...Cambridge Software Corporation I. Problem Statement In November 2008 Cambridge Software Corporation (CSC) had to decide under high time pressure whether to develop and offer multiple versions of Modeler, a new cross-operating system computer-based software product as well as which customer segments to target at which price points. II. Situation Analysis Context and Company: CSC was founded in 1993 and has accumulated a lot of experience in developing computer software up until 2008. Vice president Paula Stewards helped to transform the company from offering products to the academic market to developing and selling computer software to the commercial market, with the latter accounting for 95% of revenues and almost all of the company´s profits in 2008. Moreover, in 2008 Kennedy hired Atkinson, who had relevant experience managing product lines of a range of computer and consumer-electronic products as product manager. Customers: The market consists of different customer segments: both the large, multidivisional organizations and the corporate and university laboratories require analytical and sophisticated software for multi-plant scheduling and experimental data analysis and show a higher willingness to pay for the industrial version compared with other segments. The consultants and professional companies and small businesses have the highest and second highest willingness to pay in the market for the student version and require less sophisticated models in order...
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...Harvard Business School 9-191-072 Rev. June 17, 1993 Cambridge Software Corporation “If we don’t decide soon, Paula, your people won’t have time to make changes in the software and to write the documentation for the student version, and my people won’t have time to publicize the software at colleges and with professors. It’s already Thanksgiving; any further delay, and we won’t be ready for the next academic year.” Tony Atkinson, the new product manager at Cambridge Software Corporation (CSC) was meeting with Paula Stewards, vice president, Software Development, and Chuck Kennedy, CSC’s president and chairman, in November 1989 to decide whether to offer multiple versions of Modeler, a new Lotus 1-2-3®-compatible modeling software product. Stewards responded to Atkinson’s appeal. “It’s easy for you to push for several versions of Modeler. After all, in your previous job, you were responsible for a line of many different clock radio models. Before that, it was toaster ovens. And before that, hand tools. But, for us, multiple product versions is a new concept. My people have enough trouble developing, documenting, and supporting one version of a software product. And you are pushing for three versions of a product of which we don’t have even one version ready!” Kennedy knew both Atkinson and Stewards were right in their own ways. He had hired Atkinson because he wanted CSC to move from offering single products to multi-version product lines. On the other hand, Stewards also...
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...The History of Information Technology March 2010 Draft version to appear in the Annual Review of Information Science and Technology, Vol. 45, 2011 Thomas Haigh thaigh@computer.org University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee Thomas Haigh The History of Information Technology – ARIST Draft 2 In many scholarly fields the new entrant must work carefully to discover a gap in the existing literature. When writing a doctoral dissertation on the novels of Nabokov or the plays of Sophocles, clearing intellectual space for new construction can be as difficult as finding space to erect a new building in central London. A search ensues for an untapped archive, an unrecognized nuance, or a theoretical framework able to demolish a sufficiently large body of existing work. The history of information technology is not such a field. From the viewpoint of historians it is more like Chicago in the mid-nineteenth century (Cronon, 1991). Building space is plentiful. Natural resources are plentiful. Capital, infrastructure, and manpower are not. Boosters argue for its “natural advantages” and promise that one day a mighty settlement will rise there. Speculative development is proceeding rapidly and unevenly. But right now the settlers seem a little eccentric and the humble structures they have erected lack the scale and elegance of those in better developed regions. Development is uneven and streets fail to connect. The native inhabitants have their ideas about how things should be done, which sometimes...
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...2011 Planning & Assessing RX 330 Productions for Toyota North America Team Charlie Oscar Oscar Lima AMBA 640, Section 9044 8/9/2011 Section I II III Executive summary Introduction Exercise 1: Toyota Production System (TPS) today TPS term definitions & practical examples IV Exercise 1: TPS as a total entity Advantages Limitations Evolution TPS use among other companies V Exercise 2: Grid analysis (Weighted scoring model) Exogenous factors & assumptions Endogenous factors & assumptions Constraints VI VII Exercise 2: Location recommendation Exercise 3: Decision tree analysis TMMC production capacity recommendation Limitations Past performance: RX 330/350 VIII Exercise 4: Current regional production strategy Assessment Change recommendations IX Summary Appendix A References Page 2 3 4 4 7 7 8 8 9 10 11 13 16 16 17 17 18 19 19 19 21 21 23 24 1 I. Executive Summary Toyota Motor Corporation is leading the way to future mobility through innovation, productivity, quality and efficiency. Toyota uses a self-developed strategy known as the Toyota Production System (TPS) to guide business process improvements. This strategy applies principles of “just-in-time” production, also called “lean”, to align supply closely with consumer demand while avoiding surplus inventory. The report defines eight TPS terms, i.e. jidoka, just-intime, hoshin, heijunka, muda, kaizen, standardized work, and pokayoke; and gives examples of how terms are applied in other industries...
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...Academy of Management Review 2003, Vol. 28, No. 3, 447–465. THE CROSS-NATIONAL DIVERSITY OF CORPORATE GOVERNANCE: DIMENSIONS AND DETERMINANTS RUTH V. AGUILERA University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign GREGORY JACKSON Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry We develop a theoretical model to describe and explain variation in corporate governance among advanced capitalist economies, identifying the social relations and institutional arrangements that shape who controls corporations, what interests corporations serve, and the allocation of rights and responsibilities among corporate stakeholders. Our “actor-centered” institutional approach explains firm-level corporate governance practices in terms of institutional factors that shape how actors’ interests are defined (“socially constructed”) and represented. Our model has strong implications for studying issues of international convergence. Corporate governance concerns “the structure of rights and responsibilities among the parties with a stake in the firm” (Aoki, 2000: 11). Yet the diversity of practices around the world nearly defies a common definition. Internationalization has sparked policy debates over the transportability of best practices and has fueled academic studies on the prospects of international convergence (Guillen, 2000; Rubach & Sebora, ´ 1998; Thomas & Waring, 1999). What the salient national differences in corporate governance are and how they should best be conceptualized remain hotly debated...
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...International Journal of Education and Development using Information and Communication Technology (IJEDICT), 2008, Vol. 4, Issue 1, pp. 49-65. The Internet in developing countries: a medium of economic, cultural and political domination Abdulkafi Albirini University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA ABSTRACT The last decade has witnessed an unprecedented diffusion of network technologies into developing countries. The technological discourse attending this diffusion has presented the new media as a utopian, egalitarian and empowering tool with the potential of ushering in a new era of development, democracy, and positive cultural change. This paper examines the economic, cultural, and political effects of the Internet within the historical context of developing countries. The paper traces the politically-inspired evolution of the Internet, its transfer into developing countries, and the economic, cultural, and political consequences of this transfer. Existing data indicate that the implementation of the Internet in most developing countries has served as a drain to the local resources, thus exacerbating their economic dependency on foreign nations. On a cultural level, the Internet’s predominantly Western design, content, and language have facilitated the proliferation of alien cultural patterns at the expense of the social experiences of the local cultures. Lastly, the Internet’s build-in tracking capabilities and its current manipulation for political purposes on international...
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...classification of these complexes is laid out, and their inward and outward relations to global markets are considered. On this basis, a critical discussion of local economic policy options focused on cultural-products industries is offered. Contrasting examples of development initiatives in major global cities, in selected old manufacturing towns, and in the Multimedia Super Corridor of Malaysia are briefly presented. It is suggested that the growth and spread of localized production agglomerations based on cultural-products industries are leading not to cultural uniformity but to greatly increased diversity at the global level. Keywords: agglomeration; cultural economy; globalization; industrial districts; local economic development; place marketing Over the past decade or so, the industrial profile of many countries has tilted perceptibly in the direction of a new creative or cultural economy. In some countries, indeed, the cultural economy is now one of the major frontiers of expansion of output and employment. This turn of events is actually one facet of the wider resurgence of a so-called new economy generally in AUTHOR’S NOTE: This research was supported by the National Science...
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...coordinated by Linsu Kim and Dieter Ernst Comments welcome, please do not quote December 2001 2 The role of information technology for production networks in developing countries cannot be assessed without an analysis of the profound changes in the productive structure of global capitalism. In contrast to the general perception of the “informational economy” (Carnoy e.a. 1993, Castells 1996) as service- or science-based, it has to be stressed that in the "new economy" manufacturing continues to matter (Cohen/Zysman 1987). In the electronics industry, a new model of outsourced manufacturing has emerged as a centerpiece of globalized production networks: Contract Manufacturing (CM) or Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS). This form of network-based mass production closely linked to the emergence of the “Wintelist” (Borrus/Zysman 1997 model of competition and the rise of “fabless” product design companies in key sectors of the information technology (IT) industry. Our analysis of electronics contract manufacturing explores three interrelated sets of questions: • • the patterns of vertical specialization and globalization in the IT-industry, as related to new industry structures and changing architecture of IT-networks; the shift from traditional multinational corporations to global network flagships (Ernst 2001) that develop transnational and regional production networks with hierarchical layers of participants; the possible impact...
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...FACTORS AFFECTING PERFORMANCE OF COMMERCIAL BANKS IN KENYA BY MAURICE MUIRURI KAARIUKI A RESEARCH PROPOSAL SUBMITTED TO THE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF MASTERS IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION, DEGREE OF KENYATTA UNIVERSITY. JULY, 2014 DECLARATION Declaration by the Researcher This research is my original work and has not been presented for a degree in any other University. No part of this study may be reproduced without prior authority of the author and/or Kenyatta University. Signature……………………………………………………… Date………………………. Maurice Muiruri Kariuki Declaration by the Supervisor This research proposal has been submitted for examination with my approval as the university supervisor. Signature……………………………………………………… Date………………………. Name (PhD.) School of Business ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I take this opportunity to express my gratitude and regards to Professor name (PhD.) for his guidance. I am indebted to all the persons and institutions that offered support, encouragement and prayers to me during the entire research. Lastly, I thank almighty, my parents, brother, sisters and friends for their constant encouragement without which this assignment would not be possible. ABSTRACT The study seeks to investigate the factors affecting performance of commercial banks in Kenya. The Background of the study reveals that there has been continued globalization and economic cooperation among the...
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...ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY Y U K O A O YA M A J A M E S T. M U R P H Y SUSAN HANSON KEY CONCEPTS IN key concepts in economic geography The Key Concepts in Human Geography series is intended to provide a set of companion texts for the core fields of the discipline. To date, students and academics have been relatively poorly served with regards to detailed discussions of the key concepts that geographers use to think about and understand the world. Dictionary entries are usually terse and restricted in their depth of explanation. Student textbooks tend to provide broad overviews of particular topics or the philosophy of Human Geography, but rarely provide a detailed overview of particular concepts, their premises, development over time and empirical use. Research monographs most often focus on particular issues and a limited number of concepts at a very advanced level, so do not offer an expansive and accessible overview of the variety of concepts in use within a subdiscipline. The Key Concepts in Human Geography series seeks to fill this gap, providing detailed description and discussion of the concepts that are at the heart of theoretical and empirical research in contemporary Human Geography. Each book consists of an introductory chapter that outlines the major conceptual developments over time along with approximately twenty-five entries on the core concepts that constitute the theoretical toolkit of geographers working within a specific subdiscipline. Each entry provides...
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...Nokia has detailed many personality characteristics for its brand, but employees do not have to remember every characteristic. They do, however, have to remember the overall impression of the list of attributes, as you would when thinking about someone you have met. As the focus is on customer relationships, the Nokia personality is like a trusted friend. Building friendship and trust is at the heart of the Nokia brand. And the human dimension created by the brand personality carries over into the positioning strategy for the brand. Nokia Positioning When Nokia positions its brand in the crowded mobile phone marketplace, its message must clearly bring together the technology and human side of its offer in a powerful way. The specific message that is conveyed to consumers in every advertisement and market communication (though not necessarily in these words) is "Only Nokia Human Technolgy enables you to get more out of life" In many cases, this is represented by the tag line, "We call this human technology". This gives consumers a sense of trust and consideration by the company, as though to say that Nokia understand what they want in life, and how it can help. And it knows that technology is really only an enabler so that you-the customer-can enjoy a better life. Nokia thus uses a combination of aspirational, benefit-based, emotional features, and competition-driven positioning strategies. It owns the "human" dimension of mobile communications, leaving its competitors wondering...
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...of profitable customers in Indian retail banking sector. The study comprises two parts. The first part called the CRM best practices survey involves the use of descriptive research design. The second part viz. case study research involves the use of embedded customer loyalty survey. The hypothesis testing based on literal and theoretical replication is done using the concept of pattern matching. The findings reveal that there is no perfect bank, as yet, across the three bank types, which has deployed all the 29 CRM best practices to the fullest extent. The results of literal and theoretical replication done by using pattern matching technique indicates no strong association between deployment of CRM best practices in scheduled commercial banks and loyalty levels of both high and medium relationship value retail customers. The study develops a list of 29 CRM best practices, which may be helpful to the organizations toward achieving comprehensive CRM deployment. The results also imply that going for CRM deployment...
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...circulated to stimulate discussions and critical comments IDE DISCUSSION PAPER No. 256 Performance of Financial Institutions in Bhutan Dil Bahadur Rahut* Iván Velásquez Castellanos** Pravakar Sahoo*** Abstract The Kingdom of Bhutan is a small landlocked country in South Asia, located in the eastern Himalayas, and bordered by India and China. Bhutan is a small and fragile economy with a population of about 687,000. Nevertheless, its banking system plays an essential role in the growth and development of the country. This paper analyzes the financial performance, the development and growth of bank and non-bank financial institutions of Bhutan for the period 19992008 using both traditional and data envelopment analysis (DEA). The DEA analysis shows that financial institutions in are efficient and Bhutan National Bank has been the most efficient one. Overall, the paper finds that the ROE of the financial institutions in Bhutan are comparable to the international banks. Key words: Financial institution, performance, loan, deposit, net income, Bhutan. JEL Classification: G20; G21; G28; O16 *Chief, Research, Planning and Monitoring Department, Bank of Bhutan, Bhutan. Email: dilbhutan@yahoo.com **Bolivia Country Programme Coordinator, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS). Email: velasquezivanomar@yahoo.com ***Associate Professor, Institute of Economic Growth, New Delhi, India and Visiting Research Fellow, Institute of Developing Economies, Japan. Email: pravakarfirst@yahoo...
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...SOCIAL INNOVATOR SERIES: WAYS TO DESIGN, DEVELOP AND GROW SOCIAL INNOVATION DANGER AND OPPORTUNITY CRISIS AND THE NEW SOCIAL ECONOMY Robin Murray 2 TITLE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This essay was written while the author was a Visiting Fellow at NESTA and forms part of a series of publications on methods of social innovation led by the Young Foundation with the support of NESTA. I would like to thank NESTA for their support, and in particular Dr Michael Harris, as well as my colleagues at the Young Foundation, Julie Caulier-Grice and Geoff Mulgan, all of whom have given valuable comments on the text. Published September 2009 CONTENTS 1 CONTENTS 1. The argument 2 5 9 23 39 52 54 55 2. The context of crisis 3. The emerging economic landscape 4. Can the new social economy respond? 5. Social innovation and the crisis of policy Bibliography Weblinks Endnotes 2 DANGER AND OPPORTUNITY CRISIS AND THE NEW SOCIAL ECONOMY 1 THE ARGUMENT The rise of the new social economy This pamphlet argues that the early years of the 21st century are witnessing the emergence of a new kind of economy that has profound implications for the future of public services as well as for the daily life of citizens. This emerging economy can be seen in many fields, including the environment, care, education, welfare, food and energy. It combines some old elements and many new ones. I describe it as a ‘social economy’ because it melds features...
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...Brunel Business School Draft Working Paper: November 2006 Innovation: Basic Concepts and Models By S. N. Nasirpourosgoei and A-M Coles For many firms the development of new products is a major business activity, although Ettlie (2006) points out that many new products are merely copies or imitations of existing ones. The study of innovation is concerned with identifying how firms use their existing knowledge and technical resources to develop goods, processes and services that are significantly novel. Innovation is often seen as a key driver of economic growth for a country and increased firm productivity (Gann, 2003 cited in Abbott and Jeong, 2006). Trott (2005) demonstrates that the industrial revolution of the nineteenth century was fuelled by technological innovations, while Abbott and Jeong (2006) argue that there is now increasing emphasis on the importance of innovation for long-term economic success. At an organisational level, specific benefits include such factors as market growth, reductions in production cost, competitive positioning and opening up of new markets (Slaughter, 1998). For Ettlie the key questions in the study of innovation relate to the way some firms can utilise individual creativity in innovation more successfully than others. Innovation is has become a vital part of business survival and is supported by much academic study into reasons for its success and failure, for example, in 1994 – 1995, 275 books published in the US had the word ‘innovation’...
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