This article pertains to the drop in MySpace web traffic. According to Eliot Van Buskirk of wire.com MySpace’s parent company stands to lose approximately 100 million because it can meet its web traffic (advertizing) quota with Google. This is bad new foe News Corp because it covered its 580 dollar acquisition of MySpace; on the up side News Corp generates 85 percent of its revenue from movie studio and cable channels. MySpace has changed its focus from a site “that bring friends together” to one that specializes in entertainment. According to Chase Carey, “We’re not trying to beat Facebook. We’re not trying to beat Twitter and many aspects of the business are changing, including when movies can debut on platforms other than theaters, the value of syndicated reruns, and the growth of video-on-demand.” (www.wired.com).
This is note worthy and correlate to chapter 12 because it says that business use social networks for passive employment searches, boomerang searches, and marketing networks. At stated above Myspace plans on focusing on entertainment and has become a useful tool in adverting and marketing music, movies, and videos.
By Eliot Van Buskirk
November 5, 2009
http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2009/11/myspace-traffic-drop-costs-news-corp-about-100-million/
Social Entrepreneurship: Going Green
I tired to find a decent article which talks about globalization but an article about green energy found me first. This article was published few months ago and talks about billionaire T. Boone Pickens’s plan of building the world’s largest wind farm.
Pickens is a billionaire who earned his treasure from the oil industry and trading. He was named the 117th richest person in US with a net worth of about $3 billion in 2007.
Pickens’s plan of building the 667 wind turbines named the Pampa Wind Project was put on hold due to tranmission issue and capital market issue. Pickens said that he will not forfeit the project and claim that he will definitely find a place to place his 667 wind turbines.
The wind farm project proposed to supply 4000 megawatts of electric energy and should supply electric energy for 1.3 million homes. The project will cost $12 billion and is now postponed to be complete by 2014.
Pickens had been advertising his wind farm plan by TV commercials and lobbying even since last summer. Unfortunately the credit market had been holding Pickens back from completing his plan. Pickens tried to get into energy supplying industry as oil price had been unstable recently and forecast to be unstable in near future.
United State became the world leading provider of wind energy in 2008. Wind farm is visioned to be the leading electric energy supplier in the future for US.
Wind farm is in many way more environmental friendly than many electric energy generator. Wind farm uses renewable energy, wind, to generate electric power and propose near no treat to the environment. With the existent of wind farm, more environmental unfriendly power generator can be replaced.
Oil boron’s wind farm project hits doldrums
CNN Technology, July 8, 2009
http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/07/08/pickens.wind.farm/index.html
According to the January 8, 2009, Time Magazine article , ” E-Waste Not” by Brian Walsh more than 150,000 computers and 300,00 cell phones and other electronic equipment is being thrown away in our landfills. The hazard with this is that there is lead and other toxic chemicals in these equipment and if not disposed of properly can leak into our landfills. Another problem is that the e-waste is being shipped to developing countries where the equipment is stripped of any useful parts and then disposed of improperly, usually by burning. The concern for contaminating the earth or affecting the health of the people in these countries does not seem to be a great concern. The EPA is supposed to be informed of any e-waste that is wanting to be shipped overseas, but 43 recycling centers were found to have shipped unapproved e-waste to these countries anyways. The article went on to say that a lot of the e-waste ends up in Guiyu China. The people in this town heat up the circuit boards and other computer parts for the lead and other usable elements that they could use. “Reports by the Shantou University which is located nearby, this town has the highest level of cancer causing dioxins in the world and the highest amount of miscarriages (Walsh)”.
The “Green Groups” are trying to add pressure to the computer companies to become more accountable with the e-waste that they are producing. Dell computers has gone into agreement with Staples to help dispose of those Dell computers that are disposed of to them. Dell will take old recycled computers when the purchase of a new one. As for the old cell phones, there are several phone distributors that will recycle the old phones. A better idea is to donate the cell phones to battered women’s shelters.
Time Magazine. January 8, 2009. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1870485,00.html
“My Virtual Life”
A journey into a place in cyberspace where thousands of people have imaginary lives, some even make a good living, big advertisers are taking notice. That’s how the article begins. I choose this article because I didn’t know much about the Second Life and I figure it would come in handy to know a little more information about this new and up and coming virtual life. The author comes and sets up a second life and meets up with one of the residents already on the set. He finds out that she has a successful business that “employs” 17 workers from around the world. Chung the owner of the real-estate business in the Second life is making real cash. The author states that the currency holdings are worth about $250,000 in real money. The writer continues on saying that second life is a multiplayer game that is booming in popularity. He claims that at least 10 million people pay $15 and up a month to play these games, and maybe 20 million more log in once a while. Some players call World of Warcraft the “new golf” as these colleagues and business partners gather online to slay orcs instead of gathering on the green to hack away at little white balls. What’s different about this second life world is that the residents have to create everything that they want. There is no avatar to select from that makes choices for you. A person can build anything that their imagination can do.
Hof, Robert D. My Virtual Life. 1 May 2006. BusinessWeek. 14 Dec 2009. http://www.businessweek.com/print/magazine/content/06_18/b3982001.htm?chan=gl
China Solar Panel Maker Sets First U.S. Plant
The largest solar panel installation is at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada. It was produced by China’s Suntech Power, and it accounts for about a third of the 15 megawatt solar farm. Suntech is part of the largest, fast-growing global solar market due to its price and scale. It now has a manufacturing plant in the Phoenix area, and began production in October. Suntech has now become the first major Chinese cleantech player to bring factory jobs to the U.S. By doing so it strengthens the collaboration between Chinese and American leaders in the renewable-energy industry.
When Suntech’s first U.S. facility opened it was very modest. It had a capacity to make 30 megawatts of solar panels per year, enough to outfit around 7,500 homes (Aston). And eventually it will grow to boost output of about 200 megawatts per year. Suntech could not have picked a better place to build its plant. Arizona has very strong encouragement of solar energy and research and the sun’s resources are highly available.
Another benefit of Suntech is shorter delivery but have a lower cost. Even though they started with 75 workers the fact that they are now located in the U.S. will lower delivery time and cost, as well as reduce the overall carbon footprint of getting finished panels to the U.S. Also, the cost of finished panels has collapsed by about 50% in the past year, this was great news for customers, but it hurt the solar stock prices.
The way this article relates to chapter 12 is by the subject of going green. This article shows how the world is coming together to make this a greener world since it is a social responsibility.
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/nov2009/tc20091115_970512.htm
According to the article posted on Businessweekly.com food banks all over the country are currently have a “high-tech revolution”. They are adopting advanced databases, GPS tracking, using bar codes, and other such technologies. The new technologies have help food banks come a long way from past years of passing out canned food and macaroni. The new innovations will allow food banks to supply much more people because hunger has become a never-ending problem. The effort is led by the organization Feeding America which currently is having such food banks from Seattle and New York test a $60 million effort to supply the needy. The Athena Project is the name of the effort by Feeding America.
“The Athena Project, which started rolling out this summer, will let food banks upgrade and standardize accounting, inventory and donor software, take full advantage of the Internet, and manage pickups and deliveries much the same way FedEx or UPS track packages.” Feeding America which is based in Chicago is installing the systems at no charge. The result will hopefully provide local food banks with more of the much needed food to feed people. The project is set to be completed in about five years and will save food banks millions of dollars that would go to cost of operating tasks. The money that is saved from the innovations will go to buy more food and provide more services. Some of the benefits of the new innovations are GPS tracking, inventory management systems, generating food list, and common software and back up servers which will help food banks around the world provide better services and more food.
Reference: Tibbits, George. (2009). The Associated Press. Food banks go high-tech to feed the hungry. Businessweek. Retrieved from: http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9C7T37O0.htm
This week’s chapter reading is on Globalization, Innovation and the 21st Century Organizational Trends, and one of the biggest trends in this current time is social networking sites. According to an article on PC World, Facebook is dominating the social networking sites. I have always been a fan of the Facebook social networking site, especially when it first started out as as site just for college students to connect with one another from different campuses. During that time, you had to have a campus email address to prove that you were a college student to be able to sign up for membership. About a year or two ago, Facebook opened its doors to the greater world and allowed membership to just about everyone and anybody. Since then, Facebook has been a growing site with millions of members globally. Other sites like Myspace, Hi5 and Bebo are known in different countries and are huge in different parts of the world. Myspace is well known in the United States, Hi5 is very well known and huge in Latin America, while Bebo is highly used in Europe and its residents. Facebook, however, remains the one site that is being used everywhere gloabally. For businesses that are trying to get their brand names and products well known to the world, Facebook is a great way to get the word out. Many organizations use Facebook to talk about issues and events that are approaching and it has proven to be very successful. Other sites like Orkut are losing a lot of its members in India to Facebook, so to help businesses become more successful, they should look into creating a page or profile on Facebook to further the mission of their business.
The article can be found here: http://www.pcworld.com/article/174293/facebook_dominates_global_social_nets_for_now.html
You can’t just throw your electronic waste away. It contains several toxins and a number of reusable metals and plastics. In fact, in California it is illegal to simple toss the old computer/VCR/DVD player/etc into the trash bin. So what do you do to comply with the law? You keep your ear to the ground and listen for the drum of a “free e-waste” event in town. You take your e-waste and dump it off and thats the last you see of it. Or you visit a site like http://www.myboneyard.com/ and mail off, free of charge to you, your ewaste. But what happens to it? I cannot speak for myboneyard.com but it is apparent that much of the waste gets dumped off in developing countries like Vietnam, as shown in the recent Amazing Race 15 show, or India. Workers, earning as much as 3 dollars a day, squat all day long pulling apart electronic devices. While the Amazing Race show down played the hazards of working in this type of environment it was easy to see the immediate dangers. Workers hands are constantly being cut and scraped by sharp edges and thin sheet metal. I regularly have my hands inside of a computer case and can atest to the razor blade sharpness of thin sheet metal usually found, but not limited to, cheaply made cases. With out these desperate workings tearing apart all of our e-waste most of the worlds e-waste would go un-recycled. A better means of e-recycling must be found. Nokia is attempting to mitigate the waste its products produce via their Take Back program but its only a step in the right direction and not a solution.
BBC World Service. (2009). Hazardous conditions for India’s e-waste workers. Retrieved November 20, 2009 From http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8379010.stm
Holidays are and time of giving is among us. Giving to those who are in need is important. It shows that people care about others. One group of people are very caring, they donated money to charities and did so in an unconventional way. The group of people is the online users, specifically SecondLife users. Four years ago, visitors from SecondLife.com staged a marathon that raised $5,000 for the American Cancer Society. SecondLife users had their avatars walk around in loops to raise money, a virtual marathon for charity. This year, the same event raised an astonishing $270,000. In addition to the virtual marathon, users bought clothes, shoes, and hair for their avatars. It was incredible, real money was raised in a virtual world.
There were other forms of raising real money through the use of virtual worlds. In the winter of 2008, PayPal allowed users of Facebook to regift a fruitcake and send it to their friends. Each time the fruitcake was sent to another friend, PayPal donated one dollar to one of six charities. By the end of the duration of the event, PayPal donated a total of $122,000 to six charities in forty days. The success of the operation was due to the ease of participating. Target also donated money to charity through the use of Facebook. Target donated 3 million dollars to the charity that got the most votes from Facebook users. St. Jude Children Hospital was the beneficiary of the donation with over 77,000 votes. The American Red Cross was a close second, falling short of a couple hundred votes. They received donations from Target as well. Charities from Target’s operations received exposure as well as donations. Charities that did not have the highest votes saw their fan base grow significantly. Sony participated as well. Everquest is an online role playing game that is similar to World of Warcraft. Everquest users who donated five dollars to Child’s Play, a charity that sends games to children’s hospitals, received an ornament for their character. It raised $21,000.
It is nice to see that charities are benefitting from online and virtual world users. It shows that these users care about the real world as much as they do the virtual world. These donators do not receive anything in a physical form and this display even more about their generosity.
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/12/giving/12VIRTUAL.html?_r=1&scp=7&sq=Virtual&st=cse
“HHS Delegates Authority for the HIPAA Security Rule to Office for Civil Rights”
This article is about the HIPPA, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, and how it will need to be more productive in keeping patient’s personal information confidential. The rule was sent to the OCR, Office for Civil Rights to be discussed upon. Because the OCR enforces HIPPA, the new electronic medical record system must maintain the security for private information. This article also mentions how both, security and privacy, go together when it comes to protecting patient information and complying with HIPPA at the same time.
In relation to Chapter 12, there is a section in information privacy which discusses the limits to exchanging certain information. It also describes how different countries impose their own security system and follow the proper protocol.
Working at a Health Clinic, I have experienced working and complying with the HIPPA regulation and maintaining patient medical records confidential. While going to the hiring process, all health industry employees, like myself, are asked to sign recognition of the meaning of the HIPPA rule. It is so critical in our field that it can cause immediate termination when violating such rule. Not only does it become unprofessional to violate such rule but it also leads to legal terms. Sharing or exchanging personal information to an unauthorized person can also lead to a lawsuit for disclosure of confidential documents. What is also involved in such rule is that if a person wants their own records, even after proving with an identification card that it is that person, he or she must sign off that they are who they represent and those records can be released to themselves. However, even when those records are about other people, the records themselves are still property of the health facility.
HHS Delegates Authority for the HIPAA Security Rule to Office for Civil Rights. (3 August). Business Wire. Retrieved November 24, 2009, from ProQuest Newsstand. (Document ID: 1815836121).
Innovation deals with the application of new methods, technologies, and equipment. The result of innovation is often an invention. Time decided the 50 best inventions of 2009. The invention the topped the list was Nasa’s Ares Rocket. It makes us able to travel farther than ever thought possible in space becasue of its light design. The third best thing invented was by Philips, it is a lightbulb that could save enoug power in the United States to power an additional 15 million homes. It used ten watts instead of the usually sixty, and last five time longer as well. It could alos help reduce power usage fees for offices and businesses. The AIDS vaccine also is close to the top of the list at eightth. It is not completely successful, but thiry one percent more successful than any methods used before. Another item high on the list in a knee for people missing limbs, or that are needing a replacement. This knee is only twenty dollars, instead of old titanium ones that could run for around ten thousand dollars. It is lower quality for the money, but for low income users it is stable and strong enough for most people. Hopefully this will eliminate the amount of people with walkers, canes and wheelchairs and get people back on their feet. Another interesting device was a smart bullet. it is capable of being programmed so that it can explode without having to hit anything. Bullets currently do not do anything unless they hit their traget dead on.
(11-22-09).”The Fifty Best Inventions of 2009.” Time Magazine. Retrieved from: http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/completelist/0,29569,1934027,00.html
China has been the world’s largest exporter, now it changing its attention to globalization. According to the article, Beijing Automotive Industry has made a bid to buy Opel from bankrupt GM. This means that china companies are eyeing on other companies to expand themselves. The Chinese companies have had great success with two types of globalization. The first is conquering global markets via exports from China. The second is acquisition of natural resource assets in Africa, Australia, and Latin America.
The next wave of globalization by Chinese companies will be requiring smart acquisition of established companies in some of the world’s major economies. For example, USA and Europe countries. However, this will require skillful management of geographically dispersed marketing, manufacturing, and R&D operations.
Globalization will be a great challenge to China companies because of a few issues. First is the language and communication problem, most of the Chinese are not fluent in English, which is the world business language. Second is a majority of Chinese companies usually competes cost efficiency rather than differentiation, competing through differentiation remains a distant concept for them. Another major challenge is to pertained political sensitivity and barriers to potential acquisitions by Chinese companies in other developed economies. Most large corporations in china are state-owned and governments are reluctant to cede control over “strategic” assets to a foreign government.
I picked this article because I chapter 12 talks about globalization and this article talks about challenges China is facing when they try to globalize their companies. I am sure those corporations will find a way to solve their globalization problems and move forward into other countries.
Reference:
Anil K. Gupta and Haiyan Wang.July 10, 2009. Globalization Challenges Facing China Inc. BusinessWeek.
Retrieved from:
http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/jul2009/gb20090710_479130.htm
The article is based on recycling e-waste and who should be the one paying. There has been study done that “over 76 percent” of consumers see recycling as one of the way to reduce the world’s e-waste. There are still 37 percent of the people that do not think that. They think that recycling their e-waste should be a free service. People think consumers necessarily believe electronic manufacturers should be the ones picking up the tab. There was a survey done sampling 1,000 Americans. The result that came out was a bit surprising because many companies offer rebates on new items in exchange for recycled goods, “implying that there is already an e-waste recycle tax built into the price of products”. Thirty-five percent also thought there should be a convenient service where e-waste recycling is picked up at their curb, like they have for other trash.
The way this relates to the topic that I have chosen is based on energy consumption or in another ways going green. Recycling is one of the main and big ways to help the community. There many energy programs that relates with recycling. Even though recycling cans, bottles, and paper would help a lot. It saves energy by not making new things, but using the same old junk to make a new one, which is also helping the economy as well. The involvement of government is really helpful because some people don’t have to go recycle, but they have services which helps everyone to just do it from house rather than going to a place to recycle.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-10401450-54.html
In the article I discovered in businessweek the topic is globalization. The article talks about the airplane manufacturer Boeing and how globalization can be both positive and negative for companies. In this article Boeing is on the negative end of globalization. Boeing recently lost a $35 billion contract with the US Air Force to foreign companies called Northrop Grumman and the European Aeronautic Defense & Space. This is a huge contract for the American company and now the European companies will have it. This is a prime example for how outsourcing to foreign companies can seriously affect American business.
On the other hand, without globalization companies like Boeing wouldn’t be worth the $66 billion it is currently worth. This is because roughly 60% of all parts Boeing uses to assemble its aircraft are from foreign companies. Boeing is very upset about this contract because the contract it lost is not for commercial planes but for US military planes. Many belive contracts to the US military should go to American based companies. This topic was actually a key point in the Democratic party election between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. The contract has brought about outrage by many American citizens and companies who fear losses like this could become a trend.
The article goes on to explain that globalization, especially in the airline industry is necessary. Airplanes require state of the art parts and for the most part to obtain them you must go overseas to acquire them. The article was very interesting about globalization and how necessary it is to business. We can thank globalization for many technological advances, it is what makes it all possible.
Epstein, Keith. Globalization Bites Boeing. Businessweek. March 13, 2008. http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_12/b4076032773142.htm
Global markets are creating new opportunities and challenges for businesses. These businesses really need to focus on the integration of their information to make sure proper decisions are enforceable. The speed of decisions becomes very important in these fast paced global markets. In order for businesses to make these quick and proper decisions proper integration needs to be in place. These integrations have been proven to allow businesses advantages within these new markets.
These integrations require new technological frameworks that are seamless and efficient. These frameworks allow businesses allow all portions of their global sales and delivery teams to coordinate on trends and business ideas. Even parts of the company like human resources allow these companies to maintain labor requirements as employee issues in a global setting. A problem with globalization is the fact that many countries have different taxes on sales or laws on labor and transportation. Seamless integration networks allow for these differences to be quickly understood and implemented.
Explosive Internet growth is pulling a lot of attention into these markets. As these markets gain greater profits, more competition enters into the playing field. With increased competition comes a lower profit margin. For companies to get around this competition and increase barriers of entry then need to increase their efficiencies. This style of software structure can create better economies in a number of countries and markets.
Corporations will continue to globalize and extend to new markets while attempting to increase efficiencies and profits. This idea of globalization is helping other countries receive business attention and increased productivity within these countries. All of this depends on corporations’ ability to create their systems and increase efficiencies.
Qureshi, K., & Dawood, M. (2007). Improving global business economics by seamless business integration framework. Human Systems Management, 26(4), 247-255. Retrieved from Business Source Premier datab
Ewaste has been a major concern on the minds of many. In a recent study it found that 80% of Americans throw their old electronics in the trash. Every day Americans throw 350,000 cell phones, and 130,000 computers. This is the fastest growing part of United States garbage. Improper disposal of the electronics can cause lead and mercury to leak into landforms. Ewaste is expensive and is time consuming, and America ship most of their ewaste abroad. In the article the United States has refused to sign the Basel Convention. It is a 19 year old international treaty which regulates the export of hazardous material to developing countries. The recent study also found that 43 U.S recycling firms would consider shipping broken monitors with cathode-ray tube to foreign countries. None of the 43 recycling firms obtained the proper permission from the EPA or Environmental Protection Agency.
Much of the ewaste ends up in Guiyu, China. Here peasants heat the circuit boards to recover the lead. Ewaste in this area has highest level of cancer-causing dioxins and higher miscarriage rates. Many of the environmental groups are pressuring the manufactures to take responsibility for their products afterlife.
I found this article interesting because it talks about how we are shipping our old electronic products to developing countries and letting them deal with the hazardous waste. We are trying to be environmentally friendly but we are hurting the environment. America is one of a small number of countries to not sign the Basel Convention and we will end up doing more harm than good.
Reference: Walsh, B (Jan. 8, 2009) E-Waste Not Time Magazine. Retrieved on November 19, 2009 from http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1870485,00.html.
In Steve Mollman’s article, “Solar gadgets for when you’re on the go,” Mollman discusses the different types of portable solar devices that utilize the sun’s power to generate energy for the tiny devices. One such device acts as charger able to use on the go, called the Kinesis K3 from Kinesis Industries in Arizona. The K3 has a mini wind turbine when attached to a bike can capture wind energy while on your way to your destination and once arrived can collect solar energy from the sun. The charger can then be used to charge a variety of devices from a cell phone or iPod(Mollman, 2009).
Another device developed by a California firm called Novothink has introduced Apple certified protective cases for iPhones and iPod Touches with built in solar panels on the back. Carrying the device on the outside will allow it to charge the Apple iphone or iPod Touch with the direct link connected to the battery. A variation of solar charger device offered by Voltaic Systems are solar bags used to charge up electronic devices. The notion behind the solar bag is that with protective cases being able to do the same thing, they are a majority of time they are held in dark places such as pockets and bags. A solar bag will be more efficient for it will be held outside in the light and be able to harness the solar energy more fully.
The article relates to the chapter more specifically the social entrepreneurship: going green section as it shows effective use of solar energy. Being able to harness solar energy is an effective measure that lowers energy consumption. Effective use of energy helps to conserve the Earth’s resources and helps a business boost their company’s image.
Mollman, S. (2009). Solar gadgets for when you’re on the go. Retreived November 18, 2009, from http://edition.cnn.com/2009/TECH/11/12/solar.gadgets/index.html
The article related to many new “green” products that are becoming available. Most of these products are chargers for small devices. These products use solar power to charge small electronics. The company Better Energy Systems developed a stand alone charger five years ago. This charger was used out in the wild to charge electronics. It was designed for people who, for example, liked to be outdoors and wanted a way to charge an Mp3 player. They would strap the charger outside of their backpack and it would be connected to their Mp3 player. They could then listen to it later on. Newer models of chargers also have integrated wind turbine. This was designed more for cyclist. For example, someone could ride their bike to the park and their electronic would then be getting charged. Once at the park, the solar panel would take over and the device would continue to charge. This helps on trips that lasts hours and someone wants to be using their electronic device the whole time.
This relates to the chapter regarding innovation and green technologies. People are now more mobile then ever. They also use more portable devices, and need a way to charge them. Companies that are the first to come up with these ideas, such as Better Energy Systems, have a competitive advantage over the competition. Five years ago, there was not much demand for solar powered chargers. Now with the increase in mobile technology, it almost seems like a necessity. These companies know the most about these technologies and are the first to have a good, successful product. It also reduces a lot of waste, which is great for the environment. They may still need to charge their devices at home, but it would be less frequent, and would also help lower energy consumption.
Mollman, Steve (2009) “Solar Gadgets for when your on the go” Retrieved: November 18, 2009. From:cnn.com/tech Website: http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/11/12/solar.gadgets/index.html
I studied a lot of benefits and challenges of global business in this chapter. As global markets increase and international firms grow, we need to think about the environment on our planet. The manufacture, management, use, and disposal of information technology can damage to the environment and it is a corporation’s responsibility. These days the green issue is how to make the most efficient use of renewable resources. Experts are trying to figure out how to control the power of the sun and the wind to make the energy. For example, in the area of mobile phones there has been a lot of media attention on the using solar power. However the sun isn’t the only renewable resource that the mobile phone industry is interested in. Wind power can also be used in conjunction with cell phone service. It’s definitely something to learn more about if you’re interested in how the mobile phone industry continues to go green.
The article I read for this chapter is about a green energy car. A record for a Tesla Roadster driven on a single charge was set at 313 miles (501 km) in Australia on Tuesday. Tesla Roadster owner Simon Hackett and his friend Emilis Prelgauskas drove his electric sports car from Alice Springs, Northern Territory, to Coober Pedy, South Australia, as part of an alternative-fuel vehicle rally called the Global Green Challenge. In the future, lots of automobile companies will make a green energy car and it is related to corporate responsibility. Going green is one of the trends in the 21st century for global companies.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-10384984-54.html
Dell is looking to join the smart phone industry with the release of their new phone called the Mini 3. The Mini 3 will be similar to Google’s Android phone. I think that this is obviously a great business decision for Dell. Dell has become a well known computer company in the last decade. And with all the new innovations in cell phones, it is likely that someday laptops and desktops will be obsolete. The new Mini 3 will have a high definition 3.5 inch touch screen.
Ten years ago this 3.5 inch touch screen would seem impossible to mass produce. I think that this new phone relates closely to the idea of innovation in chapter 12. Innovation is defined in the book as the introduction of new equipment or methods. Dell is taking the idea of smart phones and trying to take it to the next level. Often cell phones become smaller and more advanced, so this will be a very cut throat industry for Dell. They need to be very careful because other companies are well established in the smart phone industry.
Innovation is always exciting for companies as well as consumers. When I first got my smart phone I was very excited to use the apps and such. Using the internet on my phone was amazing, when it actually looks like the internet and not a shrunken down version of the internet. Many businesses use these types of phones, if Dell works with large corporations such as Pepsi and Coke where all employees have to have GPS phones that they can break away from their competition.
Jonathan Skillings (2009), Dell unveils Android-based Mini 3 smart phone, Retrieved 18, 2009 from CNN Tech, Website: http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/11/13/dell.android.smartphone/index.html
