Article Review "Pentagon Cyber Unit Prompts Questions"

In the article titled "Pentagon Cyber Unit Prompts Questions," the author, Ellen Nakashima, describes the US governments efforts to increase security of global networks. With the recent development of a "cyber-command" at the Pentagon, an increased level of security will be insured for all military networks from potential terrorist hackers. One question now being posed is, will this new command center be able to support the privacy of other government networks as well as global private sector information systems. With an ever increasing technologically advanced world, it becomes that much more of a pressing issue. The defense of military networks would be critical to the safety of our nation from terrorist, but the protection of private industries documents and trade secrets could be critical to their business and in turn the US economy. Because of the importance of a global market for many companies, if foreign hackers got access to critical information, they could potentially tap into international trading zones. This could be detrimental to a business and the US government should consider including the private sector in their protection efforts.

This relates to Chapter 15 of the text because both discuss global systems. The chapter details the process of developing a global system for use by international businesses. The article from the Washington Post touches on a very pertinent security issue for these businesses and brings to light something that should definitely be looked into.

Nakashima, E (2009, June, 13). Pentagon cyber unit prompts questions. The Washington Post, Retrieved June 13, 2009, from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/12/AR2009061204373.html?hpid=moreheadlines

Case Study: Chapter 15

2.) What type of global business and systems strategy did Nestle adopt? Was the strategy appropriate for Nestle's business model?
Nestle seemed to have adopted a transitional strategy, having all sites linked in with each other. This new coordinated effort was appropriate for their business model as Nestle is a truly global company that necessitates one supply chain. With this new transitional system, all Nestle sites would be able to streamline operations and allow a more cohesive functionality with all other Nestle sites.

3.) What management, organization, and technology challenges did Nestle have to deal with to standardize its business processes and systems?
Management - The GLOBE team dealt with much criticism from site management about the implementation of the new systems. Many people fear change likely because they feel it will create new problems and believe that if it isn't broke why fix it. But many of them did not realize that although the hodgepodge IS they were currently using was not broken it was not performing as well as it should be.
Organization - Because the GLOBE implementation was such a huge project, Nestle CEO Peter Brabeck knew that a new team was needed. How would a team be constructed? Who would head the project? What kind of goals should they have? These were all questions that Brabeck needed to answer.
Technology - Before implementation the Nestle IS was described as a "Tower of Babel," a massive structure that leaves everyone speaking different languages. Because of this incompatible hodgepodge of systems, Nestle desired to correct their IS and implement a new global SAP system.

4.) What strategies did Nestle management use to deal with these challenges? How successful were these strategies? Explain your answer.
Management - Chris Johnson basically told the managers that it was the way things were going and they could either step in line or he would be fired and the CEO would replace him with one of the other managers. No one envied Johnson so they were quick to accept GLOBE as the future for Nestle. This was effective because it worked but it seems like the company should have done something more to increase employee buy-in.
Organization - He appointed a team leader in Chris Johnson who had his pick from nearly 250,000 Nestle employees who would fill out the rest of his team. He picked up many executives that would be considered "untouchables" because they knew the business so well and were too valuable in their current roles. But as valuable as they were to the team, they would be equally valuable to the GLOBE team. Johnson also developed projections for his team that were both measureable and attainable. I believe that these efforts were effective. Such a large scale important project deserves adequate manpower, budget and time to allow for the system to be properly implemented.
Technology - GLOBE was the solution to their problem. I believe that the implementation of the new system was successful because it allowed for the company to grasp a better control of their incredibly complex supply chain.

Article Review: The Stock-Boy Bot

In the article titled "The Stock-Boy Bot" in the April 2009 issue of Wired magazine, the author, Katharine Gammon describes a group of robots who have begun "stealing American jobs." The Zappos warehouse in Kentucky has begun using over 70 robots to "organize and deliver shelves of goods" throughout the compound. These robots can carry up to a half ton and use a series of bar codes and signals from a central server to receive instructions and directions. Although at this point humans still remain in control, as the bots can only move inventory from point A to point B, there is no telling what level the automation can reach.

The use of robots in the Zappos warehouse is a perfect example of how an Information System can change an organization described in Chapter 13. In this case, Zappos utilized automation to perform a job more efficiently then humans. It was a very low risk change for them that resulted in a moderate return. Not only could these robots lift way more than any human could, they do not require an annual salary. So Zappos found a way cut costs and make things more efficient throughout their warehouse. Further utilization of robots in the Zappos warehouse could result in even more return. Currently robots are only utilized in a 76,000 sq. foot zone of the 832,000 sq. foot warehouse. Finding a way to use automation throughout the rest of the factory could result in an even more efficient process and a greater return for Zappos.

Case Study: Chapter 14

2. Evaluate the risks of the Medicaid claims processing system project and key risk factors.
The main risk of such a huge change to a system like this is that if something goes wrong, people who need money for medical expenses cannot receive it. This should make a big change like this a very carefully done process. Because people's well being could be affected this becomes a very risky project. Other risks of the project include the fact that the system is so widely used and with a limited staff a backlog of issues would be disasterous. In addition the possibility of failure could be very costly to the state. In this case it cost the state over $30 million to try to right the ship.

3. Classify and describe the problems the Maine Department of Human Services faced in implementing its new Medicaid claims processing system. What management, organization, and technology factors caused these problems?
-Only two firms submitted bids for the job
-Provider information was considered incomplete after the transfer
-Program was based on J2EE which was not compatable with legacy systems
-Unusually high suspension of claims
-Too high call volume for 13 people on staff.

The main reasons for these problems were as follows:
Management: With only two bids, the project manager should have performed more investigation. It turned out that CNSI had never built a Medicaid system before. So this was a first time thing for them which makes it understandable that things did not turned out as planned.
Organization: A limited staff of 13 people for 7,000 providers would be one major organizational issue. With problems growing and a limited staff to adress problems the creation of a backlog of issues is inevitable.
Technology: The incompatibility with legacy systems created major issues. Because the incompleteness of provider information, different code numbers, and lack of training on new systems created a very sticky situation.

5. If you were in charge of managing this project, what else would you have done differently to increase the chances for success?
The first thing I would have done differently would have been to make a better assessment of the bidders for the job of establishing a new system. It would be worrying that only two firms would respond with a bid. You would think with such a big project you would have many people vying for an opportunity to claim the project. In addition, it would be unsettling that the one of the bidders was half the price of the other. This would have justified an investigation into what would be done differently and why the prices differed so greatly. At that point, had I chosen CNSI, I would definitely abide by their recommendations. When they recommend that "all providers re-enroll" I would have took their word for it and done just that instead of transferring the accounts to the new system. Another thing I would have done would be to run thorough tests on the system to ensure that it would be functioning properly. This would have brought to my attention the increase in suspended claims and would have allowed time to fix the issue before it got too far out of hand.

Article Review: "The Answer Engine"

Chapter 11 details the different means of managing the knowledge of a firm. Firms depend on this knowledge in order to maintain a competitive advantage and be able to function effectively. One could then ask themselves: if firms use software to manage their knowledge, how do people manage their own knowledge? In the article "The Answer Engine," author Steven Levy tells of one very innovative former particle physicist Stephen Wolfram, who has created a new search engine that allows users to do something never easily performed before; search for answers. Coined as the "anti-google," Wolfram's program (Wolfram Alpha) allows users to input questions and find answers. Where preexisting search engines such as Google and Yahoo provide web pages where a web searcher may find an answer, Wolfram Alpha simply delivers an answer. According to Levy, Google will attempt to find and answer to a question but will only be successful if the question has already been answered before. Alpha on the other hand will collect the data, analyze it and simply deliver you an answer instead of a list of web pages.

This breakthrough idea has been put to use on their webpage: http://www79.wolframalpha.com/. Through some trial and error it is easy to see the limitless possibilities that this technology can create. By simply inputing a string of letters such as "ATTTAGGACACGTT" Alpha tells the user where this genome sequence is known to occur in the human genome. It details exactly what chromosome and what location on that chromosome as well. When you input a date, Alpha tells you the phase of the moon on that date in addition to other interesting information. With a what will likely become and ever increasing range and breadth of knowledge Alpha is sure to impact countless lives in the future. Not only will it make searching for information easier but will allow for a very user friendly means of managing seemingly limitless knowledge.

Levy, Steven (June 2009). The Answer Engine. Wired, 17(06), 62-63.

Case Study: Can Information Systems Make your Doctor Better?

1.) What problems are hospitals and physicians encountering in diagnosing diseases and prescribing medications? What management, organization, and technology factors are responsible for these problems?
It is impossible for any doctor to know the WHOLE story about a patient. As many forms and information they require before prescribing a medication or diagnosing and ailment, there is always information that is left out. This 'missed' info can lead to a misdiagnosis or a prescription for a medicine that may react poorly. This critical info can fall into the cracks by way of "poor handwriting, memory lapses, fatigue, and distractions" (pg. 505). Due to the massive volume of patients served, this can amount to a staggering sum of miscalls.
Management factors: many doctors must be kept up to date on different prescription medications and different diagnoses. With insufficient training, doctors may be unaware of potential side effects or medical guidelines.
Technology factors: Most hospitals do not have adequate information systems to help guide doctors towards a more educated decision. With software to use as a reference or 'second opinion' doctors would be more capable of fulfilling their duties successfully.
Organizational factors: Because of limited health care for some patients, some doctors can only spend about ten minutes with their patients. In many cases this is not adequate time to allow for a thorough analysis and diagnosis. More time would be needed to conduct a more robust analysis.

2.) Are CPOE and DDS systems appropriate solutions? Why or why not? What management, technology and organization issues are involved in the use of these systems?
The programs themselves are not sufficient solutions. But the successful integration of the software into the hospital environment is definitely a step in the right direction. As the programs specify, the doctors opinion should always be the deciding factor, but CPOE and DDS programs can be useful in helping the doctor reach a conclusion. From my limited knowledge of the software, I think hospitals should be required to have and utilize these programs as a way to double check the doctor'r prognosis. A successful implementation could result in drastic decreases in malpractices costs and not to mention many spared lives.
Management: the implementation and forced use of the software would be a lofty hurdle to pass. With many doctors set in their old ways it could be difficult to convert them to use a confirm opinions with a machine after decades of being the sole decider.
Technology: The software would take a long time to setup and begin to utilize effectively. Their would need to be massive IT support to ensure the safety of information stored within the software. It would also be critical to make sure nonauthorized personeel does not change or delete any of the information as well.
Organization: Because most patients are only alloted about 10 minutes with their doctor, it would be hard for any doctor to input a patient's information. This would be another hurdle needed to pass before these systems could effectively be implemented.

3.) What obstacles prevent computer systems from improving the medical industry? How can these obstacles be removed?
One major obstacle would be to get all doctors to use the systems. It would be difficult to get many of them to change the way they have been doing things for years or even decades. Some HMO allow doctors only 10.5 minutes to see a patient which would definitly not allow them time to utilize the software.
In order to get doctors to be more openminded about the system, hospitals would need to phase it in slowly. Make sure new hires are trained on the effective utilization of the program and slowly trickle it up to the doctors who have been their longer. Once they see the benefit it would hopefully be easier to persuade them. In order to solve the time issue their is really only one option: increase medical funding. Ten minutes is not enough time to make a thorough assessment of a patients health. Increased medical funding would allow for more time per patient and hopefully a more robust medical evaluation. Included in the evaluation could be the use of CPOE and DDS systems.

Article Review "The Future of Shopping: Custom Everything"

In Sara Clemence's article "The Future of Shopping: Custom Everything," the author describes what she envisions as the future of commerce. Clemence lists Nike shoes, Keds shoes, Kleenex, and M&Ms as products that are available online totally customizable. Many people believe that a society used to customizing their products, will demand it. The ensuing snowball effect will make an E-Commerce world where all goods are customizable to the user's preference.
Dell Computers has been selling customizable computers through the internet since the 1990's. Since then, many other computer companies have began to follow Dell's lead and create a customizable E-Commerce market. In addition, this form of customization has spread to other markets as well. Many believe that soon everything will be customizable.
The real trick for retailers though, is to maintain an adequate price while allowing for total customization. Customizable products have been available to "anyone willing and able to pay the price" (Clemence). From such luxury items as sports cars and individually tailored suits, the transition has shifted customization to Nikes, Keds, and M&Ms common goods for the common person. Retailers that jump into the custom product market and develop a cost effective means for mass customization will certainly have an advantage when the customer begins to demand it.
Internet shopping revolutionized the world in the 1990's. E-Commerce has become a thriving market and internet customization beckoning on the horizon, E-Commerce will likely remain strong for many years to come.

Clemence, Sara (2009, March 19). The future of shopping: custom everything. Retrieved May 17, 2009, from Cutom Everything - Dual Perspectives Web site: http://www.portfolio.com/views/columns/dual-perspectives/2009/03/16/Custom-Everything