology investments to improve the efficiency of its operations, with the goal of cutting billions more from its costs over the long term. One of its main goals is to improve the speed and efficiency of its delivery operations. To achieve that, UPS is equipping its vans with sensors that allow it to collect data about things such as fuel consumption, chosen routes, and how much time its engines spend idling. Reducing fuel consumption will help UPS not only to cut costs, but also to be more environmentally responsible. A big portion of the company's costs comes from transporting packages by air. In fact, UPS is the world's ninth-largest airline, so it is trying to conserve aircraft fuel as well by lowering flight speeds and better planning to avoid duplication of routes. But a lot of fuel is also burned by its trucks, and the sensors being implemented there could save the company millions of dollars. UPS is installing about 200 sensors in its vehicles-in the brakes, engine box, and on the exterior-to collect data and pinpoint opportunities where drivers can adjust their driving to maximize fuel efficiency. The company wants to reduce idle time of its delivery trucks, as each hour spent idling burns about a gallon of fuel. The company is also installing equipment to track the routes drivers take to deliver packages. Every morning the drivers are briefed on the data captured by the sensors and how they could drive differently to save fuel. UPS wants to optimize the number of times a vehicle has to start, stop, reverse, turn, or back up. Green Data Center The company is also investing in more efficient cooling technologies at its two data centers, which are in Mahwah, New Jersey, and Alpharetta, Georgia. During the winter, the company can shut off its chiller equipment and use outside air for cooling. The Alpharetta data center has a 650,000-gallon water tank outside for cooling and a heat exchanger to faster dissipate the heat captured in the fluid. The water flows in a circular motion around the data center, cooling the equipment, and the heat exchanger helps lower the temperature of the hot exhaust water more quickly. UPS is also investing in faster server processors, allowing it to consolidate existing servers through virtualization. That helps lower energy costs and also reduces the physical footprint of its servers. And the company has been consolidating smaller server rooms that were scattered around the world. These changes are saving UPS around $400,000 each year. Why do you think UPS is embracing sustainable technologies

UPS Invests $1 Billion to Go Green United Parcel Service (UPS) will make about $1 billion in technology investments to improve the efficiency of its operations, with the goal of cutting billions more from its costs over the long term. One of its main goals is to improve the speed and efficiency of its delivery operations. To achieve that, UPS is equipping its vans with sensors that allow it to collect data about things such as fuel consumption, chosen routes, and how much time its engines spend idling. Reducing fuel consumption will help UPS not only to cut costs, but also to be more environmentally responsible. A big portion of the company's costs comes from transporting packages by air. In fact, UPS is the world's ninth-largest airline, so it is trying to conserve aircraft fuel as well by lowering flight speeds and better planning to avoid duplication of routes. But a lot of fuel is also burned by its trucks, and the sensors being implemented there could save the company millions of dollars. UPS is installing about 200 sensors in its vehicles-in the brakes, engine box, and on the exterior-to collect data and pinpoint opportunities where drivers can adjust their driving to maximize fuel efficiency. The company wants to reduce idle time of its delivery trucks, as each hour spent idling burns about a gallon of fuel. The company is also installing equipment to track the routes drivers take to deliver packages. Every morning the drivers are briefed on the data captured by the sensors and how they could drive differently to save fuel. UPS wants to optimize the number of times a vehicle has to start, stop, reverse, turn, or back up. Green Data Center The company is also investing in more efficient cooling technologies at its two data centers, which are in Mahwah, New Jersey, and Alpharetta, Georgia. During the winter, the company can shut off its chiller equipment and use outside air for cooling. The Alpharetta data center has a 650,000-gallon water tank outside for cooling and a heat exchanger to faster dissipate the heat captured in the fluid. The water flows in a circular motion around the data center, cooling the equipment, and the heat exchanger helps lower the temperature of the hot exhaust water more quickly. UPS is also investing in faster server processors, allowing it to consolidate existing servers through virtualization. That helps lower energy costs and also reduces the physical footprint of its servers. And the company has been consolidating smaller server rooms that were scattered around the world. These changes are saving UPS around $400,000 each year. How is UPS developing a sustainable MIS infrastructure

UPS Invests $1 Billion to Go Green United Parcel Service (UPS) will make about $1 billion in technology investments to improve the efficiency of its operations, with the goal of cutting billions more from its costs over the long term. One of its main goals is to improve the speed and efficiency of its delivery operations. To achieve that, UPS is equipping its vans with sensors that allow it to collect data about things such as fuel consumption, chosen routes, and how much time its engines spend idling. Reducing fuel consumption will help UPS not only to cut costs, but also to be more environmentally responsible. A big portion of the company's costs comes from transporting packages by air. In fact, UPS is the world's ninth-largest airline, so it is trying to conserve aircraft fuel as well by lowering flight speeds and better planning to avoid duplication of routes. But a lot of fuel is also burned by its trucks, and the sensors being implemented there could save the company millions of dollars. UPS is installing about 200 sensors in its vehicles-in the brakes, engine box, and on the exterior-to collect data and pinpoint opportunities where drivers can adjust their driving to maximize fuel efficiency. The company wants to reduce idle time of its delivery trucks, as each hour spent idling burns about a gallon of fuel. The company is also installing equipment to track the routes drivers take to deliver packages. Every morning the drivers are briefed on the data captured by the sensors and how they could drive differently to save fuel. UPS wants to optimize the number of times a vehicle has to start, stop, reverse, turn, or back up. Green Data Center The company is also investing in more efficient cooling technologies at its two data centers, which are in Mahwah, New Jersey, and Alpharetta, Georgia. During the winter, the company can shut off its chiller equipment and use outside air for cooling. The Alpharetta data center has a 650,000-gallon water tank outside for cooling and a heat exchanger to faster dissipate the heat captured in the fluid. The water flows in a circular motion around the data center, cooling the equipment, and the heat exchanger helps lower the temperature of the hot exhaust water more quickly. UPS is also investing in faster server processors, allowing it to consolidate existing servers through virtualization. That helps lower energy costs and also reduces the physical footprint of its servers. And the company has been consolidating smaller server rooms that were scattered around the world. These changes are saving UPS around $400,000 each year. What business benefits will UPS gain from virtualization

UPS Invests $1 Billion to Go Green United Parcel Service (UPS) will make about $1 billion in technology investments to improve the efficiency of its operations, with the goal of cutting billions more from its costs over the long term. One of its main goals is to improve the speed and efficiency of its delivery operations. To achieve that, UPS is equipping its vans with sensors that allow it to collect data about things such as fuel consumption, chosen routes, and how much time its engines spend idling. Reducing fuel consumption will help UPS not only to cut costs, but also to be more environmentally responsible. A big portion of the company's costs comes from transporting packages by air. In fact, UPS is the world's ninth-largest airline, so it is trying to conserve aircraft fuel as well by lowering flight speeds and better planning to avoid duplication of routes. But a lot of fuel is also burned by its trucks, and the sensors being implemented there could save the company millions of dollars. UPS is installing about 200 sensors in its vehicles-in the brakes, engine box, and on the exterior-to collect data and pinpoint opportunities where drivers can adjust their driving to maximize fuel efficiency. The company wants to reduce idle time of its delivery trucks, as each hour spent idling burns about a gallon of fuel. The company is also installing equipment to track the routes drivers take to deliver packages. Every morning the drivers are briefed on the data captured by the sensors and how they could drive differently to save fuel. UPS wants to optimize the number of times a vehicle has to start, stop, reverse, turn, or back up. Green Data Center The company is also investing in more efficient cooling technologies at its two data centers, which are in Mahwah, New Jersey, and Alpharetta, Georgia. During the winter, the company can shut off its chiller equipment and use outside air for cooling. The Alpharetta data center has a 650,000-gallon water tank outside for cooling and a heat exchanger to faster dissipate the heat captured in the fluid. The water flows in a circular motion around the data center, cooling the equipment, and the heat exchanger helps lower the temperature of the hot exhaust water more quickly. UPS is also investing in faster server processors, allowing it to consolidate existing servers through virtualization. That helps lower energy costs and also reduces the physical footprint of its servers. And the company has been consolidating smaller server rooms that were scattered around the world. These changes are saving UPS around $400,000 each year. How could UPS benefit from cloud or grid computing

Turning Ewaste into Gold During the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, champions were not just taking home gold, silver, or bronze medals-they were also playing a role in reducing electronic waste. For the first time in Olympic history, each medal, more than 1,000 of them, was made with a tiny bit of the more than 140,000 tons of ewaste that otherwise would have been sent to landfills. The medals are the first containing metal salvaged from televisions, circuit boards, computer monitors, and electronic waste. The so-called urban ore was supplied by Teck Resources Ltd., Canada's largest base-metals producer, which provided gold, silver, and copper used to make the medals. Historically, Olympic medals have been made from mined mineral deposits; this is the first time that recycled materials have been added to them. First-place winners get gold-plated medals that are 92.5 percent silver. The second-place prizes are also 92.5 percent silver, while the third-place bronze medals are mostly copper. All the medals have some ewaste materials from Teck's electronic recycling program located in Trail, British Columbia. Teck mixed gold, silver, and copper from the program with metals mined from the ground. The company said it couldn't provide the exact percentage of mined versus recycled material in the finished medals. Each gold medal contained a little more than 1.5 percent of ewaste materials, while each copper medal contained just over 1 percent, and the silver medals contained only small pieces. The ewaste came from old computer monitor's glass, various computer parts, and other surplus or discarded technologies. Several different processing methods were used to extract the materials. First, the company shredded the equipment to separate out the various metals, glass, and other usable parts. To remove the metals that could not be recovered by the shredding process, the parts were fed into a furnace operating at a temperature greater than 2,000 degrees (Fahrenheit). The materials were then combined with other metals to create the medals. Each medal was handcropped, ensuring no two are alike, another first in Olympic history. The medals, designed by Canadian artist Corrine Hunt, were also the first nonflat medals made for the Games, with a wavy form to represent the ocean and mountain snowdrifts, both characteristic of Vancouver's environment. In addition to representing the athletes' outstanding achievements, the 2010 Olympic medals gave new life to the precious metals recoverable from ewaste. Why would the Olympics benefit from creating a strong environmental MIS infrastructure

Turning Ewaste into Gold During the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, champions were not just taking home gold, silver, or bronze medals-they were also playing a role in reducing electronic waste. For the first time in Olympic history, each medal, more than 1,000 of them, was made with a tiny bit of the more than 140,000 tons of ewaste that otherwise would have been sent to landfills. The medals are the first containing metal salvaged from televisions, circuit boards, computer monitors, and electronic waste. The so-called urban ore was supplied by Teck Resources Ltd., Canada's largest base-metals producer, which provided gold, silver, and copper used to make the medals. Historically, Olympic medals have been made from mined mineral deposits; this is the first time that recycled materials have been added to them. First-place winners get gold-plated medals that are 92.5 percent silver. The second-place prizes are also 92.5 percent silver, while the third-place bronze medals are mostly copper. All the medals have some ewaste materials from Teck's electronic recycling program located in Trail, British Columbia. Teck mixed gold, silver, and copper from the program with metals mined from the ground. The company said it couldn't provide the exact percentage of mined versus recycled material in the finished medals. Each gold medal contained a little more than 1.5 percent of ewaste materials, while each copper medal contained just over 1 percent, and the silver medals contained only small pieces. The ewaste came from old computer monitor's glass, various computer parts, and other surplus or discarded technologies. Several different processing methods were used to extract the materials. First, the company shredded the equipment to separate out the various metals, glass, and other usable parts. To remove the metals that could not be recovered by the shredding process, the parts were fed into a furnace operating at a temperature greater than 2,000 degrees (Fahrenheit). The materials were then combined with other metals to create the medals. Each medal was handcropped, ensuring no two are alike, another first in Olympic history. The medals, designed by Canadian artist Corrine Hunt, were also the first nonflat medals made for the Games, with a wavy form to represent the ocean and mountain snowdrifts, both characteristic of Vancouver's environment. In addition to representing the athletes' outstanding achievements, the 2010 Olympic medals gave new life to the precious metals recoverable from ewaste. How can the Olympics help support ethical ewaste initiatives

Turning Ewaste into Gold During the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, champions were not just taking home gold, silver, or bronze medals-they were also playing a role in reducing electronic waste. For the first time in Olympic history, each medal, more than 1,000 of them, was made with a tiny bit of the more than 140,000 tons of ewaste that otherwise would have been sent to landfills. The medals are the first containing metal salvaged from televisions, circuit boards, computer monitors, and electronic waste. The so-called urban ore was supplied by Teck Resources Ltd., Canada's largest base-metals producer, which provided gold, silver, and copper used to make the medals. Historically, Olympic medals have been made from mined mineral deposits; this is the first time that recycled materials have been added to them. First-place winners get gold-plated medals that are 92.5 percent silver. The second-place prizes are also 92.5 percent silver, while the third-place bronze medals are mostly copper. All the medals have some ewaste materials from Teck's electronic recycling program located in Trail, British Columbia. Teck mixed gold, silver, and copper from the program with metals mined from the ground. The company said it couldn't provide the exact percentage of mined versus recycled material in the finished medals. Each gold medal contained a little more than 1.5 percent of ewaste materials, while each copper medal contained just over 1 percent, and the silver medals contained only small pieces. The ewaste came from old computer monitor's glass, various computer parts, and other surplus or discarded technologies. Several different processing methods were used to extract the materials. First, the company shredded the equipment to separate out the various metals, glass, and other usable parts. To remove the metals that could not be recovered by the shredding process, the parts were fed into a furnace operating at a temperature greater than 2,000 degrees (Fahrenheit). The materials were then combined with other metals to create the medals. Each medal was handcropped, ensuring no two are alike, another first in Olympic history. The medals, designed by Canadian artist Corrine Hunt, were also the first nonflat medals made for the Games, with a wavy form to represent the ocean and mountain snowdrifts, both characteristic of Vancouver's environment. In addition to representing the athletes' outstanding achievements, the 2010 Olympic medals gave new life to the precious metals recoverable from ewaste. Why would a sporting event like the Olympics be concerned with reducing its carbon footprint

Turning Ewaste into Gold During the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, champions were not just taking home gold, silver, or bronze medals-they were also playing a role in reducing electronic waste. For the first time in Olympic history, each medal, more than 1,000 of them, was made with a tiny bit of the more than 140,000 tons of ewaste that otherwise would have been sent to landfills. The medals are the first containing metal salvaged from televisions, circuit boards, computer monitors, and electronic waste. The so-called urban ore was supplied by Teck Resources Ltd., Canada's largest base-metals producer, which provided gold, silver, and copper used to make the medals. Historically, Olympic medals have been made from mined mineral deposits; this is the first time that recycled materials have been added to them. First-place winners get gold-plated medals that are 92.5 percent silver. The second-place prizes are also 92.5 percent silver, while the third-place bronze medals are mostly copper. All the medals have some ewaste materials from Teck's electronic recycling program located in Trail, British Columbia. Teck mixed gold, silver, and copper from the program with metals mined from the ground. The company said it couldn't provide the exact percentage of mined versus recycled material in the finished medals. Each gold medal contained a little more than 1.5 percent of ewaste materials, while each copper medal contained just over 1 percent, and the silver medals contained only small pieces. The ewaste came from old computer monitor's glass, various computer parts, and other surplus or discarded technologies. Several different processing methods were used to extract the materials. First, the company shredded the equipment to separate out the various metals, glass, and other usable parts. To remove the metals that could not be recovered by the shredding process, the parts were fed into a furnace operating at a temperature greater than 2,000 degrees (Fahrenheit). The materials were then combined with other metals to create the medals. Each medal was handcropped, ensuring no two are alike, another first in Olympic history. The medals, designed by Canadian artist Corrine Hunt, were also the first nonflat medals made for the Games, with a wavy form to represent the ocean and mountain snowdrifts, both characteristic of Vancouver's environment. In addition to representing the athletes' outstanding achievements, the 2010 Olympic medals gave new life to the precious metals recoverable from ewaste. What could the Olympics do to help shed light on global environmental MIS issues

Turning Ewaste into Gold During the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, champions were not just taking home gold, silver, or bronze medals-they were also playing a role in reducing electronic waste. For the first time in Olympic history, each medal, more than 1,000 of them, was made with a tiny bit of the more than 140,000 tons of ewaste that otherwise would have been sent to landfills. The medals are the first containing metal salvaged from televisions, circuit boards, computer monitors, and electronic waste. The so-called urban ore was supplied by Teck Resources Ltd., Canada's largest base-metals producer, which provided gold, silver, and copper used to make the medals. Historically, Olympic medals have been made from mined mineral deposits; this is the first time that recycled materials have been added to them. First-place winners get gold-plated medals that are 92.5 percent silver. The second-place prizes are also 92.5 percent silver, while the third-place bronze medals are mostly copper. All the medals have some ewaste materials from Teck's electronic recycling program located in Trail, British Columbia. Teck mixed gold, silver, and copper from the program with metals mined from the ground. The company said it couldn't provide the exact percentage of mined versus recycled material in the finished medals. Each gold medal contained a little more than 1.5 percent of ewaste materials, while each copper medal contained just over 1 percent, and the silver medals contained only small pieces. The ewaste came from old computer monitor's glass, various computer parts, and other surplus or discarded technologies. Several different processing methods were used to extract the materials. First, the company shredded the equipment to separate out the various metals, glass, and other usable parts. To remove the metals that could not be recovered by the shredding process, the parts were fed into a furnace operating at a temperature greater than 2,000 degrees (Fahrenheit). The materials were then combined with other metals to create the medals. Each medal was handcropped, ensuring no two are alike, another first in Olympic history. The medals, designed by Canadian artist Corrine Hunt, were also the first nonflat medals made for the Games, with a wavy form to represent the ocean and mountain snowdrifts, both characteristic of Vancouver's environment. In addition to representing the athletes' outstanding achievements, the 2010 Olympic medals gave new life to the precious metals recoverable from ewaste. How could Moore's Law enable future Olympic medals to be made from more ewaste

Universities Are Switching to Gmail Schools around the world are moving to cloud computing applications such as Google Docs Spreadsheets and Google Calendar. Yale had planned to move from its own email system to Google Mail, but at the last minute decided to cancel the project. The reason was because school administrators and faculty members did not believe the move could support their business requirements. Do you agree or disagree that Google Gmail would be unable to replace a university's private email system What are the advantages and disadvantages of a private email system What are the advantages and disadvantages of using a cloud application such as Google Gmail What choice would you make if you were the primary decision maker for choosing your school's email system

Desktop Virtualization Every day users are becoming more comfortable with accessing and storing information in the cloud. This creates increased demand on MIS personnel to help manage, control, and provide access to that information-not just on company-issued computers, but on any number of devices, including personal ones. More and more employees want to be able to utilize their own computing devices-cell phones, netbooks, laptops-instead of company issued ones. For instance, many students graduating from college have been exposed to Macs and may even own one, yet they are finding PCs as the standard computer of choice for most companies. Do you think it is a good business practice to allow your employees to use their personal devices for work-related business What are the challenges of allowing users to port business applications to their personal devices What are the challenges of allowing users to connect to corporate systems with personal devices