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

Case Study: Limited Brands Consolidates Its Supply Chain Management

2.) Describe the Supply Chain Management problems encountered by Limited Brands in this case. What was their business impact?
Limited Brands supply chain problems climaxed in 2002 when a distribution center was bombarded with 400 trailers of merchandise at a facility that is designed for only 150. This 'logjam' backed up onto one of the freeways creating a local publicity disaster for an otherwise shimmering business image. The "catastrophe" brought visibility to a growing supply chain problem within the company.
Limited Brands had been growing very rapidly for many years leading up to 2002. Most of this growth was through acquisitions. The acquired companies typically had their own supply chain software which meant that Limited Brands was running sixty major systems with hopes of keeping everything organized. As was demonstrated in 2002 this would not be possible. Because the different systems did not have the ability to communicate to one another, there was no way to ensure proper coordination.

3.) What management, organization, and technology factors were responsible for these problems?
Management: The very rapid growth of Limited Brands was a driving force for the supply chain mess that was to come. Decisions to acquire companies, although potentially beneficial for the bottom line, must be well planned and orchestrated to make sure problems such as this one don't arise.
Organization: The organizational problems were clear. People did not know what was going where, when. They were pretty much operating blindly not knowing if a shipment would arrive on time or if it was headed to the right location. For a company this big and wide spread it was not an option to have such disorganization.
Technology: The main technology issue was the various legacy programs controlling specific materials throughout the supply chain. The use of mergers and acquisitions provided for a variety of supply chain management programs that could not be linked together intensifying the mess the company was already in.

4.) How did Limited Brands solve these problems? What management, organization, and technology issues were addressed by the solution?
Limited Brands set out to revolutionize their supply chain software. The company hoped to be able to "develop an enterprise-wide view of the supply chain" (385) by eliminating the legacy systems and consolidating it into one system. They hoped this would allow the customer to be at the front and back of the supply chain and allow them to address their customer's needs easier.
Management: Limited Logistics Services launched several programs in attempt to ease the supply chain problems. They created two regional docking centers on either coast as a way to funnel products from the shipments directly to the stores. This reduced time to market by 10 days and allowed for more dependable deliveries.
Organization: Limited Brands united their entire information operations under one entity called Limited Technologies Services. This allowed for a fully operating 750 employee subsidiary with a budget of $150 million to maintain operations and functionality of all Limited IT systems.
Technology: Contracted Tibco to create a global SCM software to allow Limited to track the flow through the supply chain. Also enabled OSCAR (outbound supply chain and reporting) allowing the company to access real time records of shipments and gain a better grasp on their deliveries.

Article Review: "Twitter, Flickr, Facebook Make Blogs Look So 2004"

In Paul Boutin's article on Wired.com "Twitter, Flickr, Facebook Make Blogs Look So 2004," he discusses the evolution of the blog and how newer programs have made blogging a thing of the past. The author describes blogging as an old art that has been lost by the hordes of "cut-rate journalists and underground marketing campaigns." Boutin complains that an individual's blog will easily be drowned out my the hundreds of blogs a throng of journalists can publish in a day. No more are the days where a google search will lead you to a random blog. Corporations and publications have taken over the blogosphere and people are now looking for a new way to express themseleves.

Enter Twitter. Applications such as Twitter have given bloggers a fresher look at the art of blogging. No longer does an individual spend hours writing one blog, now a twitterer can write a miniblog in under a minute. The author believes Twitter is to 2008 what blogging was to 2004. A new and different way to get your thoughts, feelings, emotions, etc. on the web.

This article relates directly to chapter 7 from "Management Information Systems: Managing the Digital Firm". In chapter 7 the authors describe Web 2.0. This is the name given to the second generation of webpages that actually involve the individual. Blogs, Facebook profiles, Wikipedia, and now Twitter are all forms of Web 2.0 applications. These programs make the individual feel more connected and give the user an easy way to contribute to their social environment via the internet. The evolution of Web 2.0 over the last half decade has been remarkable. With, what Boutin would likely consider the rise and fall of the blog, it will be interesting to see where the next five years take us and how long it will be until we reach Web 3.0....

Article: http://www.wired.com/entertainment/theweb/magazine/16-11/st_essay

Case Study: VA Laptop Theft

1. List and describe the security weaknesses at the Department of Veterans Affairs.

-Slow response to theft: The cases states that the department did not report the theft to law enforcement until two weeks after the burglary. This is way too long! An effective recovery effort would have been much easier had authorities been notified earlier.
-Employee taking sensitive information home: Why is it okay for an employee to take a laptop full of personal data that is very sensitive to their home? Burglary is only one reason this should not be allowed. What if a friend is over and is using the computer and accidentally changes something or deletes something. This type of information should be kept in a controlled environment where the only people coming near it are accountable for its security.
-Failure to encrypt data: With effectively encrypted data it seems the VA would not have had to worry about the theft of the laptop. If the data was inaccessible other then by the person to which the laptop was owned, it would not have been a real issue. The only reason it was of such importance was because there was a threat that the thief could access all of the sensitive data.
-Decentralized data: If the data had all been in one on site location (not on an individual's laptop) this problem could have been avoided. Even if the employee had been accessing the data through a secure network connection, the VA would not have had to worry about the contents of the laptop, the data would have been all on the central server.

3. How effectively did the VA deal with these problems?
In short; not very. The VA had known their information system had issues for some time. In 2004 an audit was done which brought about many findings one of which was the recommendation to centralize information security. This recommendation was not implemented successfully. In addition, former CIO Robert McFarland resigned because he was frustrated with the implementation of new IT management software. This makes it quite obvious that there are IS issues within the company. As if these were not enough, just after authorities arrested the thieves of the laptop, another computer with sensitive personal information was stolen from a Unisys Corp building in Virgina. This time the information of 38,000 veterans was leaked and further proved that the VA had not done an effective job of centralizing their information.

4. What solutions would you suggest to prevent these security problems?
I would suggest a centralized server containing all veteran's information with a strong security protocol. I would give access via log in and password, only to individuals who need such privledges. In addition I would implement a nationwide effort to travel to all locations that currently have information (such as Unisys) and support them in the installation of software to access the server if needed and also ensure the destruction of all old files on hard drives in the building. It wouldn't do much good to centralize the information, but allow hard drives that still have sensitive information on them to still be used. I would also conduct biannual IS audits and place high priority on all findings. This would hopefully allow issues to be caught and dealt with before another disaster like this could happen again.

The Netbook Effect - Week 2

In Clive Thompson's article "The Netbook Effect," (WIRED, March 2009) the author descibes the creation of the low cost "Eee PC" intended for use in third world countries. The netbook would offer limited processing speeds but would be equipped with Wi-Fi connectivity and word processing which for most accounts for a majority of computer usage. The original intention for these computers was to be sold to children in third world countries, so they could have the oppurtunity to become familiar with computers and begin to enter the world of technology that so many of us have been living in for the past 20 years.

After the bare bones computers were put on the market what happend was quite shocking. The Eee PC sold out their entire inventory in just a few months. But the computers were not bought by originally intended third world countries, but rather by Americans and Europeans, anxious for a cheaper alternative to the supermachines being pumped out by companies such as Apple and Dell. American companies had always been under the impression that bigger and faster is always better. Old models of computers would become obsolete by the time they were shipped because new technology to make the processor even faster would be created. But the only real reason that ANYBODY would necessitate these immense capabilities would be if were either a hardcore gamer or a program designer. People like me who simply use their computer for web surfing, music playing, and video watch does not need these thousand dollar machines.

With the sales of the Eee PC, many other companies have realized that not everyone wants the newest fastest machine. Many people just want something that will do what they need and this machine could easily be made for under a couple hundred dollars.

This article relates to Chapter 5 in the text "Managing Information Systems: Managing the Digital Firm" because it relates to the time table set forth on the evolution of the personal computer. The article almost points us in the direction of taking a step back after we realize these computers are really supplying us with much more than many of us would every need.