Business Driven Technology Study Set 5

WAP Wireless Internet access is quickly gaining popularity among people seeking high-speed Internet connections when they are away from their home or office. The signal from a typical wireless access point (WAP) only extends for about 300 feet in any direction, so the user must find a "hotspot" to be able to access the Internet while on the road. Sometimes hotspots are available for free or for a small fee. You work for a sales company, SalesTek, which has a salesforce of 25 representatives and customers concentrated in Denver, Colorado; Salt Lake City, Utah; and Santa Fe, New Mexico. Your sales representatives are constantly on the road and they require 24 / 7 Internet access. Project Focus You have been asked to find hotspots for your colleagues to connect to while they are on the road. It is critical that your salesforce can access the Internet 24 / 7 to connect with customers, suppliers, and the corporate office. Create a document detailing how your mobile workforce will be able to stay connected to the Internet while traveling. Here are a few tips to get you started: 1. Use websites such as www.wifinder.com and www.jiwire.com to determine which commercial hotspots would be the most appropriate for your salesforce and the commercial network service that these hotspots use. 2. Research the websites of two or three commercial networks that seem most appropriate to discover more about pricing and services. (Hint: T-Mobile is one example.) 3. Use www.wifinder.com and www.wififreespot.com to determine how many free public hotspots are available in these cities. Are there enough for your company to rely on them or should you use a commercial Wi-Fi system. If so, which one 4. You might also research www.fon.com to see alternative methods of using home broadband connections to stay connected.

Manipulating the Data to Find Your Version of the Truth How can global warming be real when there is so much snow and cold weather That's what some people wondered after a couple of massive snowstorms buried Washington, DC, in the winter of 2009-2010. Politicians across the capital made jokes and built igloos as they disputed the existence of climate change. Some concluded the planet simply could not be warming with all the snow on the ground. These comments frustrated Joseph Romm, a physicist and climate expert with the Center for American Progress. He spent weeks turning data into information and graphs to educate anyone who would listen as to why this reasoning was incorrect. Climate change is all about analyzing data, turning it into information to detect trends. You cannot observe climate change by looking out the window; you have to review decades of weather data with advanced tools to really understand the trends. Increasingly we see politicians, economists, and newscasters taking tough issues and boiling them down to simplistic arguments over what the data mean, each interpreting the data and spinning the data to support their views and agendas. You need to understand the data and turn them into useful information or else you will not understand when someone is telling the truth and when you are being lied to. Brainstorm two or three types of data economists use to measure the economy. How do they turn the data into information

Creating a Presence More than 1 billion people are on the Internet. Having an Internet presence is critical for any business that wants to remain competitive. Businesses need their websites to create a "buzz" to attract customers. Ebusiness websites must be innovative, stimulating, add value, and provide useful information. In short, the site must build a sense of community and collaboration, eventually becoming the "port of entry" for business. Project Focus You are applying for a job at BagEm, a start-up ebusiness devoted to selling custom book bags that does not have any physical stores and only sells bags over the Internet. You are up against several other candidates for the job. BagEm has asked you to use your business expertise and website development skills to design and build a potential website. The candidate with the best website will be awarded the job. Good luck!

Wireless Networks and Streetlamps Researchers at Harvard University and BBN Technologies have designed CitySense, a wireless network capable of reporting real-time sensor data across the entire city of Cambridge, Massachusetts. CitySense is unique because it solves a constraint on previous wireless networks-battery life. The network mounts each node on a municipal streetlamp, where it draws power from city electricity. Researchers plan to install 100 sensors on streetlamps throughout Cambridge by 2011, using a grant from the National Science Foundation. Each node will include an embedded PC running the Linux operating system, an 802.11 Wi-Fi interface, and weather sensors. One of the challenges in the design was how the network would allow remote nodes to communicate with the central server at Harvard and BBN. CitySense will do that by letting each node form a mesh with its neighbors, exchanging data through multiple-hop links. This strategy allows a node to download software or upload sensor data to a distant server hub using a small radio with only a 1-kilometer range. Project Focus You are responsible for deploying a CitySense network around your city. What goals would you have for the system besides monitoring urban weather and pollution What other benefits could a CitySense network provide How could local businesses and citizens benefit from the network What legal and ethical concerns should you understand before deploying the network What can you do to protect your network and your city from these issues

List three CRM metrics Apple should track, along with the reasons these metrics will add value to Apple's business strategy.

How can Apple use the balanced scorecard to make its business more efficient

GoGo Gadgets Now that Wi-Fi and other types of high-speed wireless networks are becoming common, devices using that technology are multiplying rapidly. Wireless gadgets run the gamut from cell phones to kitchen appliances and digital cameras. Here are some of the hottest new wireless broadband gadgets. Samsung's $3,499 POPCON refrigerator will feature a Wi-Fi enabled, detachable screen that can function as a TV. The fridge also can be programmed to remember products' expiration dates and generate alerts when the milk is getting old. The Nokia 770 Internet Tablet is small enough to fit in a pocket. It comes with a 4.13-inchwide touch screen that can be used to access the web over a Wi-Fi network. The $350 device can also access the web via a cell phone with a Bluetooth connection. Motorola's latest E815 mobile phone operates over Verizon Wireless's new EVDO (Evolution Data Optimized) wireless network, offering speeds comparable to digital subscriber line (DSL). The phone can even record and play back video clips. It also features a built-in MP3 digital music player. Hop-On's just-announced HOP 1515 may look like a typical cell phone, but it actually makes calls over Wi-Fi networks. Typically sold with a $20 to $30 monthly service plan, the phone allows for unlimited over-the-web international and long-distance calling. The $39 HOP 1515 is sold through Wi-Fi hotspot operators, wireless carriers, and retailers. Eastman Kodak's EasyShare-One is a digital camera with Wi-Fi capabilities, allowing users to share their snapshots wirelessly. You will be able to snap a photo and immediately show it to a friend on a Wi-Fi-enabled PC or TV. Project Focus A dizzying array of new wireless technologies now promises to make today's Wi-Fi networks seem like poky dial-up connections by comparison. These new technologies will extend the reach of wireless networks, not just geographically but also into new uses in the home and office. 1. Research the Internet and discover new wireless devices that entrepreneurs and established companies can use to improve their business. 2. Explain how businesses can use these devices to create competitive advantages, streamline production, and improve productivity.

Formulate a strategy describing how Apple can use efficiency MIS metrics to improve its business.

Formulate a strategy describing how Apple can use effectiveness MIS metrics to improve its business.

Express Yourself One of the most popular websites among students is Myspace, a site that allows students to express themselves by personalizing their home page. What is your favorite band Who is your favorite author What is your favorite movie You can find out a lot about a person by finding out the answers to these questions. Project Focus Build a website dedicated to your favorite band, book, or movie. Your website must contain all of the following: An image. Two different size headings. Different sizes and colors of text. Two horizontal rules. Text that is bolded, underlined, and/or italicized. A textured background. A link to a website. A link to your email. One numbered and one unnumbered list.

Sharptooth Incorporated Stephen Kern is the founder and CEO of Sharptooth, a small business that buys and sells comic strips to magazines and newspapers around the country. Some of Sharptooth's artists have made it big and are syndicated in hundreds of magazines and newspapers, while others are new to the industry. Stephen started in the business as an artist and began contracting with other artists when he realized he had a knack for promoting and marketing comic materials. His artistic background is great for spotting talented young artists, but not so great for running the business. Project Focus Stephen recently began selling comics to new forms of media such as blog sites, websites, and other online tools. Stephen has hired you to build him a new system to track all online comic sales. You quickly notice that Stephen has a separate system for each of his different lines of business including newspaper sources, magazine sources, billboard sources, and now online sources. You notice that each system works independently to perform its job of creating, updating, and maintaining sales information, but you are wondering how Stephen operates his business as a whole. Create a list of issues Stephen will encounter if he continues to run his business with four separate systems performing the same operations. What could happen to Stephen's business if he cannot correlate the details of each Be sure to highlight at least 10 issues where separate systems could cause Stephen problems.

Getting Personal Consider Sally Albright, the reigning queen of customization in the movie When Harry Met Sally. Take, for example, the scene where she orders pie a la mode: "I'd like the pie heated. And I don't want the ice cream on top; I want it on the side. And I'd like strawberry instead of vanilla if you have it. If not, then no ice cream, just whipped cream, but only if it's real." Particular, yes, but Sally knew what she liked-and was not afraid to ask for it. Project Focus A growing number of online retailers are letting you have it your way, too. Choose a company highlighted in Figure AYK.1 and create your own product. Was the website easy to use Would this service entice you as a customer to make a purchase over a generic product If you could personalize a product what would it be and how would the website work FIGURE AYK.1 Customization Companies

Wiki Debate Wikipedia is a multilingual, web-based, free content encyclopedia project. Wikipedia is written collaboratively by volunteers from all around the world. With rare exceptions, its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the Internet, simply by clicking a line to edit the page. The name Wikipedia is a portmanteau of the words wiki (a type of collaborative website) and encyclopedia. Since its creation in 2001, Wikipedia has grown rapidly into one of the largest reference websites. In every article, links guide users to associated articles, often with additional information. Anyone is welcome to add information, cross-references, or citations, as long as they do so within Wikipedia's editing policies and to an appropriate standard. One need not fear accidentally damaging Wikipedia when adding or improving information, as other editors are always around to advise or correct obvious errors, and Wikipedia's software, known as MediaWiki, is carefully designed to allow easy reversal of editorial mistakes. Project Focus A group of people believe the end of Wikipedia is close as people use the tool to selfpromote. Some believe that Wikipedia will fail in four years, crushed under the weight of an automated assault by marketers and others seeking online traffic. Eric Goldman, a professor at the Santa Clara University School of Law, argues that Wikipedia will see increasingly vigorous efforts to subvert its editorial process, much as Digg has seen. As marketers become more determined and turn to automated tools to alter Wikipedia entries to generate online traffic, Goldman predicts Wikipedians will burn out trying to keep entries clean. Goldman writes that Wikipedia will enter a death spiral where the rate of junkiness will increase rapidly until the site becomes a wasteland. Alternatively, to prevent this death spiral, Wikipedia will change its core open-access architecture, increasing the database's vitality by changing its mission somewhat. Create a paper discussing where you think the future of Wikipedia is headed.

Securing Your Home Wireless Network These days wireless networking products are so ubiquitous and inexpensive that anyone can easily build a wireless network with less than $100 worth of equipment. However, wireless networks are exactly that-wireless-they do not stop at walls. In fact, wireless networks often carry signals more than 300 feet from the wireless router. Living in an apartment, dorm, condominium, or house means that you might have dozens of neighbors who can access your wireless network. It is one thing to let a neighbor borrow a lawn mower, but it is another thing to allow a neighbor to access a home wireless network. There are several good reasons for not sharing a home wireless network including: It may slow Internet performance. It allows others to view files on your computers and spread dangerous software such as viruses. It allows others to monitor the websites you visit, read your email and instant messages as they travel across the network, and copy your user names and passwords. It allows others to send spam or perform illegal activities with your Internet connection. Project Focus Securing a home wireless network is invaluable and allows you to enable security features that can make it difficult for uninvited guests to connect through your wireless network. Create a document detailing all of the features you can use to secure a home wireless network.

Internet Groceries E-Grocery, founded in 2007, is an online grocery shopping and delivery service. The company caters to thousands of customers in the Phoenix, Seattle, and Denver areas. Established on the idea that people will buy groceries over the Internet, e-Grocery offers more than 25,000 items. Ninety percent of e-Grocery's orders come in via computer; the rest are received by fax. Orders are received at the central office in Lakewood, Colorado, and then distributed by email to a local affiliate store. The store receives the order, the delivery address, and a map to the order location. A store employee designated to online orders will fill, deliver, and collect for the order. E-Grocery members are charged actual shelf prices, plus a per-order charge of $5.00 or 5 percent of the order amount, whichever is greater. Members also receive additional benefits such as electronic coupons, customer discounts, recipes, and tips. Project Focus The company is using interactive technology to change the shopping experience. The success of e-Grocery lies within many areas. Analyze the e-Grocery business model using the questions below. Feel free to think outside the box to develop your own analysis of online grocery shopping and ebusiness models. 1. What is e-Grocery's ebusiness model 2. How does e-Grocery compete with traditional retailers 3. What value can e-Grocery offer as a true competitive advantage in this marketplace 4. What is the threat of new entrants in this market segment 5. How is e-Grocery using technology to change the shopping experience 6. What are the logistics for making e-Grocery profitable 7. How does e-Grocery profit from online customer interaction 8. What kinds of ebusiness strategies can e-Grocery's marketing department use to help grow its business 9. What are some of the benefits and challenges facing e-Grocery

Manipulating the Data to Find Your Version of the Truth How can global warming be real when there is so much snow and cold weather That's what some people wondered after a couple of massive snowstorms buried Washington, DC, in the winter of 2009-2010. Politicians across the capital made jokes and built igloos as they disputed the existence of climate change. Some concluded the planet simply could not be warming with all the snow on the ground. These comments frustrated Joseph Romm, a physicist and climate expert with the Center for American Progress. He spent weeks turning data into information and graphs to educate anyone who would listen as to why this reasoning was incorrect. Climate change is all about analyzing data, turning it into information to detect trends. You cannot observe climate change by looking out the window; you have to review decades of weather data with advanced tools to really understand the trends. Increasingly we see politicians, economists, and newscasters taking tough issues and boiling them down to simplistic arguments over what the data mean, each interpreting the data and spinning the data to support their views and agendas. You need to understand the data and turn them into useful information or else you will not understand when someone is telling the truth and when you are being lied to. Brainstorm two or three types of data economists use to measure the economy. What issues do they encounter when attempting to measure the economy

List three SCM metrics Apple should track, along with the reasons these metrics will add value to Apple's business strategy.

Working Together Upon execution of a business process, a workflow system dictates the presentation of the information, tracks the information, and maintains the information's status. For example, the following highlights the common steps performed during a team project: 1. Find out what information and deliverables are required for the project and the due date. 2. Divide the work among the team members. 3. Determine due dates for the different pieces of work. 4. Compile all the completed work together into a single project. One of the hardest parts of a team project is getting team members to complete their work on time. Often one team member cannot perform his or her work until another team member has finished. This situation causes work to sit idle waiting for a team member to pick it up to either approve it, continue working on it, or reformat it. Workflow systems help to automate the process of presenting and passing information around a team. Project Focus You have just received an assignment to work on a group project with 10 other students. The project requires you to develop a detailed business plan for a business of your choice. The types of activities you will need to perform include market analysis, industry analysis, growth opportunities, Porter's Five Forces analysis, financial forecasts, competitive advantage analysis, and so on. For your project, determine the following: 1. How could you use collaboration tools to facilitate the sharing of information and the completion of the project 2. What advantages can your group gain from using groupware 3. What advantages can your group gain from using IM 4. How could you use a workflow system to manage the tasks for the group members 5. Describe a few of the biggest issues you anticipate experiencing during the group project. Identify ways that you can resolve these issues using collaboration tools.

Manipulating the Data to Find Your Version of the Truth How can global warming be real when there is so much snow and cold weather That's what some people wondered after a couple of massive snowstorms buried Washington, DC, in the winter of 2009-2010. Politicians across the capital made jokes and built igloos as they disputed the existence of climate change. Some concluded the planet simply could not be warming with all the snow on the ground. These comments frustrated Joseph Romm, a physicist and climate expert with the Center for American Progress. He spent weeks turning data into information and graphs to educate anyone who would listen as to why this reasoning was incorrect. Climate change is all about analyzing data, turning it into information to detect trends. You cannot observe climate change by looking out the window; you have to review decades of weather data with advanced tools to really understand the trends. Increasingly we see politicians, economists, and newscasters taking tough issues and boiling them down to simplistic arguments over what the data mean, each interpreting the data and spinning the data to support their views and agendas. You need to understand the data and turn them into useful information or else you will not understand when someone is telling the truth and when you are being lied to. Brainstorm two or three types of data economists use to measure the economy. As a manager, what do you need to understand when reading or listening to economic and business reports

Weather Bots Warren Jackson, an engineering graduate student at the University of Pennsylvania, was not interested in the weather until he started investigating how the National Weather Service collected weather data. The weather service has collected most of its information using weather balloons that carry a device to measure items such as pressure, wind speed, and humidity. When the balloon reaches about 100,000 feet and pressure causes it to pop, the device falls and lands a substantial distance from its launch point. The National Weather Service and researchers sometimes look for the $200 device, but of the 80,000 sent up annually, they write off many as lost. Convinced there had to be a better way, Warren began designing a GPS-equipped robot that launches a parachute after the balloon pops and brings the device back down to Earth, landing it at a predetermined location set by the researchers. The idea is so inventive that the Penn's Weiss Tech House, a university organization that encourages students to innovate and bring their ideas to market, awarded Warren and some fellow graduate engineering students first prize in its third annual PennVention Contest. Warren won $5,000 and access to expert advice on prototyping, legal matters, and branding. Project Focus GPS and GIS can be used in all sorts of devices, in many different industries, for multiple purposes. You want to compete, and win first prize, in the PennVention next year. Create a product, using a GPS or GIS, that is not currently in the market today that you will present at the fourth annual PennVention.