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Monday 31 October 2016

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                                                                            IS05

                                                   Fundamentals of E-Commerce

(For CNM Cases)
                                                                    Assignment - II
  Assignment Code: 2016IS05A2                                                               Last Date of Submission: 30th April 2016
                                                                                                              Maximum Marks: 100
Attempt all the questions. All the questions are compulsory and carry equal marks.
                                                                          Section-A
1          Explain the difference between symmetric key encryption and public key encryption.   Which of e-         commerce security do these systems address?
2          How to make Internet banking and investment transactions safe?
3          What should be the goals and objectives of an e-business website?

4          What do you understand by Message Authentication? How is this issue addressed in e-                        transactions?
Section-B
Case study

A big manufacturing house is facing difficulty in implementing distributed database system for its ERP application. They decided to integrate all departments in all the manufacturing units situated in different countries by hosting a dedicated web site with dedicated database server. To start with they decided to put sales and distribution department online. The user of the web site can perform operations such as: Add/ Edit sales order, add/edit customer information, add/edit details of distribution centre, check accounts receivable of customer, check ware house status, implement sales transaction from warehouse to customer/Distributor, etc.

Propose the detailed design and implementation of the web application.




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MANAGEMENT PROBLEMS 1

Marsha Jackson is a recent MBA graduate with a degree in marketing. She has accepted a position with General America, a large firm selling a number of consumer products. Her first assignment is to conduct research on the sales of one of her company’s products versus sales of competing products.

This division is responsible for sales of over-the-counter drugs such as headache remedies, indigestion cures, and similar products. In business school, Marsha had worked with a personal computer in her MBA program and was happy to see that General America had a local area network (LAN) for the marketing department subscribed to several different services that provided sales results for over-the-counter drugs. Some of her fellow workers had private databases, and a few even keyed data into their PCs from lengthy printouts they had purchased.

Marsha feels that there must be a better way to conduct market research, particularly given the fact that the department has a LAN with a lot of capacity. What solutions to this problem can you recommend?

MANAGEMENT PROBLEMS 2

Assume you have just been appointed to chair the board of a medium sized manufacturing firm that makes small consumer appliances. The company has experienced stagnant growth over the past five years, and a new board of directors was recently elected by dissident stockholders.

One of your first tasks is to help top management discover why sales are constant and profits have been declining. Currently, the firm is faced with excessive inventory and problems in acquiring raw materials. Prices for these materials have been fluctuating widely in recent months; the previous management seems to have been unable to cope with this problem.

How will you approach this task? What sources of information will you seek to help understand and solve problems in the company?

MANAGEMENT PROBLEMS 3

The governor of a state is confronted with a series of conflicting recommendations from his staff. Recently welfare costs have been dropping, and he is concerned that they will start to rise again.

The director of the state welfare department suggested in her report that the new reduced payments schedule passed by the legislature has reduced overall expenditures and so the downward trend will continue. The governor’s advisor for economic affairs indicated that the recent improvement in the state’s economy had resulted in large increases in employment. These new jobs are attracting people and taking them off the welfare roles. A state senate leader, however, felt that most of the change resulted from enforcing requirements for welfare, limits on how long one can collect payments, and requirements to work.

Who is right? What is responsible for so many different positions? How can the governor reconcile these conflicting viewpoints and arrive at the true cause of the problem?



MANAGEMENT PROBLEMS 4

Dave Masters in vice president of manufacturing for Siliconix, an electronic components manufacturer. Siliconix runs most of its production control and factory systems on an IBM mainframe computer. The firm has just purchased another company that makes similar components, but the newly purchased another company that makes similar components, but the newly purchased division runs its applications using a package called SAP R/3 on a client-server computer configuration.

Masters has to decide what to do about the different computer applications. The staff of the corporate management department wants to make the new division feel welcome and does not want to upset its employees. Staff members argue that SAP is probably better than their old custom-programmed system on the mainframe. However, the implementation of SAP is a major task, and they do not recommend undertaking it right now. They are content to run the two systems separately.

Masters is concerned because he feels the entire company would be better off with a single production control system. However, he recognizes that the merger will cause some disruptions, and he questions the wisdom of undertaking a major systems conversion at the same time.

What do you recommend? How should Masters go about making his decision?









MANAGEMENT PROBLEM 5

Block and Thomas, a regional stockbrokerage firm, hired a chief information officer (CIO), a senior manager who is responsible for all technology in the firm. The brokerage firm uses technology heavily as is typical in the industry. Block and Thomas has a number of systems to process stock trades and support its brokers. It also subscribes to a broker workstation system provided by a market data vendor. Each broker has a personal computer that provides a great deal of data and analytic capabilities in different windows on the screen.

The new CIO surveyed users and potential users at Block and Thomas. He concluded that in the past, users had very negative attitudes toward systems. However, the interviews he conducted convinced him that users’ attitudes were now different. The users described problems but also mentioned that they were very optimistic about the potential of technology and wished they could implement the technology faster. The new CIO was surprised by the creative suggestions that came from users during the interviews.

What events do you think are responsible for the new attitudes on the part of users? How can the CIO take advantage of them?


MANAGEMENT PROBLEM 6

The traditional organization is characterized by tacit understandings among managers and subordinates. In some instances, the rights and responsibilities of each group are contained in a detailed contract, such as the one between a union and management. Under a tacit understanding, an employee responds to a supervisor for a number of reasons. Custom or habit is a very important reason; organizations throughout history have functional through a hierarchical relationship like that found in the armed forces. A manager usually has the ability to determine the subordinate’s pay and can even arrange to have the subordinate dismissed. Because there is a long history of this type of relationship, most people in organizations are quite comfortable with it.

In some of the organizations described in this chapter, managers form alliances with various partners. These alliance firms may provide a virtual component for your organization. However, the employees involved in this alliance do work for two different firms. How does a manager manage under these conditions? Suppose that your firm enters into a relationship with another firm to take over its inventory of raw materials and to become a just-in-time supplier. The partner firm hires your former inventory employees so they no longer work directly for you. Describe the role of a manager in working with an alliance partner that provides you with a virtual component of your firm?














MANAGEMENT PROBLEM 7

Boats-R-Us operates a group of 50 discount marine supply houses throughout the U.S., primarily on the east and west coasts and around the Great Lakes. The company has both walk-in and mail-order business. It has been organized traditionally as a retail store and several warehouses. A central order processing site accepts orders over 800 numbers and by mail and fax: this site distributes the order to the warehouse that is closest to the customer and that has the products requested in stock. A large number of purchasing agents is involved in determining what to stock and in negotiating purchases.

The president of the company has read about new organizational forms enabled by information technology. The only technology in place now is the order entry and warehouse inventory system. The president would like to make Boats-R-Us both more efficient and more responsive to its customers. What new kinds of organization forms for Boats-R-Us might be enabled by information technology?




MANAGEMENT PROBLEM 8

Harold Rubin has spent a career in banking. He how works for a large money-center bank that has global presence. However, Harold is worried: He has been the explosion in interest in the Internet and World Wide Web, and he thinks there will be profound implications from IT for banking. The picture is confused, however. Some banks are reducing the number of physical branches as they are expensive in terms of real estate and labor. The banks replace branches with ATMs and phone banking; other banks offer PC banking so that customers can do almost everything they can in a branch from home. They are usually able to pay bills via their home computers as well.

To Rubin, these changes seem evolutionary and rather mild. He has read articles about electronic commerce and even shopped on the Web to try it out. He also sees small firms becoming global as they advertise their products on the Web. What kinds of banking services will these firms want? How will changes in commerce and life styles influence what customers, both individual and corporations, want from a bank? Will a bank become “a piece of computer software on a network,” a statement attributed to the chairman of Citibank?


MANAGEMENT PROBLEM 9

Standard International (SI) is the subsidiary of a large manufacturing firm; it is responsible for marketing, sales, and distribution outside the United States. Standard International does not develop products; the parent firm creates all products it sells. SI has operations in 30 countries. In virtually all these countries the local SI operations in treated legally as a subsidiary of Standard International.

Recently a new president took control of SI. Historically the firm’s systems were oriented to finance and accounting because the technology group reports to the vice president of finance. Accounting applications are important because so many different currencies are involved. The new president, however, is impatient and feels that technology should be able to do something for marketing and sales.

She asked you to consult with SI in the hope of finding a strategic application for information technology: “I want something that will give us a competitive edge,” she said. What kind of process would you follow to try to identify a strategic application? What applications areas look promising? How does a firm like SI develop a strategic system? How does it establish and maintain a competitive advantage?





MANAGEMENT PROBLEM 10

Autozip sells accessories for cars through a chain of stores on the West Coast. The company started a catalog sales division 4 years ago that now accounts for 25 percent of sales. Customers like the convenience of calling a toll-free number and having the parts they order delivered via USP or an overnight carrier such as Federal Express.

The president of Autozip realizes that the firm needs to have a presence on the Internet. He is trying to decide whether to accept orders on the Internet. He is trying so decide whether to accept orders on the Web, and if so, how. He is caught between two positions offered by his staff. The marketing vice president advocates taking orders on the Web. Her reasoning is: What have we got to lose? We have everything to gain; it’s another market channel and our competitors are already there or will be soon. We save money because customers act as their own order entry personnel.

The controller disagrees. His reasoning is: Any advantage we gain will be temporary; it is so easy to set up a system to order on the Web that everyone will take Web orders and we won’t gain a sustainable advantage.

The president has to make a decision. First, should Autozip accept orders on the Web, and second, if so, how? Should it go to a firm that hosts Web marketplaces, buy software and set up its own site, or develop its own software?





MANAGEMENT PROBLEM 11

Hershey and Sherman is a medium-sized consulting firm that specializes in helping clients install “enterprise software,” the kind of applications packages that automate all aspects of a company’s operations. The company has always stayed at a high level, and according to Sheila Hershey, “We deal with management to prepare a change program. We are not programmers.” However, the tremendous success of several enterprise software packages, most notably SAP’s R/3 and a series of applications from Oracle and PeopleSoft, have created a problem for Hershey and Sherman.

Clients are asking for recommendations from the firm on whether to purchase one of these packages, and then they want help implementing it. Sheila is confronted with several choices for responding. “We can try to hire more technical people, but everything we read and hear says that it is very difficult to find consultants with expertise in these systems. The demand is very high, and all of the big consulting firms have practices devoted to installing SAP. Hiring specialists would also change the character of our firm.

“Another option is to form an alliance with a firm that does have technical capabilities. We can continue to do our high-level management consulting and then bring in a firm appropriate to the client’s needs. The problem here is that we may be helping provide our competitors with business—one day we are partners, the next day we are after the same client.”

What advice would you give Hershey and Sherman? What are the pros and cons of strategic alliances in this situation?






MANAGEMENT PROBLEM 12

Bill Roberts is the chief information officer for a multinational company. He reports to the company president and has a staff of 50 at headquarters. This group runs systems for the headquarters operation and also tries to provide standards for subsidiaries in foreign countries.

Headquarters has developed a standard library of financial and accounting applications that runs on most of the computers in the subsidiaries. (Bill was successful a few years ago in getting all the subsidiaries expect the largest to agree on one model of computer.) Since many of the subsidiaries are not large and have trouble recruiting skilled technology staff members, they are quite happy with the library of programs.

Each Country has its own information services department manager, generally reporting to the controller or possibly the president of the subsidiary. Bill and his staff travel extensively to try to help each subsidiary better manage its technology effort.

Bill is facing a major problem in at least two countries; he and his staff think the local person in charge of information systems is not doing a good job. “After several years of working with the people in charge in two countries, I have come to the conclusion that we really should let them go. However, I have no real responsibility; these people report to a manager in the country, not to me.”

How can Bill help the company solve this problem? Do you think they need to reorganize the structure of their IT units? Does it make sense to have foreign operations reporting to Bill? If not, how can he influence what goes on in subsidiaries outside the U.S.?

Sunday 30 October 2016

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                                                                            IS04

                                                             Computer Networks

(For CNM Cases)
                                                                     Assignment II
  Assignment Code: 2016IS04A2                                                    Last Date of Submission: 30th April 2016
                                                                                                   Maximum Marks: 100
Attempt all the questions. All the questions are compulsory and carry equal marks.
                                                                          Section-A
1          a)           Why does network segmentation improve LAN performance?
                b)            Why network needs security? What are the types of security threats?
2          Explain how the Internet is a network of Networks?  Give the entire process indicating the various          protocols used, the hardware required & the software used.
3          Document one backbone network in detail. What devices are attached, what cabling is used, and what is               the topology? What networks does the backbone connect?
4          Give  a brief of who’s who in the internet standards world. Also describe their efforts for          evolving new                    internet architecture based on 1PVG.
                                                                          Section-B
Cathy’s Collectibles (Case Study)
Your cousin Cathy runs a part-time business out of her apartment.  She buys and sells collectibles such as antique prints, baseball cards, and cartoon cells and has recently discovered the Web with its many auction sites.  She has begun buying and selling on the Web by bidding on collectibles at lesser-known sites and selling them at a profit at more well-known sites.  She downloads and uploads lots of graphics (pictures of the items she’s buying and selling).  She is getting frustrated with the slow Internet access she has with her 56-Kbps dial-up modem and asks you for advice.  DSL is available at a cost of $60 per month for 1.5 Mbps down and 384 Kbps up.  Cable modem service is available for a cost of $50 per month for 1.5 Mbps down and 640 Kbps up.  Wireless DSL is available in her apartment building for $45 per month for 1.5 Mbps down and 256 Kbps up.  Explain the differences in these services and make a recommendation.

                Questions:

a.            Suppose you joined a company that had a WAN composed of SONET, T carrier services, ATM, and frame relay, each selected to match a specific network need for a certain set of circuits.  Would you say this was a well-designed network?  Explain.
b.            What is a VPN?  What are three types of VPN?


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CASE 1:    Spirituality in the workplace

Traditionally, the workplace and spirituality did not mix in America. But things are changing. Andre Delbecq, a Professor in Santa Clara University, a Jesuit institution, said: “There were two things I thought I’d never see in my life, the fall of the Russian empire and God being spoken about in a business school.” Now management books and conferences (including the annual meeting of the Academy of Management) deal with the various aspects of how God can be brought into the organizational environment. To be sure, people who want to integrate spiritual dimensions into the workplace are still considered rebels. But ServiceMaster, a Fortune 500 company with some 75,000 employees, created a spiritual organization culture many years ago. Indeed, Peter Drucker, one of the most prolific writers on management, had high regards for the company that is known for its products such as Terminix (pest control), TruGreen, Merry Maids, and others.
When people in the US were asked if they believe in God, some 95 per cent said yes. It is in a spiritual context that business people under the daily pressure can discuss their inner feelings. As the baby boomers, now in their 50s, are reaching the top in the organizational life, they begin to wonder what life is all about. They lived through the youth culture of the 1960s and the 1980s that was dominated by greed. They are now questioning the real meaning of life and the ethical dimension of work. Jose Zeilstra, an executive at Price WaterhouseCoopers worked around the world, practicing her Christian principles in different cultures. During her assignment in China, she strongly argued against the practice of giving “very expensive gifts.” As a result the business transaction did not work out. Yet, in the long run, while integrating her personal beliefs with her work, resulted in a very successful career. Academic institutions such a the University of St. Thomas, the University of Denver, and the Harvard Divinity School are following and studying the movement of spirituality. Other schools such as Antioch University in Los Angeles, the University of New Haven in Connecticut, the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania, Santa Clara University in California as well as institutions abroad such as the University of Bath in England and the Indian Centre for Encouraging Excellence in Bombay, India, are conducting research, conferences, or lecture on spirituality.
The cover story of Business week (November 1, 1999) discussed how company outlets such as Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and McDonald’s as well as the Xerox Corporation pay attention to spiritual needs of their employees. Some companies claim an increase in productivity, decrease in turnover, and a reduction in fear. A research study by the consulting firm McKinsey & Co. in Australia showed that firms with spiritual programmes showed reduced turnover and improved productivity. Professor Ian I Mitroff at the University of Southern California even stated, “Spirituality could be the ultimate competitive advantage.” But there is also the concern that cult members and groups with a radical perspective could use the workplace for their own aims. Still, employees in companies that integrate spirituality in their work place count on the potential benefits of greater respect for individuals, a more humane treatment of their fellow workers, and an environment that permeates their organization with greater trust.

Question:
1. What is spirituality?
2. Is this topic appropriate for businesses?
3. What are the arguments for and against its inclusion in business?































CASE  2:  Coke’s European Scare

What seemed like an isolated incident of a few bad cans of Coca-Cola at a school in Belgium turned into near disaster for the soft drink giant’s European operations. In June 1999, Coke experienced its worst nightmare—a contamination scare resulting in the recall of 14 million cases of Coke products in five European countries and a huge blow to consumer confidence in the quality and safety of the world’s most recognizable brand.
After the initial scare in Bornem, Belgium, Coke and Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE), a bottler 40 per cent owned by Coca-Cola, thought they isolated the problem. Scientists at the CCE bottling plant in Antwerp found that lapses in quality control had led to contaminated carbon dioxide that were used in the bottling of a recent batch of Coke. Company officials saw the contamination as minor problem and they issued an apology to the school.
At the same time that the problems were being dealt with an Antwerp, things were breaking down at Coke’s Dunkirk, France, bottling plant. In Belsele, 10 miles from Bornem, children and teachers were complaining of illnesses related to drinking Coke products. The vending machines at the school were stocked with Coke from the company’s Dunkirk plant and were thought to be safe. Now a second bottling plant’s practices were being questioned. What initially seemed like an isolated incident was now a crisis.
Immediately following the second scare, Belgium’s health minister banned the sale of all products produced in the Antwerp and Dunkirk plants. Things got worse when Coke gave an incomplete set of recall codes to a school in Lochristi, Belgium, resulting in 38 children being rushed to the hospital. Immediately following this incident, French officials banned the sale of soft drinks produced in the Dunkirk plant. It was believed that fungicide on wooden shipping pallets were the cause of the illnesses at the Dunkirk plant.
On June 15, 1999, 11 days after the initial scare in Bornem, Coke finally issued an explanation to the public. Most Europeans were not satisfied. Coca-Cola officials used vague language and often contradicted one another when making statements. France’s health minister, Bernard Kouchner, stated, “That a company so very expert in advertising and marketing should be so poor in communicating on this matter is astonishing”
After three weeks of testing by both Coke officials and French government scientists, it was concluded that the plants were safe and that there was no immediate threat to the health of consumers. Coke has destroyed all of the pallets in Dunkirk and tightened quality control on co2.
How could this happen to the company that is revered worldwide for its quality control and the superiority of its products? Coke has spent decades building its reputation overseas and the European market now represent 73 per cent of total profits. While the scare has had some effect on Coke’s profits in Europe, the company is more concerned with damages to its reputation and consumer confidence in its products.
Many critics say that Coke’s slow response time, insisting that no real problem existed and belated apology have severely damaged the company’s reputation in Europe. Some would disagree and feel that Coke handled the situation as best it could. “I think that Coke acted in a responsible, diligent way,” says John Sitcher, editor of Beverage Digest. “Their first responsibility was to ascertain the facts in a clear and unequivocal way. And as soon as Coke knew what the facts were, they put out a statement to the Belgium people.”
The character and quality of a company can often be measured by how it responds to adversity. Coca-Cola believes that this crisis has forced the company to re-examine both its marketing and management strategies in Europe. Coke executives in Brussels are predicting that the company will double its European sales in the next decade and that this setback will only make the company stronger. Wall Street analysts seem to agree. Only time will tell.


Question:
1. What are the management issues in this case?
2. What did Coke do and what could have been done differently?
What are the key factors that were or should have been considered by management?













CASE  3  Trials and Challenges For Barrett at Intel
Intel Corporation is best known for its processors. The sign “Intel Inside” is familiar to most people using a computer. There is, for example, the Pentium 3 and 4 and the new generation Itanium. For servers and workstations, Intel produces Xeon. The colorful CEO Andy Grove led the company for many years. By 2001,  however, the Chief Executive Officer Craig R. Barrett faces many challenges, including criticism.
The new strategy of moving into new markets such as information appliances, communications, and Internet services was costly and so far less than successful. In fact, the move beyond its core businesses may have detracted from its core business of computer chips. These new directions resulted in frequent reorganizations resulting in organizational uncertainties for the managers. While some think that the frequent changes were necessary to adapt to new situations and to keep the organization agile, others disagree.
Barrett’s leadership and his moves into various directions is quite different from Grove’s carefully crafted strategy that focused on chips. Barrett’s personal strengths lie in manufacturing. He invested heavily in research and development. But new products such as the Itanium require several years before they show results, and Barrett has only a few more years before his retirement. Investing in new manufacturing technologies with the aim of achieving virtually automated plants results in the reduction of manufacturing costs of chips. But the PC market is stagnated in the early 21st century and wireless communication and cell phones are becoming important in the market. In the cell phone market, for example, Motorola and Texas Instruments are developing new digital signal processors and Intel would have to work hard to catch up. A key to success of Intel may be whether the company can become an important player in the wireless market. Barrett made a number of costly acquisitions, including Level One Communications. But the question remains if the heavy investments in new technologies will result in profitable businesses. This may determine the legacy of Craig Barrett.
Question:
1. What is your assessment of Barrett’s performance and his vision for Intel? Is he the right person for the job at Intel?
2. What are some problems associated with frequent reorganization?
3. What are the pros and cons for focusing on the distant futures and the heavy investments in new technologies?


CASE: 4   Profiles of Two Visionaries—Bill Gates & Steve Jobs
Two men have their hearts and souls for developing their visions have driven the personal computer revolution. However, the way in which each of these men went about this quest has been different. Steve Jobs and Bill Gates have changed the way the world does business, but the story of their leadership styles is even more compelling than the success spawned Apple and Microsoft.
Gates and Jobs: The Early Years  Bill Gates started developing his computer skills with his childhood friend Paul Allen at Lakeside School in Seattle. At the age of 14, the two had formed their first computer company. After high school, Allen and Gates left Seattle for Boston. Gates was off to Harvard and Allen began working for Honeywell. After only two years at Harvard, Gates and Allen left Boston for Albuquerque to develop a computer language for the new Altair 8080 personal computer. This computer language would become BASIC and was the foundation for Microsoft, which was created as a partnership in 1975.
After five years in New Mexico, Microsoft relocated to Bellevue, Washington in 1980 with BASIC and two other computer languages (COBOL and FORTRAN) in its arsenal. Later that year IBM began developing its first PC and was in need of an operating system. Microsoft developed the Microsoft Disk Operating System (MS-DOS) for IBM while two other companies created competing systems. Gates’ determination and persuasion of other software firms to develop programs for MS-DOS made it the default IBM platform.
As Microsoft became more successful, Gates realized that he needed help managing Microsoft. His enthusiasm, vision, and hard work were the driving force behind the company’s growth, but he recognized the need for professional management. Gates brought in another one of his friends from Harvard, Steve Ballmer. Ballmer had worked for Proctor & Gamble after graduating from Harvard and was pursuing his MBA at Stanford University. Gates persuaded Ballmer to leave school and join Microsoft. Over the years, Ballmer has become an indispensable asset to both Gates and Microsoft. In 1983, Gates continued to show his brilliance by hiring Jon Shirley who brought order to Microsoft and streamlined the organizational structure, while Ballmer served as an advisor and sounding board for Gates. Microsoft continued to grow and prosper in the 1990s and Gates became the richest man in the world with Microsoft dominating the operating systems market and the office suite software market with Microsoft Office.
Gates recognized that his role was to be the visionary of the company, but that he needed professional managers to run the operations of Microsoft. He combined his unyielding determination and passion with a well-structured management team to make Microsoft the giant it is today.
The other visionary, Steve Jobs, and his friend Steve Wosniak started Apple Computer in Job’s garage in Los Altos, California in 1976. In contrast to Bill Gates, Jobs and Wosniak were hardware experts and started with the vision for a personal computer that was affordable and easy to use. When Microsoft offered BASIC to Apple, Jobs immediately dismissed the idea on the basis that he and Wosniak could create their own version of BASIC in a weekend. This was typical Jobs: decisive and almost maniacal at times. However, Jobs eventually agreed to license Microsoft’s BASIC while pursuing his vision of developing a more usable and friendly interface for the PC.
Jobs, seen by some as the anti-Gates, is a trailblazer and a creator as opposed to Gates who is more of a consolidator of industry standards. Jobs, whose goal was to change the world with his computers, was very demanding of his employees. Jobs was not a hard-core computer programmer, but he sold the idea of the personal computer to the public. He changed the direction of Apple by developing the Macintosh (Mac) that used a new Graphical User Interface (GUI) that introduced the world to the mouse and on-screen icons. With all this success, there was a major problem developing at Apple: Steve Jobs was overconfident and did not see Gates and Microsoft as a serious threat to Apple.
Soon after the release of the Macintosh computer, Jobs asked Microsoft to develop software for the Mac operating system. Gates obliged and proceeded to launch a project copying and improving Apple’s user interface. The result of this venture was what became Microsoft Windows.
  Jobs’ cocky attitude and the lack of management skills contributed to Apple’s problems. He never bothered to develop budgets and neglected his relationship with his employees. Wosniak left Apple due to differences with Jobs. In 1985, John Scully, formerly CEO of PepsiCo, was hired to replace Steve Jobs as president and CEO of Apple Computers. Differences between Scully and Jobs developed which eventually resulted in the dismissal of Jobs.
Microsoft and Apple at the turn of the Century: An Industry Giant and a Revitalized Leader      With the success of Windows, the Office application suite, the Internet Explorer, Microsoft has become a household name and Bill Gates has been hailed as a business genius. The fact that Microsoft’s competitors, the press, and the US Justice Department have called Microsoft a monopoly reinforces Gates’s determination to succeed. Some people even questioned whether Microsoft can survive the Justice Department’s decision. But Bill Gates has shown that he is the master of adapting to changing market conditions and technologies.
In the 1990s, Apple went in the opposite direction. The outdated operating system and falling market share eventually led to a decrease in software development for the Mac. Something needed to be done. In 1998 Steve Jobs returned to Apple as the “interim” CEO. His vision, once again, resulted in an innovative product: the iMac. In the 80s he created the simple-to-operate Macintosh to attract people who were using IBM PCs and their clones. Now he developed a simple, stylish, and Internet-friendly computer that added some much-needed excitement to the computer market. Jobs had also changed as a manager and a leader. He had matured and looked to his professional staff for advice and ideas. The Mac is an expression of his creativity and Apple as a whole is an expression of Steve, leading to continuing the success for Apple and a renewed battle between Gates and Jobs.
Gates and Jobs in 2006   Bill Gates, one of the richest men, has also become one of the biggest charitable givers. He and his wife Linda have donated some $31 billion to philanthropic causes. When Bill Gates read the World Development Report by the World Bank, he realized that he could improve the health of people in poor countries by supplying drugs and treatment. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation also provides scholarships for students with different backgrounds. While Gates is very much in philanthropy, Microsoft is preparing the new Windows Vista which helps users in enhancing their computing experience.
Steve Jobs’ career also took some interesting turns. After he was fired by Scully (the person he hired), he started a company called NeXT and Pixar, the firm that created the first computer animated feature film. When Apple got into trouble, Jobs was rehired, doing some amazing things. When he was diagnosed with cancer—which fortunately could be successfully treated—his outlook on life changed. In the 2005 commencement address at Stanford University he said: “Because almost everything—all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure—these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important.” In 2006, Jobs can look back with exciting new products such as computers and the best selling iPods: the Nano and the Video. Now, the pundits are wondering, what will be Steve’s next innovation?
Question:
1. Compare and contrast the careers of Bill Gates and Steve Jobs.
2. Compare and contrast the leadership styles and managerial practices of Gates and Jobs.
3. What do you think about the future of Microsoft and Apple Computers?
What is the outlook on life of the two computer nerds?

CASE 5:   INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AT AMERICAN AIRLINES
The information system at American Airlines has become an integral part of the overall strategy to gain a competitive edge in the industry. The extensive use of computers began in the 1950s in payroll and inventory control and extended to customer service. In the early 1960s, American developed the widely known SABRE system (SABRE stands for Semi-Automated Business Research Environment). It is one of the most sophisticated passenger reservation system used by travel agents and customers.
Shortly after implementing SABRE, American also used the system for other tasks, such as controlling freight shipments, as well as dispatching and tracking flights. When the government deregulated the airline industry in 1978, the information system became an even more important tool for competing against the low-cost airlines whose labour costs were as much as 40 to 50 per cent lower. American Airlines’ strategy was to use the information technology to compete in a variety of ways. One application was to have as many aircrafts seats as possible filled without having many passengers “bumped” through overbooking. Another application was to obtain the proper balance between discount and regular fares. It was estimated that revenues could be increased dramatically by shifting only one per cent of discount fares to the full fare—clearly a competitive advantage in a market where price change occur daily and even hourly. Still another application of the information system was to find the most efficient way to fly in order to reduce fuel cost, which is the second largest expense. Some airplanes have sensors on board to monitor essential equipment; the operational information is sent to the ground station. Maintenance can then be planned effectively and performed more efficiently when the aircraft lands. Still another application of the computer was to determine the most profitable routes. The complexity of scheduling over 13,000 pilots and flight attendants on 1300 daily flights is horrendous. The high cost of overtime can put an airline at a competitive disadvantage.
Robert L Crandall, the former chairman and president of American Airlines, thinks that information systems are the key for success. He stated: “We have taken what was once a basic reservation system and built it into an integrated information system that drives our corporate strategy as much as it is driven by that strategy.” While American Airlines has been the industry leader in the use of information technology, competition developed. The 1992 program of the European Community (EC, now the European Union or EU) was designed to eliminate trade and many political barriers. The European airline industry also became deregulated than engaging in mergers, some airlines are now integrated into a network linking selected carriers together. An illustration of the cooperation among airlines involves the two computer reservation systems called Galileo and Amadeus. Thus, American Airlines—with a strategy of expanding in the European market, the largest market in the industrialized world—has ample competition. Recently, the five biggest US Airlines (Continental, Delta, Northeast, United Airlines, and now also American Airlines) developed a common website called Orbitz.com (www.orbitz.com), which could also affect SABRE.
Technology that may have given once a competitive advantage to a company may, in time, become obsolete unless it adapts to new demands and develops new applications. Max Hopper, the architect of the SABRE system, suggests that old models are no longer sufficient. Those who can use the available tools and modify them will gain a competitive edge. The trend is away from stand-alone applications to platforms that facilitate new approaches to problem solving and decision making. SABRE is not only a reservation system, but also a system for inventory control, making flight plans, and scheduling flight crews. Other data-basses were added for car rentals, hotel reservations, and theatre shows. SABRE has become an electronic travel supermarket.
Questions:
1. Discuss the evolving use of information technology at American Airlines?
2. Should American Airlines expand its position in Europe? What are the arguments for and against this expansion?

Saturday 29 October 2016

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                                                                            IS01

                                          Introduction to Information Technology

(For CNM Cases)
                                                                    Assignment – II
  Assignment Code: 2016IS01A2                                               Last Date of Submission: 30th April 2016
                                                                                              Maximum Marks: 100
Attempt all the questions. All the questions are compulsory and carry equal marks.

                                                                          Section-A

1.         “Information System act as a backbone for today’s business environment” Justify


2.         What do you understand from Decision Support System? How DSS helps managers making          effective decisions.


3.         Explain System Development Life Cycle with suitable example.


4.         Write short note on:

a.            Artificial Intelligence
            b.         Strategic Information System
            c.         Types of Information System
            d.         Computer-based Supply Chain


Section-B

Case Study
Western Chemical uses the Internet and an electronic commerce website to connect to its customers and suppliers, and to capture data and share information about sales order and purchases. Sales and order data processes immediately, and inventory and other databases are updated. Videoconferencing and electronic mail servers are also provided. Data generated by a chemical refinery process are captured by sensors and processes by computer that also suggests answers to complex refinery problem posed by engineer. Managers and business professionals access reports on a periodic, exceptions, and demand basis, and use computers to interactively assess the possible results of alternative decisions. Finally, top management can access text summaries and graphics displays that identify key elements of organizational performance and compare them to industry and competitor performance.




Western Chemical Corporation has started forming business alliances and using intranets, extranets, and the Internet to build a global electronic commerce website to offer their customers worldwide products and services. Western Chemical is in the midst of making fundamental changes to their e-business operations and their managers’ ability to react quickly to change business conditions.


5.         Case Questions:

(i)         Identify how Information System supports:                                                   
a.      Business Operations
b.      Business Decision Making
c.       Strategic Advantage
d.      E-business Enterprise
e.      Electronic Commerce at Western Chemical

(ii)        There are many different types of Information systems at Western Chemical. Identify as many   as you can and explain the reasons for your choices. 


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CASE: 1       GEORGE DAVID

George David has been CEO of United Technologies Corporation (UTC) for more than a decade. During that time he has received numerous accolades and awards for his performance as a CEO. Under his leadership UTC, a $343 billion conglomerate whose operating units include manufacturers of elevators (Otis Elevator), aerospace products (including Pratt & Whitney jet engines and Sikorsky helicopters), air conditioning systems, and fire and security systems, has seen earnings grow at 10–14 percent annually—impressive numbers for any company but particularly for a manufacturing enterprise.

According to David, a key to United Technologies’ success has been sustained improvements in productivity and product quality. The story goes back to the 1980s when David was running the international operations of Otis Elevator. There he encountered a Japanese engineer, Yuzuru Ito, who had been brought in to determine why a new elevator product was performing poorly. David was impressed with Ito’s methods for identifying quality problems and improving performance. When he was promoted to CEO, David realized that he had to lower the costs and improve the quality of UTC’s products. One of the first things he did was persuade Ito to work for him at UTC. Under David, Ito developed a program for improving product quality and productivity, known as Achieving Competitive Excellence (ACE), which was subsequently rolled out across UTC. The ACE program has been one of drivers of productivity improvements at UTC ever since.
Early in his tenure as CEO, David also radically reorganized UTC. He dramatically cut the size of the head office and decentralized decision making to business divisions. He also directed his accounting staff to develop a new financial reporting system that would give him good information about how well each division was doing and make it easier to hold divisional general managers accountable for the performance of the units under them. He then gave them demanding goals for earnings and sales growth and pushed them to improve processes within their units by implementing the ACE program.
At the same time David has always stressed that management is about more than goal setting and holding people accountable. Values are also important. David has insisted that UTC employees adhere to the highest ethical standards, that the company produce that have minimal environmental impact, and that employee safety remain the top consideration in the work-place.

When asked what his greatest achievement as a manager has been, David refers to UTC’s worldwide employee scholarship program. Implemented in 1996 and considered the hall-mark of UTC’s commitment to employee development, the program pays the entire cost of an employee’s college or graduate school education, allows employees to pursue any subject at an accredited school, provides paid study time, and awards UTC stock (up to $10,000 worth in the United States) for completing degrees. Explaining the program, David states, “One of the obligations that an employer has is to give employees opportunities to better themselves. And we feel it’s also very good business for us because it generates a better workforce that stays longer.”

David states that one of his central tasks has been to build a management team that functions smoothly over the long term. “People come to rely upon each other,” he says. “You have the same trusting relationships. You know people; they know you. You can predict them; they can predict you. All of that kind of begins to work, and it accelerates over the tenure of a CEO. If you have people bouncing in and out every two to three years, that’s not good.”


According to Sandy Weill, former chairman of Citicorp and a UTC board member, David has the right mix of toughness and sensitivity. “When somebody can't do the job he’ll try to help; but if that person is not going to make it work, that person won't be on the job forever.” At the same time Weill says, “He does a lot of things that employees respect him for, I think he is a very good manager. Even though David is demanding, he can also listen—he has a receive mode as well as a send mode.”


Questions

1. What makes George David such a highly regarded manager?
2. How does David get things done through people?
3. What evidence can you see of David’s planning and strategizing, organizing, controlling, leading, and developing?
4. Which managerial competencies does David seem to posses? Does he seem to lack any?


































CASE: 2        BOOM AND BUST IN TELECOMMUNICATIONS

In 1997 Michael O'Dell, the chief scientist at World-Com, which owned the largest network of “Internet backbone” fiber optic cable in the world, stated that data traffic over the Internet was doubling every hundred days. This implied a growth rate of over 1,000 percent a year. O'Dell went on to day that there was not enough fiber optic capacity to go around, and that “demand will far outstrip supply for the foreseeable future.”
Electrified by this potential opportunity, a number companies rushed into the business. These firms included Level 3 Communications, 360 Networks, Global Crossing, Qwest Communications, World-Com, Williams Communications Group, Genuity Inc., and XO Communications. In all cases the strategic plans were remarkably similar: Raise lots of capital, build massive fiber optic networks that straddled the nation (or even the globe), cut prices, and get ready for the rush of business. Managers at these companies believed that surging demand would soon catch up with capacity, resulting in a profit bonanza for those that had the foresight to build out their networks. It was a gold rush, and the first into the field would stake the best claims.
However, there were dissenting voices. As early as October 1998 an Internet researcher at AT&T Labs named Andrew Odlyzko published a paper that de-bunked the assumption that demand for Internet traffic was growing at 1,000 percent a year. Odlyzko’s careful analysis concluded that growth was much slower—only 100 percent a year! Although still large, that growth rate was not nearly large enough to fill the massive flood of fiber optic capacity that was entering the market. Moreover, Odlyzko noted that new technologies were increasing the amount of data that could be sent down existing fibers, reducing the need for new fiber. But with investment money flooding into the market, few paid any attention to him. WorldCom was still using the 1,000 percent figure as late as September 2000.
As it turned out, Odlyzko was right. Capacity rapidly outstripped demand, and by late 2002 less than 3 percent of the fiber that had been laid in the ground was actually being used! While prices slumped, the surge in volume that managers had bet on did not materialize. Unable to service the debt they had taken on to build out their networks, company after company tumbled into bankruptcy—including WorldCom, 360 Networks, XO Communications, Global Crossing. Level 3 and Qwest survived, but their stock price had fallen by 90 percent, and both companies were saddled with massive debts.

Questions

1. Why did the strategic plans adopted by companies like Level 3, Global Crossing, and 360 Networks fail?
2. The managers who ran these companies were smart, successful individuals, as were many of the investors who put money into these businesses. How could so many smart people have been so wrong?
3. What specific decision-making biases do you think were at work in this industry during the late 1990s and early 2000s?
4. What could the managers running these companies done differently that might have led to a different outcome?





CASE: 3       DOW CHEMICAL

A handful of major players, compete head-to-head around the world in the chemical industry. These companies are Dow Chemical and Du Pont of the United States, Great Britain’s ICI, and the German trio of BASF, Hoechst AG, and Bayer. The barriers to the free flow of chemical products between nations largely disappeared in the 1970s. This, along with the commodity nature of bulk chemicals and a severe recession in the early 1980s, ushered in a prolonged period of intense price competition. In such an environment, the company that wins the competitive race is the one with the lowest costs. Dow Chemical was long among the cost leaders.
For years Dow’s managers insisted that part of the credit belonged to its “matrix” organization. Dow’s organizational matrix had three interacting elements: functions (such as R&D, manufacturing, and marketing), businesses (like ethylene, plastics, and pharmaceuticals), and geography (for example, Spain, Germany, and Brazil). Managers’ job titles incorporated all three elements (plastics marketing manager for Spain), and most managers reported to at least two bosses. The plastics marketing manager in Spain might report to both the head of the worldwide plastics business and the head of the Spanish operations. The intent of the matrix was to make Dow operations responsive to both local market needs and corporate objectives. Thus the plastics business might be charged with minimizing Dow’s global plastics production costs, while the Spanish operation might determine how best to sell plastics in the Spanish market.
When Dow introduced this structure, the results were less than promising: Multiple reporting channels led to confusion and conflict. The many bosses created an unwieldy bureaucracy. The overlapping responsibilities resulted in turf battles and a lack of accountability. Area managers disagreed with managers overseeing business sectors about which plants should be built where. In short, the structure, didn’t work. Instead of abandoning the structure, however, Dow decided to see if it could made more flexible.
Dow’s decision to keep its matrix structure was prompted by its move into the pharmaceuticals business is very different from the bulk chemicals business. In bulk chemicals, the big returns come from achieving economies of scale in production. This dictates establishing large plants in key locations from which regional or global markets can be served. But in pharmaceuticals, regulatory and marketing requirements for drugs vary so much from country to country that local needs are far more important than reducing manufacturing costs through scale economies. A high degree of local responsiveness is essential. Dow realized its pharmaceutical business would never thrive if it were managed by the same priorities as its mainstream chemical operations.
Accordingly, instead of abandoning its matrix, Dow decided to make it more flexible to better accommodate the different businesses, each with its own priorities, within a single management system. A small team of senior executives at headquarters helped set the priorities for each type of business. After priorities were identified for each business sector, one of the three elements of the matrix—function, business, or geographic area—was given primary authority in decision making. Which element took the lead varied according to the type of decision and the market or location in which the company was competing. Such flexibility that all employees understand what was occurring in the rest of the matrix. Although this may seem confusing, for years Dow claimed this flexible system worked well and credited much of its success to the quality of the decisions it facilitated.
By the mid-1990s, however, Dow had refocused its business on the chemicals industry, divesting itself of its pharmaceutical activities where the company’s performance had been unsatisfactory. Reflecting the change in corporate strategy, in 1995 Dow decided to abandon its matrix structure in favor of a more streamlined structure based on global product divisions. The matrix structure was just too complex and costly to manage in the intense competitive environment of the time, particularly given the company’s renewed focus on its commodity chemicals where competitive advantage often went to the low-cost producer. As Dow’s then-CEO put it in a 1999 interview, “We were an organization that was matrixed and depended on teamwork, but there was no one in charge. When things went well, we didn’t know whom to reward; and when things went poorly, we didn’t know whom to blame. So we created a global divisional structure and cut out layers of management. There used to be eleven layers of management between me and the lowest-level employees; now there are five.


Questions
1. Why did Dow Chemical first adopt a matrix structure? What benefits did it hope to derive from this structure?
2. What problems emerged with this structure? How did Dow try to deal with them? In retrospect, do you think those solutions were effective?
3. Why did Dow change its structure again in the mid-1990s? What was Dow trying to achieve this time? Do you think the current structure makes sense given the industry in which Dow operates and the strategy of the firm? Why?
































CASE: 4       REBRANDING MCJOBS

As with most fast-food restaurant chains, McDonald’s needs more people to fill jobs in its vast empire. Yet McDonald’s executives are finding that recruiting is a tough sell. The industry is taking a beating from an increasingly health-conscious society and the popular film Supersize Me. Equally troublesome is a further decline in the already dreary image of employment in a fast-food restaurant. It doesn’t help that McJob, a slang term closely connected to McDonald’s, was recently added to both Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary and the Oxford English Dictionary as a legitimate concept meaning a low-paying, low-prestige, dead-end, mindless service job in which the employee’s work is highly regulated.
McDonald’s has tried to shore up its employment image in recent years by improving wages and adding some employee benefits. A few years ago it created the “I’m loving it” campaign, which took aim at a positive image of the golden arches for employees as well as customers. The campaign had some effect, but McDonald’s executives realized that a focused effort was needed to battle the McJob image.
Now McDonald's is fighting back with a “My First” campaign to show the public—and prospective job applicants—that working at McDonald's is a way to start their careers and develop valuable life skills. The campaign’s centerpiece is a television commercial showing successful people from around the world whose first job was at the fast-food restaurant. “Working at McDonald's really helped lay the foundation for my career,” says ten-time Olympic track and field medalist and former McDonald's crew member Carl Lewis, who is featured in the TV ad. “It was the place where I learned the true meaning of excelling in a fast-paced environment and what it means to operate as part of a team.”
Richard Floersch, McDonald's executive vice president of human resources, claims that the company’s top management has deep talent, but the campaign should help to retain current staff and hire new people further down to hierarchy. “It’s a very strong message about how when you start at McDonald's, the opportunities are limitless,” says Floersch. Even the McDonald's application form vividly communicates this message by showing a group of culturally diverse smiling employees and the caption “At McDonald's You Can Go Anywhere!”
McDonald's has also distributed media kits in several countries with factoids debunking the McJob myth. The American documentation points out that McDonald's CEO Jim Skinner began his career working the restaurant’s front lines, as did 40 percent of the top 50 members of the worldwide management team, 70 percent of all restaurant managers, and 40 percent of all owner/operators. “People do come in with a ‘job’ mentality, but after three months or so, they become evangelists because of the leadership and community spirit that exists in stores,” says David Fairhurst, the vice president for people at McDonald's in the United Kingdom. “For many, it’s not a job, but a career.”
McDonald's also hopes the new campaign will raise employee pride and loyalty, which would motivate the 1.6 million staff members to recruit more friends and acquaintances through word of mouth. “If each employee tells just five people something cool about working at McDonald's, the net effect is huge,” explains McDonald's global chief marketing officer. So far the campaign is having the desired effect. The company’s measure of employee pride has increased by 14 percent, loyalty scores are up by 6 percent, and 90-day employee turnover for hourly staff has dropped by 5 percent.
But McDonald's isn't betting on its new campaign to attract enough new employees. For many years it has been an innovator in recruiting retirees and people with disabilities. The most recent innovation at McDonald's UK, called the Family Contract, allows wives, husbands, grandparents, and children over the age of 16 to swap shifts without notifying management. The arrangement extends to cohabiting partners and same-sex partners. The Family Contract is potentially a recruiting tool because family members can now share the same job and take responsibility for scheduling which family member takes each shift.
Even with these campaigns and human resource changes, some senior McDonald's executives acknowledge that the entry-level positions are not a “lifestyle” job. “Most of the workers we have are students—it’s a complementary job,” says Denis Hennequin, the Paris-based executive vice president for McDonald's Europe.


Questions

1. Discuss McDonald's current situation from a human resource planning perspective.
2. Is McDonald's taking the best approach to improving its employer brand? Why or why not? If you were in charge of developing the McDonald's employer brand, what would you do differently?
3. Would “guerrilla” recruiting tactics help McDonald's attract more applicants? Why or why not? If so, what tactics might be effective?

































CASE: 5       TRANSFORMING REUTERS

London-based Reuters is a venerable company. Established in 1850 and devoted to delivering information around the world by the fastest means available—which in 1850 meant a fleet of 45 carrier pigeons—by the late 1990s the company had developed into one of the largest providers of information in the world. Although Reuters is known best to the public for its independent, unbiased news reporting, 90 percent of Reuters’ revenues are generated by providing information to traders in financial markets. In the 1990s the company used a proprietary computer system and a dedicated telecommunications network to deliver real-time quotes and financial information to Reuters terminals—devices that any self-respecting financial trader could not function without. When Reuters entered the financial data business in the early 1970s, it had 2,400 employees, most of them journalists. By the late 1990s its employee base had swelled to 19,000 most of whom were on the financial and technical side. During this period of heady growth Reuters amassed some 1,000 products, often through acquisitions, such as foreign-language data services, many of which used diverse and sometimes incompatible computer delivery systems.
The late 1990s were the high point for Reuters. Two shocks to Reuters’ business put the company in a tailspin. First came the Internet, which allowed newer companies, such as Thompson Financial Services and Bloomberg, to provide real-time financial information to any computer with an Internet connection. Suddenly Reuters was losing customers to a cheaper and increasingly ubiquitous alternative. The Internet was commoditizing the asset on which Reuters had built its business: information. Then in 2001 the stock market bubble of the 1990s finally broke; thousands of people in financial services lost their jobs; and Reuters lost 18 percent of its contracts for terminals in a single year. Suddenly a company that had always been profitable was losing money.
In 2001 Reuters appointed Tom Glocer as CEO. The first nonjournalist CEO in the company’s history, Glocer, an American in a British-dominated firm, was described as “not part of the old boys’ network.” Glocer had long advocated that Reuters move to an Internet-based delivery system. In 2000 he was put in charge of rolling out such a system across Reuters but met significant resistance. The old proprietory system had worked well, and until 2001 it had been extremely profitable. Many managers were therefore reluctant to move toward a Web-based system that commoditized information and had lower profit margins. They were worried about product cannibalization. Glocer’s message was that if the company didn’t roll out a Web-based system, Reuters’ customers would defect in droves. In 2001 his prediction seemed to be coming true.
Once in charge, Glocer again pushed an Internet-based system, but he quickly recognized that Reuters’ problems ran deeper. In 2002, the company registered its first annual loss in history, £480 million, and Glocer described the business as “fighting for survival.” Realizing that dramatic action was needed, in February 2003 Glocer launched a three-year strategic and organizational transformation program called Fast Forward. It was designed to return Reuters to profitability by streamlining its product offering, prioritizing what the company focused on, and changing its culture. The first part of the program was an announcement that 3,000 employees (nearly 20 percent of the workforce) would be laid off.
To change its culture Reuters added an element to its Fast Forward program known as “Living Fast,” which defined key values such as passionate and urgent working, accountability, and commitment to customer service and team. A two-day conference of 140 managers, selected for their positions of influence and business understanding rather than their seniority, launched the program. At the end of the two days the managers collectively pledged to buy half a million shares in the company, which at the time were trading at all-time low.


After the conference the managers were fired up; but going back to their regular jobs, they found it difficult to convey that sense of urgency, confidence, and passion to their employees. This led to the development of a follow-up conference: a one-day event that included all company employees. Following a video message from Glocer and a brief summary of the goals of the program, employees spent the rest of the day in 1,300 cross-functional groups addressing challenges outlined by Glocer and proposing concrete solutions. Each group chose one of “Tom’s challenges” to address. Many employee groups came up with ideas that could be rapidly implemented—and were. More generally, the employees asked for greater clarity in product offerings, less bureaucracy, and more accountability. With this mandate managers launched a program to rationalize the product line and streamline the company’s management structure. In 2003 the company had 1,300 products. By 2005 Reuters was focusing on 50 key strategic products, all delivered over the Web. The early results of these changes were encouraging. By the end of 2004 the company recorded a £380 million profit, and the stock price had more than doubled.


Questions

1. What technological paradigm shift did Reuters face in the 1990s? How did that paradigm shift change the competitive playing field?
2. Why was Reuters slow to adopt Internet-based technology?
3. Why do you think Tom Glocer was picked as CEO? What assets did he bring to the leadership job?
4. What do you think of Glocer’s attempts to change the strategy and organizational culture at Reuters? Was he on the right track? Would you do things differently?