Chapter 12 – Globalization, Innovation, and 21st Century Organizational Trends Article: Microsoft told to stop some Windows Sales in China
One of the hardest things to deal with when operating on a global scale is copyright. Intellectual property is very difficult to defend – and many times “pirating” can become the norm rather than the exception. Most of the time, though, the issue is between a company and an individual, though occasionally there are cases when the offending party is another company.
In this case, Zhongyi Electronic Ltd., a company based in Beijing, had a licensing dispute with Microsoft. Zhongyi Electronic Ltd., responsible for creating the Chinese fonts that had been used in in a variety of Windows products, argues that its licensing agreement with Microsoft only allowed the use of their fonts on Windows 95.
For now, the local courts have ordered Microsoft to stop selling the products that feature Zhongyi’s fonts. Microsoft, however, intends to appeal – determined to fight that there was no breach of agreement.
China has a history of pirated goods and knockoffs – and when it comes to intellectual property, it’s difficult to enforce any laws regarding their distribution. For a company like Zhongyi, it’s very difficult to operate at all, when a significant portion of its profits remain out of reach.
For a company like Microsoft, the use of third party IPs is also something that needs to be watched over carefully. It’s very easy to lose track of what you can or cannot use – and in this case, the company might have overstepped its bounds.
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McDonald, Joe. (2009. November 18). Microsoft told to stop some Windows sales in China. Businessweek. Retrieved from http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9C1U7JO0.htm
Chapter 11 – Systems Development and Project Management Article: Why Apple Leaves Low-End Computers to Competition
There are three important constraints when it comes to planning a project – or even an entire company as a whole: Time, Expenses, and Scope. Many people will usually be familiar with the first two, since dead lines and expenses are something you will encounter in life very often.
…however, that isn’t to say that Scope isn’t something we deal with either. Rather, it is something that is not often taken into consideration as a constraint. Many times, people find themselves working on a project – continually adding details that they desire as they progress on it, until it eventually grows into a behemoth that is difficult to take control of. Businesses and people that try to do everything on a grand scale can easily find themselves with a grand failure than a grand success.
This is why Apple’s business method is so interesting. While many companies are building low end PCs that are cheap in addition with their higher end PCs, they produce only a higher end (and thus a more expensive) product. This naturally leads to a lower market share, since they’re ignoring a lot of a possible customers with their costlier computers.
However, because they focus on just the higher end product, their profit margins on each product are also high. To expand their business, to try to reach out to the rest of the market would not only take time and incur more expenses, but there wouldn’t be much return for it.
It’s simply not a project that would be worth undertaking for Apple.
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Wildstrom, Stephen H. (2009, November 11). Why Apple Leaves Low-End Computers to Competition. Businessweek. Retrieved from: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/09_47/b4156000345421.htm
Chapter 10 – Enterprise Information Systems Article: Flexible, Open-Source Telephony Resources
This chapter, we discussed groupware software. One of the most important function of any groupware software is communication. Of course, communication can be done in a variety of ways; in the same location, in different places, at the same time or not. The type of program can vary as well – from calendars, to schedules, to video conferencing, to simple instant messaging.
This particular article discusses groupware software on phones – and provides several useful links to them.
Most of the article discusses Voice over Internet Protocol coming to many phones. One in particular may already be easily recognizable – such as Skype, which is going to become available on Asterik phones. From computers to the iphone, Skype is already bringing its software into yet another piece of hardware.
Of course, Asterik itself is popular for smaller businesses hoping to keep costs down. With “call waiting, caller ID, distinctive ring tones, text to speech recognition, and more” it isn’t difficult to see exactly why either.
Finally, what caught my interest the most was this Mozilla Firefox – or rather, its relative. Mozilla Firefox is something many people now use to browse the internet. However, its “little sister” Fennec – designed for mobile devices – is now becoming available on Nokia’s new N900 device. What may interest people the most is that it is expected to work with Firefox’s extensions which provide many useful functions in the same way Apps do for the iPhone. One popular one, however, may not bring smiles to everybody – there are ad blockers that prevent unwanted popups and flashes.
Rupley, Sebastian. (2009, October 25). Flexible, Open-Source Telephony Resources. Businessweek. Retrieved from: http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/oct2009/tc20091023_077445.htm
Chapter 9 – Enterprise Information Systems Article: Google and Bing Race to Search Social Media.
In the latest chapter, the book discussed Customer Relationship Management; in other words, the management of how a business handles its customers, both taking preemptive action and reacting appropriately as the situation calls for it. In this article, Google and Bing are attempting to do both – to get an advantage over the other in their ability to reach out to a customer.
Of course, just how is this going to happen? It’s a simple concept: Both Google and Bing are adapting their search engines to be able to sift through twitter feeds and facebook. Search Engines are a powerful resource for both personal and business use, and the traffic on them has only grown. Social media has also grown as well; Kharif and Aaron note that traffic on facebook has tripled in the past year, while traffic on twitter had grown tenfold in the same period.
Bing, in particular, has made a deal with Facebook to include Facebook feeds in its search results. Meanwhile, this isn’t Google’s only step towards social media – or even its first.
Google Orkut is a network that has some popularity outside of the United States of America, but not within it. However, something that may be more popular is a new deal they had made with song sites in order to provide actual songs when a user searches for them. Google even has tools to provide indexes for songs, to have a better, more organized presentation when they’re sought after.
Kharif, Olga and Aaron Ricadela. (2009, October 21). Google and Bing Race to Search Social Media. Businessweek. Retrieved from: http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/oct2009/tc20091021_462863.htm
Chapter 8 – Operations Management and Supply Chain Management Article: Thinking Twice About Supply-Chain Layoffs
This article by Julia Hanna discusses the findings and the conclusion of an assistant professor at Harvard Business School’s Technology and OPerations Management unit, Zeynep Ton. Specifically, it deals with the labor force in the supply chain, and how managers can sometimes underestimate the effects that a layoff may have.
To begin with, however, Ton does not imply that layoffs are completely bad. At one point in the article, she recognizes that when sales are low it’s necessary to cut back a little. The problem is recognizing how far back a manager should cut back – going too far can result in less sales.
Most customers and managers may not see the immediate value added by the actions of supply chain labor force. However, when many similarities between the product or a service occur between competitors such as price or quality, service can be an important deciding factor. Even in a store where customers will acquire items themselves for purchase, actions such as stocking, restocking, checkout and a variety of other things that the labor force on the floor has to do may not involve direct interaction with the customer, but is key to the customer’s experience.
If problems arise from having too thin of a work force, mistakes can occur – one important one that’s noted in the article is that products can be misplaced in such a scenario, making it impossible for either the customer or the employees to find it even though it may be listed as being in stock.
Source:
Hanna, Julia. (2008, December 8). Thinking Twice about Supply-Chain Layoffs. Harvard Business School. Retrieved from http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/6088.html
Chapter 7 – Networks, Telecommunications, and Mobile Technology Article: What is WiMAX?
The textbook’s chapter talked about a variety of mobile technologies. Voice over Internet Protocol, for example, is about phone calls made over the internet. Another topic is Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) Tags, which have quite a number of practical uses. WiMAX, however, is what caught my eye, a topic about a network that could be very useful for a business as well as personal use in the future.
Rather than look for an article that discusses it, however, I decided to check out its website “www.wimax.com” to see how the company describes its product. The definition I found on was that WiMAX was a “wireless digital communication system” that intended for “wireless ‘metropolitan area networks.’” In other words, it’s a system that’s designed to cover an area around the size of a city. The actual range will be about 30 for the fixed stations, and 3 to 10 miles for the mobile – vastly superior to local area networks that only cover a relatively small area of 100 to 300 feet.
However, if the range was longer, the amount of volume that could be processed would be smaller, right? Not so, according to the website. If anything, it’s a more efficient form of communication, that allows for greater bandwidth for both a customer and businesses. Additionally, it takes advantage of licensed and unlicensed frequencies, which can better fit an individual or entity’s needs.
What does WiMAX mean for the future? Compared to WiFi, which would have only certain hotspots that usually will require multiple passwords for access (that is, if you want your connection to be secure), you’ll be able to access the internet from within a large range provided by a single provider of internet – allowing even more freedom than ever before.
Source: WiMAX. Retrieved on October 7, 2009. What is WiMax? WiMAX. Retrieved from http://www.wimax.com/education
Chapter 6 – Databases and Data Ware houses Article: Green Rankings 2009: Methodology
Databases have a variety of uses. Being able to record large volumes of data, and being able to keep it in context with other data is a very powerful tool. In forums, it allows a website to keep track of its users, the threads they create, and the content within the individual post. Wikipedia is also a data driven website, with its content being able to be directly edited by its users. Finally, many businesses use databases to keep track of their transactions, inventory, and customers.
However, it’s not simply forums and online wikis that can use a Database. In a report done by a collaboration of Newsweek, KLD Research & Analytics, Trucost and CorporateRegister.com, data was taken from Databases in order to create a report. The report in particular measured the resources used and the emissions of companies, in relation to its peers while taking into consideration the policies, strategies, and reputations of the companies.
The Databases used as an information source belonged to the Toxic Release Inventory, and Trucost. The Toxic Release Inventory is a government program, that keeps track of toxic chemical wastes and disposals of businesses. Trucost’s database kept track of Green House Gas emissions – with standardized data that covers CO2 and other GHG gases.
That said, Databases aren’t something that can simply answer questions by having information stored in them. For the report, the users had to compile the data, and then perform the calculations themselves. Then, from that, they had to come to a conclusion that was brought by translating that data into actual information that brings about knowledge.
Source: Newsweek Web. (2009, September 16). Green Rankings 2009: Methodology. Newsweek. Retrieved from http://www.newsweek.com/id/215522
Chapter 5 – Enterprise Architecture Article: Burton Group Identifies Trends Transforming IT in 2010
In Reuters article, there are five main trends identified by the Burton Group (www.burtongroup.com) that will affect IT as a whole by 2010. They are:
1. Externalization, Consumerization, Globalization 2. Cloud Computing 3. Data Center Transformation 4. Social Computing 5. Wireless Everything
The author also offers insight into each of these. For example, Externalization, Consumerization, and Globalization are about how IT systems are distributed based on the values of the companies, and the necessity to follow those of its customers.
Cloud computing isn’t simply a screen saver of the sky, either. It involves networks and services working together over the internet – and their value in calculating many things (such as “virtualization, risk management, and price models”) is rising.
Data center transformation is particular interesting, however. The focus is a center hub between internal and external IT business, creating a hybrid that allows a business to conduct their operations using a resources outside of the company as efficiently as those within.
Social Networking is at the heart of Social Computing. Though it’s been around for a while, it’s becoming more and more common for businesses to “empower worker interactions through social networking.” As employees become more able to work in a more technologically advanced environment, their IT skills can be put to use in tandem to provide an overall better product and service.
Finally, Wireless electronics becoming more available offers something that many businesses will need to consider: Mobility. Employees may already be using their own devices for work, and companies may decide that laptop computers are a necessary part of a job’s equipment. Wireless isn’t simply convenient – it allows you to take an IT system with you higher and farther than ever before.
Source: Reuters, Thomson. (2009, September 23). Burton Group Identifies Trends Transforming IT in 2010. Reuters. Retrieved From: http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS89826+23-Sep-2009+BW20090923
Chapter 4: Ethics and Information Security Article: Software Crackdown
Information Security is a serious issue. Hackers can break into computers and servers, getting past all of the countermeasures a person or company can put up into place. However, stealing information isn’t the only thing that a hacker can do.
As Werth reports, earlier in the year there was a malware (computer software intended to do harm) that was discovered to have the ability to allow another user to take complete control of your computer secretly. It manages this by redirecting the browser to a page where a file secretly downloads – and then, once on your computer, exploits a vulnerability in the windows operating system.
This malware was known “Zero Day,” though it’s not alone. Similar threats to PC security can show up – and are very difficult to deal with.
Of course, when this does happen, what are we supposed to do from a legal standpoint? The article makes note of pros and cons of punishing the software company for having a liability like this in the first place. For example, it notes that while they may tighten their defenses, it would come at the price of innovation; in other words, fewer improvements would come. However, this method wouldn’t even guarantee that any protection would be completely secure, and there could be better options out there.
One alternative offered in the article would be to go after the people writing the malicious software to begin with. However, that has its own problems; the first would be finding the creators, and then prosecuting them, and the second would be that it wouldn’t repair all of the damage that they had done either. Of course, as Werth notes, it might be easier suing individuals than it would be to sue large software corporations.
Werth, Christopher. (2009, July 25). Software Crackdown. Newsweek. Retrieved from http://www.newsweek.com/id/208652
Chapter 3 – Ebusiness Article: The Gmail Crash: Is the Internet Broken?
The Internet is very important to many modern day businesses. However, it is not without its own fair share of problems. For example, as McIntire points out, Google’s servers went down on September 1st, and before the Twitter website went down in the previous month as well.
Of course, these aren’t recent developments; such things have happened before. As the article notes, outages were very frequent back in the days of AOL, when it didn’t have enough modems to keep up with the demand. Even now, as the Internet is growing at an amazing rate, the amount of information that passes through it (especially large video files, which take up a lot of “space” in the tubes) is causing Internet Service Providers trouble dealing with the sheer volume.
The amount of information isn’t what caused the Google and Twitter incidents, though many smaller web sites can find themselves running out of bandwith from a particular large influx of visitors. Security issues dealing with hackers, individuals who can bring down large sites from their own personal computer, is a problem for anyone conducting business on the Internet.
Naturally, these organizations do what they can to protect themselves, but it’s not impossible for people to find ways around the countermeasures. Staying one step ahead of them is the name of the game – though a single misstep can lead to a whole lot of trouble.
Even the Internet itself, the article notes, will have to change. The system, as it is now, will need more frequent updates simply to keep up with its own growth, and may find times where it finds it cannot do precisely that. — McIntire, Doula A. (2009, September 2). The Gmail Crash: Is the Internet Broken? Newsweek. Retrieved from http://www.newsweek.com/id/214760
Chapter 2: Strategic Decision Making Article: Jobs: Lessons from the Great Recession
For the second chapter, I decided to find an article about reengineering. I’m not talking about the kind of engineering that deals with buildings or cars – though it has plenty to do with a certain brand of mechanics. In this case, I’m talking about business processes – and so is Chris Farrel, in his article Jobs: Lessons from the Great Recession.
Farrel discusses the impacts of American Corporations becoming comfortable “downsizing, reengineering, and restructuring, all euphemisms for mass layoffs” during periods of health and growth. This effected people with less education than those who had gone to college, since those with better education had the skills that were in demand; those with less skills were also less likely to hold onto their jobs and more likely to have pay cuts even if they did keep them.
Business process reengineering can often require an understanding of new technologies when the changes are brought in – which leads to organizations that are becoming more and more complex. While this can mean good news for the business as a whole, an individual worker needs to be prepared to constantly keep up with new advancements in order to keep their jobs.
Farrel, however, also points out that this development has lead many recent college graduates to find alternatives to finding a steady paying full time job. “Microenterprises” are small businesses that allow for more job freedom; careers no longer need to progress upon a rigid stepladder. Instead, people can weave in and out from one vocation to another, not necessarily chained to a single employer.
Farrel, Chris. (2009, Aug 26). Jobs: Lessons from the Great Recession. Businessweek.
http://www.businessweek.com/investor/content/aug2009/pi20090826_759117.htm
Chapter 1 – Information Systems in Business Article: Medical Records: We Need a National System
If you’re reading this, you’re probably part of my IS 130 Class – which would be completely appropriate, since this blog was made specifically for some of the assignments there. In case you aren’t, however, and somehow managed to stumble onto my page for some reason the purpose of this blog is to find an article related to the chapter of the week and summarize it.
The purpose is more or less to familiarize ourselves with the topics, as well as bring any interesting information to our classmates.
The Article I’ve chosen is from Newsweek, which its author, Jerry Adler, discusses the national system we have for medical records – or the lack of one, as you might have guessed. Naturally, this is an important topic; these are the sort of things that can save a life or screw it up. Everybody’s body has its own unique quirks, which it very important to keep track of each individuals health records.
Of course, every doctor keeps tracks of patients already. The problem is the method of keeping track of the files; as pointed out in the article, much of of America’s patient files are kept in paper format, having not reached the digital age like many other industries have. This has several drawbacks – specifically with communication between different medical practices.
With the current lack of a unified medical record system, the time it takes to acquire a patients history is longer than it needs to be, and mistakes made from human error are more likely than they would be with an electronic system. However, if we establish a unified system we can improve on those areas, as well as “establish standards of care for disease against which actual treatments can be measured” which would be able to determine which treatments are more effective based on information that could be analyzed from the database.
Adler, Jerry. (2009, May 2). Medical Records: We Need a National System. Newsweek Health. Retrieved from http://www.newsweek.com/id/195693
