...CASE STUDY 3 CASE 10-2 The Smart Car by B. Renea Kosino 1. What is Smart’s competitive advantage? Its brand image? The Smart Car, made by DaimlerChrysler, offers a cost focus and focused differentiation. It brand image is very narrowly focused. Smart appeals to single people (or families with no children), who primarily do city driving and want a no frills automobile that is economical and eco-friendly. Some advantages that Smart brings to the table are as follows. First, the vehicle has an exceptional look that appeal to those who want to be unique. Next, this very small, but roomy vehicle makes city driving and tight parking easier. Subsequently, crash testing and safety experts consider Smart as an extremely safe vehicle. Moreover, its models are very fuel efficient at 35 mpg on average. In addition, this automobile’s low exhaust emissions earned an Ultra Low Emission Vehicle (ULEV) classification. These condition were essential in Smart being one of five automakers to receive Greenopia USA’s highest environmental rating (see attach1). Finally, the vehicle is very economical with the most basic vehicle starting at $12,000. 2. Assess the U.S. market potential for the Smart. Do you think the car will be a success? Why or why not? Smart Car is economical, unique, and eco-friendly. Generation Y (Gen Y) is a target market, which should be pursued because Gen Y’s, those born from 1977 to 1994 (1980-1995, depending on who you ask), is demographically...
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...Columbia Project: Use of Software to Achieve Competitive Advantage AUTOMOBILES: TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION Gaining and Sustaining Long-term Advantage Through Information Technology Case Prepared By William V. Rapp Co-Principal Investigator The College of International Relations Ritsumeikan University Kyoto, Japan 914-945-0630 (Fax: 914-923-1416; 011-81-75-466-1214) E-mail: william.rapp@aya.yale.edu April 2000 SOFTWARE AS A TOOL OF COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE: AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY 1 2 3 4 5 Introduction: Objectives of this Benchmarking Study……………………….…….3 Approach: Methodology and Questions…………………………………………....9 Introduction to Case…………………………………………………………….…10 The Industry Context: The Japanese and Global Automobile Industries………….10 Toyota’s Multi-faceted Global Strategy………………………………….………..21 Smart Production (scheduling, buffer stocks, interactive controls) Smart Design IT and Management of Supplier Networks Smart Marketing Responding to Demand Changes Through Smart Production & Design 6 Smart Car…………………………………………………………………….……...42 Environmentally Smart Cars Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) 7 8 Information Technology Infrastructure and Project Selection………………………60 Summary - Controlling the Future…………………………………………………..68 Exhibit 1 - Promotion Plan for Intelligent Transportation System………………………78 Exhibit 2 - Toyota’s ITS Businesses and R&D………………………………………….79 Exhibit 3 - ITS Evolutionary Development……………………………………………..80 Appendix I Summary Answers to Questions for Toyota...
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...SMARTPHONE USE CAN BE LIFE THREATENING Steven Crawford Baker College Smartphone use can be Life Threatening Driving down the road, on the right the driver is swerving, to the front the car does not seem to be able to maintain its speed. What could be going on, are the drivers drunk or perhaps having a medical emergency? Truth is the drivers are using their smartphones while they are driving. This is a theme that is becoming more and more apparent as technology becomes cheaper. New innovations bring more to the consumer’s finger tips than ever before. Smartphones can now be used as onboard GPS units, they have the ability to stream video or watch downloaded movies, texting, calling, almost anything imaginable can be accomplished with these newer devices but what they cannot do is improve a drivers skills or driving habits, in fact in most cases these devices impair one’s ability to drive safely. Smartphone/cell phone use needs to be banned from use in automobiles except to use for hands free communication only. How can this problem be addressed so that the drivers of this Nation can feel safe without wondering what the driver next to them is doing on their cell phone. A Federal proposal that would ensure a nationwide ban on cell phone use while driving would help accomplish this. The proposal would allow officers to stop any driver that is using a cell phone as a primary offense. This means that if you have a cell phone in your hands for any reason you can be stopped...
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...Case 2, Volvo YCC (Your Concept Car) According to the case study of the Volvo YCC (Your Concept Car), the design elements are most valuable to female consumers, which are the smart storage solutions, for drivers that using back seat more often for groceries, gym bags, and laptop computers than for passenger, YCC’s back seat designed like a movie theater seats that fold upright until needed for passenger, freeing room on the back floor for loading and unloading. By moving the gear lever and handbrake, the center console has shallow compartment keys, mobile phones, and so forth, with a sliding back compartment capable of storing a purse out of sight. There is also a space for notebook computer, a “cool box”, and a wastepaper basket. With the statement, “If you meet expectations of women, you’ll exceed the expectations of men.” So that the men will also enjoy the design elements since the design is just more concentrate for women, not totally dedicate to women only. Nowadays, men will also carry many staff especially business men, so they can full use the smart storage they YCC provided. Mostly of the men would like to have a comfortable position when driving, and so the personalized driving position will become something that men most enjoy. In the future models, the cars can provide an auto-driving mode on the highway and also auto-parking mode. If the drivers feel asleep when driving on the highway, he or she can have a nap in the car with the auto-driving mode. And for the...
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... Page 1 CASE STUDY RESULTS: This paper will attempt to answer some questions about the articles that was assigned to read for this class, the articles will talk about the smart grid case study attempted to use by the power company. It will explain how grids are different form the current electricity infrastructure in the united states. The second case study is about Proctor and Gamble, discussing the size and some of the products they provide, profit, and revenue. The changes that are to be implemented are not going over very good; change is difficult, with the form of communication provided to staff throughout the company. The next case study was about credit card companies and how much knowledge they have about consumers. The strategy they use to learn about you and your interests, by what you purchase with the card. Is this an invasion of privacy? The following case study is about computers and cell phone; all Americans have this form of commutations of some sort, for personal and business use. The problems with these for of commutation is using cell phones while driving, even texting in the car is becoming a serious problem. Using computers is even causing injuries, such as carp tunnel. Page 2 CASE STUDY RESULTS: WHAT IS THE BUZZ...
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...In Gerald Graff’s “Hidden Intellectualism” he goes into detail as to why intelligence is not just about book smarts but also street smarts. He goes on to state that “…schools and colleges might be at fault for missing the opportunity to tap into such street smarts and channel them into good academic work” (264). Many people discredit students all the information that street smart students possess since now days’ intellectualism is only accredited to subjects such as philosophy or historical wars. While students do need to read writers such as Shakespeare and George Orwell they will be more intrigued to gain a higher intellect if they being by doing research on subjects that they are fond of instead of being forced to study about something they have no interest in....
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...POSITIONING IS INEVITABLE –A CASE STUDY OF TATA NANO Natasha Saqib Assistant Professor Department of Management Studies, University of Kashmir, South Campus Email –natalie81985@gmail.com Correspondence Address Natasha Saqib C/O Jamsheed Saqib United India Insurance Co. Ltd Divisional Office Regal Chowk Srinagar, Jammu & Kasmir Pincode No 190001 POSITIONING IS INEVITABLE –A CASE STUDY OF TATA NANO Abstract The forces of globalization and technological advancement have rendered the market place highly competitive and complex. The customer's needs, wants and expectations are changing at an exponential rate posing great challenges to the companies. For surviving and thriving in this scenario companies need to develop effective brand positioning strategies .Positioning helps customers know the real differences among competing products so that they can choose the one that is most valuable and useful to them.This is a case study of Tata Nano, one of the most ambitious projects of Tata Motor’s, which was started in 2008. It was envisioned by the Tata Group former chairman Ratan Tata himself. The case focuses on how the initial strategies for launching and positioning Tata Nano as a “People’s Car” backfired and how management recognized its shortcomings and mistakes that led to the wrong positioning of Tata Nano as “Worlds Cheapest Car” among the segment it was created for. And how finally after four years of it commercial launch, understanding the inevitability...
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...Progress can be both good and bad, like everything the good is nearly always better than the bad. “Good” in this case it can be defined as “innovation that’s not only sustainable, but also restorative and resilient” (Hollender 2012, p6). Hollender expresses his opinions that there is no such thing as bad nowadays, instead it should be classified as “less bad” meaning the generation of less waste, less CO2, pollute less water and utilize a greater amount of recycled materials (Hollender 2012, p6). He expresses these views on his idea of “less bad” as the world has revolutionized itself to a point where that almost everything innovative that we now do will harm something else in a negative manner. This is evidently proven from the things that have been invented over time. Going back 100 years from now it is evident that changes have been significant everywhere across the world and in nearly every case it is the tools that we have shaped that are now shaping us, this is becoming a problem in many cases. Starting right back when the hammer was invented. It can be proven that the tools that we make definitely have an influence on the way we interact on a day-to-day basis. There is no specific date on when the hammer was first utilized or invented but it can be said that the cavemen used to use rocks to help them hit something with more force. Essentially this is what a hammer is used for nowadays but in a much more technical manner. Back when the cavemen were using the hammer...
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...The Psychology of Road Rage: A discussion of psychological explanations of road rage and policy implications. Name: Graeme Standing Candidate #: 002351 015 Subject: Psychology – Extended Essay Word Count : 3993 School: Collège du Léman Date: February 2007© Graeme Standing (graemestanding@hotmail.com) Contents Introduction ............................................................................................................................................1 Is Road Rage Just a Media Invention?..................................................................................................... 1 What is Road Rage? ................................................................................................................................2 Stress and Anger .....................................................................................................................................2 Are Some People More Susceptible to Road Rage? ............................................................................... 3 Gender Stereotypes................................................................................................................................4 Intermittent Explosive Disorder.............................................................................................................. 5 Driving Pathology....................................................................................................................................6 Solutions...
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...Student name: ________________________________ Student ID _______________________ York University Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies School of Administrative Studies AP/ADMS 4250 Marketing Strategy, Fall 2013 Instructor: A. Rusetski, Ph.D. EXAM 1: Case AP/ADMS 4250 Marketing Strategy Exam 1 Page 1 of 7 FIAT RETURNS TO CANADA1 A.RUSETSKI, PH.D F IGURE 1: A 2011 FIAT 500 On March 18, 2011 two hundred strange looking tiny cars lined up on the streets around the Quebec Business Centre. FIAT, a major European car manufacturer, was celebrating its return to Canada after 28 years of absence. This comeback became possible thanks to a partnership with one of the Detroit Big Three car manufacturers – Chrysler. From Montreal, columns of FIAT 500 cars paraded to designated Chrysler dealerships where FIAT opened its “FIAT Studios”. A number of important and at times sad developments led to this celebratory moment. Once a powerful player in the North American market, in early 2000s Chrysler Corporation was struggling with declining demand and decreasing market share. In 1998 the company “merged” with German Daimler Benz to form DaimlerChrysler AG. In fact, the German automotive giant took ownership of Chrysler, but after nine years the new owner acknowledged that the “marriage” was not successful and it could not improve Chrysler’s financial ...
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...CASE – 1: SMART SYSTEMS AND SMART WAYS OF WORKING HELP TOYOTA BECOME NUMBER ONE Q1: Which of the strategic objectives are met with Toyota’s IS implementations? The Strategic Objectives that are met with Toyota’s IS implementations are: * To emerge into a brand known for quality and reliability. * To become skillful at combining quality with efficiency. * To deliver value to the customer at a competitive price. * To only build cars based on what and when the customers want, without additional delays or quality problems. Q2: What is the major system implemented by Toyota? The major system implemented by Toyota is A Vehicle Orders Management System based on Oracle E-Business Suite software. Its various advantages and uses are as follows: * It reduces the time between placing a customer order and delivery of the vehicle to the customer. * The dealer uses the system to configure a car with all of the selected options in front of the customer and then locates the best available car and options in the Toyota supply chain, including vehicles scheduled for production in the future. * The dealer then uses the system to place the order through national distributors, who consolidate the order with those of their other retailers and place an order through Toyota Motors Europe. * National distributors can use the system to monitor their orders and those of different dealers and even “swap” cars with various retailers. Q3: Identify the ‘management’...
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...Product Purchases and the Economy Jessica Cross ECO/372 3/28/2016 Kathleen Byrne Product Purchases and the Economy A lot of times in life there are things we come across that we think we may really want but do no necessarily need at the moment such as a new home, a car, smart phone, or even a kitchen makeover of your dreams. Whatever it may be it is small in no way and most certainly requires budgeting. For instance, if I wanted to purchase a new car I would most certainly want to see what standings the economy is in, and if I would be able to actually afford my purchase over a period of time. Budgeting your money is a great way to ensure that you always have the money for the important things in your life therefore, it is great to see what shape the economy is in before you go out spending that hard earned money on something that you may not absolutely need at the moment or possibly won’t be able to afford over a longer period of time because of the shape of the economy (Bell, 2009). Reflection of the Economy There are indicators that reflect how the economy is doing. Some of these indicators are real GDP, unemployment rates, inflation rates, and interest rates. The two that I feel are big indicators in the economy’s strength are interest rates and unemployment rates. Interest rates are portions of a loan that are charged back to a person for the amount of money that they borrowed. The interest rates are usually added to the payment that the person will be paying...
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...Project Title: Realization of Green Cloud Computing ~ Green EDI collaborating with Financial EDI ~ Project Leader Name: Youichiro Kojima Organization/Company: Kojima Press Industry Co.,Ltd., Japan Nominated by: Japan Association for Simplification of International Trade Procedures (JASTPRO) Abstract: This Green Cloud Computing project has achieved the significant reduction of Cost and CO2 through the cloud computing while realizing EDI for SMEs, REACH and Financial settlement. Executive Summary: Our approach toward Green IT started with internal activities under the slogan of “CO2 reduction through Green IT” in 2005. Our group companies achieved significant results by integrating hardware and using common software. To produce further effects, these activities need to be practiced in society as a whole. For that purpose, we have developed “Green Cloud Computing,” a social action program focused on the automotive parts industry and small and medium-sized businesses outside the framework of a single company. With the spread of the Internet, web-based EDI (electronic data interchange) systems have been increasingly used as a means to exchange information between individual companies. In the automotive parts industry in among SMEs, where no industry-standard EDI system has been established, many different terminals and screens must be used, due to the lack of system integration between companies. In addition, not many small and medium-sized businesses have introduced computer...
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...facilitate ecommerce through the use of business to business and business to customer technology. INFORMATION SYSTEMS IN BUSINESS What's the Buzz on Smart Grids? Case study 1. How smart grids differ from the current electricity infrastructure in the United States The current electricity infrastructure within the U.S. provides power to shoppers with the smart grid providing info of how shoppers use energy. This makes it exhausting to be able to develop varied methods and approaches to finding ways of optimally distributing power. This infrastructure conjointly doesn't effectively handle power that's generated from energy sources. On the opposite hand smart girds digitally deliver electricity from suppliers to shoppers in a vary means that enables back and forth communication between suppliers and shoppers thereby enhancing selections created on energy production and consumption. This helps in saving energy, reducing prices and pollution and increasing transparency and re-liableness since the smart grid system is able to apportion involuntary changes to the energy stations. This permitting induces the energy they have, enhancing higher energy distribution whereas preserving it at identical time (What's the Buzz on Smart Grids, 2010). 2. Management, organization and technology issues to be considered when developing a smart grid Such managerial controls need...
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...MKTG6MKTG6MKTG Chapter 4 Case Study: Daimler/BMW A New Breed of Driver Boasting 500,000 members, double-digit growth rates, and the largest selection of vehicles, Zipcar has firmly established itself as the leader in car-sharing programs. And while profitability for the business has yet to emerge, the demand is certainly there. Car ownership in many of the largest cities throughout the world has recently been flat or in decline, as major urban centers become increasingly crowded, with cities like Tokyo, New York, and London expected to see declines of car owners per capita over the next 15 years. Of New York residents, only 44 percent own cars. Analysts and researchers estimate 10 million drivers in the United States alone are open to participating in car sharing programs and car-sharing program memberships will rise to around 4.5 million in the United States and 5.5 million in Europe by 2016. The increasing business of car-sharing has already begun to encroach on the market for rental cars, and companies such as Hertz and Enterprise have developed their own car-sharing programs to supplement their rental businesses. Recently one unlikely group of organizations has taken its first steps in this segment as well—namely, automakers themselves. Automakers are hoping to reach this emerging target market in major urban areas—young, well-educated drivers, roughly age 18 to mid-30s, with good salaries, who are actively concerned about sustainability, pollution, and traffic congestion...
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