Class Action

UIS needs to add a program like this. If the university wants to become, in the words of Chancellor Richard D. Ringeisen, "one of the best small public liberal arts universities in the nation.", then UIS will have to lead with bold ideas that build skills that this generation needs to compete in the global economy.

There are plenty of small and medium-sized businesses in this region that could benefit from a program like this.



By SHELLY BANJO
With the U.S. economy softening early last year, the owners of Julian Krinsky Camps & Programs in King of Prussia, Pa., looked for advice on attracting more customers from abroad.

The company, which offers sports, fitness and educational programs, got help from three M.B.A. students. And even better: The advice was free.

"It was helpful to have students with a young, entrepreneurial spirit analyzing our business opportunities from their perspective," says Tina Krinsky, the company's chief executive. And, she adds, it was valuable to have a thoroughly researched plan with hard data to supplement the company's own ideas about expansion.

The Wharton students, whose research included interviews with parents, students, schools and guidance counselors, also offered marketing strategies specific to South Korea. For instance, they suggested the company market itself through hagwons, the after-school study programs that many South Korean students attend. Many hagwons help organize groups of students who would like to travel, and "as these organizations are highly respected by parents and offer convenient access to students, we found it most valuable" to approach them, says Ms. Krinsky. These and other contacts brought a "handful" of Korean students to Julian Krinsky programs last year, she says, and "we expect to see more applicants this year."

Small businesses throughout the country have discovered the benefits of student consulting programs at business schools or at small-business development centers. These programs can help small businesses identify new sources of funding, tap new markets, improve their marketing strategies and find other ways of doing business more efficiently and effectively, all at no cost or for a fraction of what a professional consultant would charge.

Businesses may have to compete for acceptance to some programs. And given the limitations of some students' experience and the time they can devote to any project, companies shouldn't expect too much. But these programs can provide crucial help in weathering the economic downturn or taking advantage of new business opportunities.

Bread Winner
While programs differ in size and scope, typically teams consisting of two to 10 M.B.A. students or undergraduate business students take on semester-long consulting projects for small businesses, including nonprofits. Students' backgrounds vary, but some have years of business and entrepreneurship experience. In any case, they are advised by faculty members or outside professional consultants. Programs offered through small-business development centers, which are affiliated with the U.S. Small Business Administration, typically are free. Fees for programs offered directly by schools vary widely, from about $300 to $10,000 for 500 to 800 hours of consulting, for the most part, though charges can go as high as about $20,000.

The Community FoodBank of New Jersey got help from local students in planning a new line of business. Kathleen DiChiara is chief executive of the food bank, which takes in donated food and distributes it to nonprofit organizations, emergency food pantries and shelters. When she realized hundreds of donated bagels were going stale before they reached hungry patrons, she wanted to find a solution.

Officials of the food bank came up with the idea of using the donated bagels to create a bread-based product they could sell for a profit in bakeries and grocery stores. That not only would prevent waste but also generate income to support increased demand for the food bank's services, and create jobs in the community. But officials quickly realized they didn't have the business knowledge to bring the idea to life.

In September 2007, Ms. DiChiara turned to the MBA Team Consulting Program at Rutgers Business School-Newark and New Brunswick, in New Jersey. The program serves between 40 and 50 businesses a year. Teams of six to 10 students spend about 14 weeks with each business. Fees range from $10,000 to $20,000 per project, depending on the business's revenue.

A semester later, the food bank (which paid $5,000, before the program raised its prices) received a business plan to turn the donated bagels into bagel chips and distribute them across New Jersey. The students researched the costs of new equipment, packaging and labor. They conducted taste tests and surveyed consumers to find out how much they would pay for a bag of bagel chips knowing the profits would go to charity. They researched the competition, outlined production logistics and recommended a marketing campaign.

The chips aren't on retail shelves yet, but the food bank conducted three sales tests last summer at local farmers' markets, selling out 300 of the $4 bags each time, Ms. DiChiara says. Using projections from the Rutgers study, the food bank hopes to make $100,000 a year in profit through bagel-chip sales.

Pickiness and Eagerness
To be sure, acceptance to these programs can be competitive. The schools, after all, are looking for situations where their students can learn the most. Generally, that means universities are looking for small businesses that have been operating for at least three years and may have "plateaued, so a strategic business plan becomes a growth plan," says Paul Belliveau, director of the Rutgers program.

Schools prefer local businesses, to facilitate face-to-face meetings with students, but will sometimes consult for out-of-town projects. Some may also favor businesses that could offer employment opportunities for students after they graduate. And programs often require frequent interaction with the companies' senior management and access to the firm's financial information, both of which may make some potential clients uncomfortable.

Paul Kedrosky, a senior fellow at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, a nonprofit based in Kansas City, Mo., that fosters entrepreneurship, says the student programs are cheap and effective -- if properly managed by the client. He says business owners should keep in mind that students are "often tail-waggingly agreeable to do all sorts of stuff that they often have no business doing."

Mr. Kedrosky suggests asking students to stick to tactical, manageable tasks such as conducting surveys and product research, where the business owner can set clear deadlines and expectations. Students generally have only a semester to complete tasks, he notes, and may not have deep knowledge of a client's particular industry. So while a "strategic analysis of your industry is sexy and fun, they might not have the chops to do it," he says.

Small businesses can also take advantage of other, noncompetitive but less-personalized programs at many small-business development centers. The SBA offers free or low-cost consulting sessions on a variety of broad topics such as cash-flow analysis and accounting. A list of development centers and their contact information and Web sites can be found on the SBA's site, sba.gov. In the "Services" menu, click on "Counseling & Assistance."

—Ms. Banjo is a reporter for Dow Jones Newswires in Jersey City, N.J.
Write to Shelly Banjo at shelly.banjo@wsj.com

Goodbye SAAB

This was a great car company with a long and regal history that was destroyed by GM. It's like GM has an inverse Midas touch and everything they acquire turns to scrap.

Great example of poor service

I think customer service is dead. Lot of companies talk a big line but fail because they are not really taking great service seriously. Here is an example from SPSS:

Thank you for using our Internet site to submit your question. We hope that this provides you with a convenient method of communicating with us. Our goal is to respond to you within five business days.

Way to go! Set your goals high! The next five business days??

J.M. Smucker Profit Nearly Triples on Folgers Addition

Sweet products brew up fresh dollars!

The importance of good contract administration

With ever increasing levels of outsourcing excellent contract administration is a key component of an organizations purchasing function that can add substantial cost savings over competitors.

Contract administration describes the process for ensuring that all the party's performance and execution of the agreed contract terms are met according to the defined requirements. This involves sitting down and discussing with the vendors and explaining what is expected beforehand and that there will be several monitoring and milestone reviews throughout the contract phases. Also, the contractor will be measured by some means such as EVM or budget analysis to evaluate their performance.

Good contract administration also involves risk monitoring and control activities to assess the varying risk events and mitigate any adverse effects. Project changes also will affect the vendors so a change management process will be executed alongside the contract. Finally, performance related to cost and schedule conformity will be rated during the contract life and milestone reviews will take place to ensure that the contract is progressing satisfactorily.

Some best practices to consider is to employ a standardized contract administration methodology with specially trained experienced staff. Also the utilization of cross-functional teams to measure contractor performance is recommended. Additionally, a formal integrated change control process and a standardized performance measurement process should be a part of contract administration.

Risk management

Risk management is important because risk exists in every area of our lives and something must be done to address risk. Some types of general risks include uncertain financial markets, project failures, legal liabilities, credit risk, accidents, and natural disasters to name a few.

Risk is especially present when new elements are introduced such as a new IT project that will alter how things have been done before. Some risks involved in projects are market, financial, technology, people and process risks. All these changes represent new risks to the organization and must be managed alongside the project implementation. Risk management is the process to recognize the inherent risks and utilize practices that will help mitigate the risks by increasing certainty and minimizing the unknown, managing the change process more effectively, using resources better, and improving the overall management of the project which creates a better working environment.


By effectively managing risk, organizations can avoid potentially costly product failures that may be embarrassing and harmful. The strategies to manage risk mentioned in the text include transferring the risk to another party such as through an insurance policy, avoiding the risk altogether, reducing the negative effect of the risk through outsourcing a riskier element to a third-party specialist, and accepting the consequences of risk. Often not doing anything is a risk that may be too big to take.



The international standard board, ISO, defines risk management in the following way:

Risk management should create value.
Risk management should be an integral part of organizational processes.
Risk management should be part of decision making.
Risk management should explicitly address uncertainty.
Risk management should be systematic and structured.
Risk management should be based on the best available information.
Risk management should be tailored.
Risk management should take into account human factors.
Risk management should be transparent and inclusive.
Risk management should be dynamic, iterative and responsive to change.
Risk management should be capable of continual improvement and enhancement

The Digital Divide

1. What is the digital divide? How can mobile computing be used to solve some of the problems of the digital divide?


I think this is a great question. For one the digital divide is defined as the gap between those who have substantial access to digital and information technology and those that do not. The divide includes limited physical access to computing devices and imbalances in training or skills that further enable the digital divide. The digital divide exists in some form throughout the world and can be classified along age, income, race among other factors. This is a real problem for those that have very limited access to digital resources and skills. Ways that have been used to alleviate this problem are putting computers in public libraries, computer loan programs, One laptop per child (OLPC) program, computer training and other similar types of outreach to historically disadvantaged populations.

For example, imagine someone with no digital access going to shop for a used car. They have no detailed way to get timely comprehensive information about what cars are available at their preferred dealership and compare to the competition. Also, the same goes for their financing options. What about the user reviews and car history reports we have become accustomed to consulting? What is their trade worth? All those resources are more difficult, time-consuming, or out-of-reach for someone without good IT resources. This digital divide puts them at a real disadvantage if they are needing this car. Likely they will go to the most convenient dealership and have only the limited choices on the lot. Not knowing the going price for the type of vehicle they are interested in puts the buyer on the defense and there is a greater chance that they will overpay for a unsatisfactory model that was financed at a greater cost because of the limited knowledge and options.

However, the mobile computing movement largely through wireless phone companies have helped to incrementally bridge the gap. I have seen people that would not touch a computer quickly send a text or email a picture via the increasingly more powerful wireless phone. As new models of smart phones continue to take the place of feature phones (dumb phones), the digital divide can be largely overcome. First, most people take phone access for granted. As wireless phones become ubiquitous and inexpensive an entry level model is usually offered free with a contract and serves as a gateway to a wireless connection, than a desire for better features, next comes a keyboard, and and finally a data plan. As these phones become inexpensive mini-computers with many of the features of a full desktop the digital divide can become a relic of the past. Additionally, there is no need to have expensive wired infrastructure investments in developing countries since wireless is now the future global standard and that is where the investments are being made.

Quality Assurance

QA is absolutely necessary for companies and organizations to take very seriously. Everyone expects some baseline of quality, even in low-cost products. There is no more luxury of allowing poor quality products or services to hit the market. The intense competition will take advantage of the weakness and quickly fill the gap with better products. Many talk a good quality line, but are unable to implement a culture of quality such as Toyota and Hyundai have done. GM has talked about quality for 30+ years but have not caught up to their rivals and based on their current troubles are unlikely to bridge the quality gap. Also, once a company has a reputation for weak quality it is very difficult to overcome that perception.

The text mentions QA departments within an organization whose sole purpose is to check and test for quality, but I think truly that the quality responsibility must be placed into the hands of each and every employee in the organization. Everyone must be able to address quality problems at the source and not wait until the issues make their way to the QA team. Quality must be everyone's responsibility and not just shifted to a QA department.

Should there even be a QA department is a question that was posed during my Operations class over the summer. The argument was that a QA team effectively absolves the other employees of the quality responsibility by shifting the QA analysis and decisions to the QA department. Not that there shouldn't be benchmarking, quality audits, or statistical analysis done by a specific team, but ultimately the responsibility for the overall quality must be at the highest priority for the management all the way down to the line staff. Only this way will the culture of the organization be truly quality focused in practice and not just in slogans.

Introduction to Systems Thinking by Daniel Aronson

My article summary is on Introduction to Systems Thinking by Daniel Aronson. In this article he outlines some of the key concepts that defines systems thinking such as seeing the "big picture", looking at recurring problems differently, considering the consequences of actions, and analysing problems where solutions are evasive and complex. The goal of systems thinking is to ultimately view problems and solutions in the totality of the whole system not just the individual part.

The traditional way to solve problems is break them down into constituent parts and work from that level, but the systems approach is to take into account the system as a whole and study the complex interactions between the parts of the system. For an example Aronson uses the problem of insect damage to a crop. The standard way to solve this type of problem is to find out what will reduce to insects to the level that will ensure the crop's integrity will be protected. The typical approach is to apply a pesticide to kill the insects and then the crops will be safe. However, this is not the system approach.

The systems way of thinking is to analyse this problem from many more facets. Other factors that need to be considered are the short-term and long -term orientation of this system, what purpose does the invader insect currently serve that will be eliminated after the pesticide application, and the historical effects that may occur such as soil damage and water pollution. Aronson further elaborates this scenario by examining what has often happened in practice; the main effect of eliminating the problem insect is only a short lived solution because the insects that were previously controlled have grown into another problem that needs to be addressed. By looking at this problem through an integrated long-term manner this costly and potentially damaging action could have been addressed correctly the first-time by truly considering the whole system that would be affected by the specific action.

IT projects also can benefit from the system approach. Often solutions are offered through many differing perspectives, but tend to be biased toward the views, experience and culture to such a degree that the solution itself does not really address the entire problem and the organization in which it will be deployed, but only a small and narrow slice that is seen by the proposer.

The complexity of systems today make the systems approach ideal for project management as was discussed in the textbook in chapter two. Aronson proposes system thinking as a method to manage this complexity and address the type of one-dimensional thinking that has plagued organizations in the past. He states that an effectively implemented approach of system thinking can elevate our thinking when we begin the problem analysis.

I believe that systems thinking is needed to address many of the complex problems that we face today. Too often a quick political solution is proposed and is implemented without total systems consideration. For example, in Illinois the smoking ban was implemented without much forethought. Questions such as who will enforce the ban, how will businesses be affected, is the timing correct, how will tax revenue be impacted, who will gain or lose from this ban, were not addressed in the beginning and many resources such as police, health, and court systems have had to try to address some of the oversights of the law as written. Many other types of shortsighted decisions could have be avoided with a systems thinking approach.

Article URL:
http://www.thinking.net/Systems_Thinking/Intro_to_ST/intro_to_st.html

How can IT enhance mass customization?

IT has played a pivotal role in the mass-customization industry that is common today. Without the technology that enables customers to visualize their options through a website and the globalization 3.0 infrastructure that allows companies to manage their products and offerings, mass-customization would be difficult and costly to deploy in the ubiquitous manner now experienced.

Mass-customization is the method of "effectively postponing the task of differentiating a product for a specific customer until the latest possible point in the supply network." (Chase, Jacobs, Aquilano, 2006, p.419).

This is largely made possible through IT systems that allow the customer to order a base product that is mass-produced such as a My-Touch from T-Mobile and add a personalized design to the phone exterior, selected apps, or other features, and it is through the same IT system which enables customers to "try out" a design at their convenience before committing to the order. For example, the website invites you to "Imagine being able to create a phone as individual as you are. One that you can make completely your own —inside and out—with dynamic apps, one-of-a-kind home screen themes and exterior shells and gel skins." The advertisements for the phone emphasize this personalization by showing such diverse personalities as Whoopi Goldberg and Phil Jackson that have each customized their own phone.

Another company that has employed the mass-customization concept is Disney. Instead of a product, Disney mass-customizes the type of experience you are willing to design. When you buy your ticket to the park it is a base ticket. Then you can add features just as you would to a Dell laptop or a Nissan Cube. Maybe you would like to stay on one of the many resorts or add a dining plan to better suit your vacation dreams. There are many other additional choices you can make such as stay length, park-hopper, in-room flowers, have a cake ordered or a special fireworks cruise. You can even have lunch with one of the Imagineers. The options for customization are quite vast and are limited only by your fiscal resources. This gives each customer the ability to design the vacation package that will extract the most value for their families needs, which helps Disney provide the experience that each guest is expecting.

A third example is the new Coke vending machine, Freestyle, that can hold more than 100 sodas. The new fountain is like an ink printer with space for hundreds of cartridges. Each cartridge contains a concentrated formula of ingredients. When you press your choice, say Diet Coke, the machine will tell cartridge 12 to release three squirts, cartridge 81 two squirts and so on, then it combines it with carbonated water and you get the same drink as old machines. According to Fast Company, Freestyle machines are currently being tested in Georgia, California, and Utah and Coca-Cola has said it plans to place 60 test dispensers around the country by the end of the summer.

Finally, mass-customization has allowed business to hold on to the product rule, Hotelling’s Law, that states it’s natural and rational for businesses to make their products as similar as possible for cost effective reasons, while also taking these very similar base products and allowing the customer to "make it their own" by adding features they want at the moment of purchase. As technology continues to advance, I think that we will soon have something like a replicator as featured in STTNG.

What role does the organizational culture play in IS investments?

I think organizational culture plays a very large part in any aspect of an organization including IS investment. Organizational culture is the psychology, attitudes, experiences, beliefs and values that are shared by the people within the organization and may or may not mirror the corporate culture. The culture that is present in an organization should be reflective of the strategy and goals of the organization and be supportive of the corporate culture, however this is not always the case. Organizational culture is not easy to change quickly as it has developed over many years, so it would be difficult to suddenly value some attribute that wasn't highly thought of before even if it is suddenly supported by management and business needs.

For example, I'm currently working on a project with a company that does not have a culture that supports and values innovative approaches to its operational challenges. The result is that there is an extra hurdle to overcome to justify new improvements like a computerized purchasing system because these types of improvements are not seen as necessary by the culture. The IS change is viewed with disdain and skepticism among the staff and even some management. The result is that it is going to be much more challenging to obtain buy-in and wide support for the project, and this could have negative impact and may delay implementation or impair the success of the system overall.

However, in companies like Harrah's, which has a culture that is innovative and technologically astute, it becomes much easier to deploy new technologies such as the interactive mobile gaming platform or the customized CRM capabilities metioned in the video that provide individualized content and special offers based on the customers preferences and spending habits. Harrah's is continuously striving to provide richer gaming experiences for their guests over the entire enterprise and must be innovative to differentiate themselves from other entertainment providers, even testing new innovations internally to obtain feedback from guests and employees. This aspect is part of their organizational and corporate culture and supports and welcomes new IS ideas and investments.

Another example come from Jonathan Heiliger, vice president of technical operations at Facebook when he mentions a way that innovation is supported institutionally by conducting nighttime "hack-a-thons" every other month to encourage new applications or features during off hours. Through this process a new chat app was developed and added to FB which allows users to conduct chat sessions during their time online. It is through the supportive organizational culture which embraces new IS investments and innovations that has enabled Facebook to grow to over eighty million users today.

In short, organizational culture provides an great deal of influence in any business decision including IS investments. It is very important for management to consider the culture and how it will impede or assist the IS investments within the organization.

When choosing a CPA...

1. The CPA should have several years of business experience. Knowledge and experience with other businesses in your sector is even better.

2. They answer their phone, return phone calls promptly and respond to e-mail. Excellent communication skills are essential.

3. They should be able to think strategically about your business options and offer suggestions on how to improve your business in the future and not just compile financial reports from last year.

4. Help you execute a tax plan that legitimately allows you to keep more of what you earn. This extends past the taxes that the business pays and includes the income taxes paid by the investors and principals.

5. They are candid and direct in their conversations and communications. It is easy to find an accountant to agree with your decisions but you want someone to tell you when they think you are heading down the wrong road and why.

6. Help you protect your business from embezzlement, fraud, and dishonest employees through good financial controls and procedures. They should also help you implement internal procedures to more quickly detect any errors or omissions.

7. Provide an objective perspective about your business performance. Your sales manager will overestimate sales and the operations manager always fails to add in one-time expenses so you need a clear and accurate picture to make informed decisions.

8. Save you money and increase your profit by helping you identify “best” practices. This is where their experience gives them actionable insight into the business.

9. Be involved in the business community. They should have contacts that can help you grow your business and form strategic alliances.

A face-to-face interview provides the opportunity to know if there's a “right fit” for your business. In addition to all of the above, the chemistry between your personalities needs to match. Make sure to check their references. He or she should have a history of working with successful companies. It is reasonable to think the accountant had a part in that success.

Source: http://www.stevenwieblercpa.com/index.html

Why do you think schedule issues often cause the most conflicts on projects?

Part of the reason are the different attitudes and work styles that exist towards schedules as stated in the text. Schedules may be viewed differently in other cultures as well and Project managers must be aware of these concerns. Sometimes the original schedule was not realistically thought out and was too aggressive. Time goals should be s.m.a.r.t. along with the rest of the project goals. Also, milestones can be used so that the project has points to assess the progress and help determine where the project is in relation to the schedule goals.

Another reason is that time continues to move forward no matter what is being done to manage it. Careful consideration must be exercised to keep this perspective in mind during the time management process. Project contingencies will arise in the development of complex systems and these will need to be addressed. Often though the Project manager has not planned for the unexpected events on some level and may misuse resources to address "Murphy" as Goldratt states. But project managers must be aware that unplanned events will happen at some point and there should be a plan in place to deal with the problems.

Also, people tend to build in too much safety time into their task completion estimates, but fail to utilize this allotted time and succumb to student syndrome, which basically means waiting until the last minute to begin the task and rushing through it quickly. This misuse of the available time causes projects to fall behind because too much false safety is consuming the time resource that was never utilized on the project.

Finally, scheduling is an imprecise process and involves many people issues which adds to greater uncertainty. PM's are not sure of all of the variables that may affect the schedule. The scope of the project must be clearly defined and a detailed Work Breakdown Structure must be organized so a realistic work schedule can be assembled.

The role of organizational culture in IS investments

What role does the organizational culture play in IS investments? Is this something that can be easily adjusted when necessary? Why or why not?



I think organizational culture plays a very large part in any aspect of an organization including IS investment. Organizational culture is the psychology, attitudes, experiences, beliefs and values that are shared by the people within the organization and may or may not mirror the corporate culture. The culture that is present in an organization should be reflective of the strategy and goals of the organization and be supportive of the corporate culture, however this is not always the case. Organizational culture is not easy to change quickly so it would be difficult to suddenly value some attribute that wasn't highly thought of before even if it is suddenly supported by management and business needs.

For example, I'm currently working on a project with a company that does not have a culture that supports and values innovative approaches to its operational challenges. The result is that there is an extra hurdle to overcome to justify new improvements like a computerized purchasing system because these types of improvements are not seen as necessary by the culture. The IS change is viewed with disdain and skepticism among the staff and even some management. The result is that it is going to be much more challenging to obtain buy-in and wide support for the project, and this could have negative impact, delay implementation, and may impair the success of the system overall.

However, in companies like Harrah's, which has a culture that is innovative and technologically astute, it becomes much easier to deploy new technologies such as the interactive mobile gaming platform or the customized CRM capabilities metioned in the video that provide individualized content and special offers based on the customers preferences and spending habits. Harrah's is continuously striving to provide richer gaming experiences for their guests over the entire enterprise and must be innovative to differentiate themselves from other entertainment providers, even testing new innovations internally to obtain feedback from guests and employees. This aspect is part of their organizational and corporate culture and supports and welcomes new IS ideas and investments.

Jonathan Heiliger, vice president of technical operations at Facebook mentions a way that innovation is supported institutionally by conducting nighttime "hack-a-thons" every other month to encourage new applications or features during off hours. Through this process a new chat app was developed and added to FB which allows users to conduct chat sessions during their time online. It is through the supportive organizational culture which embraces new IS investments and innovations that has enabled Facebook to grow to over eighty million users today.

IT Doesn't Matter...Really?

What Carr is talking about is the IT that is infrastructural technology not proprietary technology. Carr is stating that many organizations confuse infrastructural technology as proprietary technology, especially during the years of the build-out phase which install the greatest amount of this infrastructural technology such as desktop computers, enterprise software, LAN's and the Internet. This build-out leads to standardization, falling prices and greater accessibility, but not strategic advantage for organizations.

Carr states that this trend mirrored the buildup of other types of infrastructure such as highways, railroads and power grids. IT has become a commodity just like these early technologies, although the early adopters initially gained the first mover advantage in the marketplace, these opportunities are largely gone since most of the technologies are available to all the players just like the power grid and the Internet.

Carr is not saying that proprietary IT does not matter to modern companies, only the infrastructural technology which is available to the entire market. I think that the catchy title was his way of getting every one's attention. Proprietary IT such as Apple's iTunes's store or Google's search system are a key differentiating element of their success and Carr is not talking about this type of IT investment. Carr also uses Dell and Wal-Mart as an example of companies that let others invest in the new systems that hold promise as well as risk, and invest when standardization, best practices and lower costs have taken effect.

I agree with Carr's major idea, that IT investment has been over emphasized and too much has been spent in new technologies that really don't improve the profitability or strategic position of the company. Too much investment can actually be bad as witnessed during the dot-com and real estate bubbles of recent years. I especially agree with the new rules for IT managers, spend less (even more important now), follow, don't lead (leading is expensive and risky), and focus on vulnerabilities not opportunities (your bank website being down for several days).

Harvard's endowment plunges nearly 30 percent

Is this the best our esteemed national university could do?

"In navigating the past year's storm, we developed greater financial flexibility, strengthened our investment team, sharpened our focus and positioned both HMC and the endowment to be robust, steady and, importantly, poised to benefit from growth in the world's economies," Mendillo said in a statement.

Translation:

"As we were caught up in the group think of the investment world which left us overexposed, we got rid of bad investments and bought new investments at a higher price taking a huge loss, fired 275 people to save money, panicked about the ugly balance sheet and reacted by placing too much of our portfolio in riskier global stocks to try and make up our losses."

I love corporate doublespeak.

IT project management

Do you think organizations should develop their own information technology project management methodologies? Why? Why can't they just follow a book or already developed methodology?



Yes at some level. I believe many organizations must design and develop their own ITPMM to align the project management processes and activities support the unique capabilities and strategy that each organization possesses. However, there exists a general set of core methodologies and standards in the PMBOK guide in which the organization can utilize as a foundation for developing customized project management methods that specifically address the needs of the organization. The level of customization needs varies between organizations. No two organizations are exactly alike and they use different methods to accomplish goals, so GM can use ITPMM designed by Toyota but ultimately the methodologies will need to be customized at some level to GM's specific needs, processes and capabilities. Rational Unified Process (RUP) from IBM is a process product that tries to address these needs by integrating project management best practices with customizable processes.

The Other Side of Outsourcing

An excellent look at outsourcing from the other side of the world. It will challenge you to think about the global economy and how the nature and geography of the workforce has fundamentally changed.

Systems view of a project and project management

What does it mean to take a systems view of a project? How does taking a systems view of a project apply to project management?


To view a project with a systems perspective is to see the whole internal and external operational landscape in which the project will be functioning. An example of a system is the cardiovascular process of the human body. To only see the heart and arteries without considering the interdependent support mechanisms that the heart system needs to function fails to consider the implications that any changes to the heart system will also cause variations, potentially fatal, in the interdependent systems of the body that rely on the heart. The reverse is also true.

Similarly, to develop and implement a project without considering the holistic view of the organization, the systems approach, will likely fail to bring the proposed benefits to the organization because the complete, possibly unintended impact of the project has not been fully considered on the entire system. Also, the project may actually hinder the organizational goals and cause real losses. For example, to develop a advertising project for a single product without considering the impact the campaign may have on other product lines within the company, whether or not the price is in conformity with the market position, cannibalization of exiting products, image of the company, and other similar issues must be addressed during the planning and design phase of the project.

Often, projects are designed myopically due to organizational arrangement and culture within a company, such as business units, departments, competitive aspects, and/or geographic regions. Great care must be taken to include the overall goals and perspectives of the organization to ensure the project displays goal congruence and the end result adds value to the whole organization.

W. Edwards Deming 14 Points

How many organizations today employ this philosophy?

The 14 points apply anywhere, to small organizations as well as to large ones, to the service industry as well as to manufacturing. They apply to a division within a company.

The 14 points.

Create constancy of purpose toward improvement of product and service, with the aim to become competitive and to stay in business, and to provide jobs.

Adopt the new philosophy. We are in a new economic age. Western management must awaken to the challenge, must learn their responsibilities, and take on leadership for change.

Cease dependence on inspection to achieve quality. Eliminate the need for inspection on a mass basis by building quality into the product in the first place.

End the practice of awarding business on the basis of price tag. Instead, minimize total cost.

Move toward a single supplier for any one item, on a long-term relationship of loyalty and trust.

Improve constantly and forever the system of production and service, to improve quality and productivity, and thus constantly decrease costs.

Institute training on the job.

Institute leadership (see Point 12 and Ch. 8). The aim of supervision should be to help people and machines and gadgets to do a better job. Supervision of management is in need of overhaul, as well as supervision of production workers.

Drive out fear, so that everyone may work effectively for the company (see Ch. 3).

Break down barriers between departments. People in research, design, sales, and production must work as a team, to foresee problems of production and in use that may be encountered with the product or service.

Eliminate slogans, exhortations, and targets for the work force asking for zero defects and new levels of productivity. Such exhortations only create adversarial relationships, as the bulk of the causes of low quality and low productivity belong to the system and thus lie beyond the power of the work force.

Eliminate work standards (quotas) on the factory floor. Substitute leadership.

Eliminate management by objective. Eliminate management by numbers, numerical goals.

Substitute leadership.

Remove barriers that rob the hourly worker of his right to pride of workmanship. The responsibility of supervisors must be changed from sheer numbers to quality.

Remove barriers that rob people in management and in engineering of their right to pride of workmanship. This means, inter alia, abolishment of the annual or merit rating and of management by objective (see Ch. 3).

Institute a vigorous program of education and self-improvement.

Put everybody in the company to work to accomplish the transformation. The transformation is everybody's job.

Description of Hasty Generalization

This fallacy is committed when a person draws a conclusion about a population based on a sample that is not large enough. It has the following form:

1. Sample S, which is too small, is taken from population P.
2. Conclusion C is drawn about Population P based on S.

The person committing the fallacy is misusing the following type of reasoning, which is known variously as Inductive Generalization, Generalization, and Statistical Generalization:

1. X% of all observed A's are B''s.
2. Therefore X% of all A's are Bs.

The fallacy is committed when not enough A's are observed to warrant the conclusion. If enough A's are observed then the reasoning is not fallacious.

Small samples will tend to be unrepresentative. As a blatant case, asking one person what she thinks about gun control would clearly not provide an adequate sized sample for determing what Canadians in general think about the issue. The general idea is that small samples are less likely to contain numbers proportional to the whole population. For example, if a bucket contains blue, red, green and orange marbles, then a sample of three marbles cannot possible be representative of the whole population of marbles. As the sample size of marbles increases the more likely it becomes that marbles of each color will be selected in proprtion to their numbers in the whole population. The same holds true for things others than marbles, such as people and their political views.

Since Hasty Generalization is committed when the sample (the observed instances) is too small, it is important to have samples that are large enough when making a generalization. The most reliable way to do this is to take as large a sample as is practical. There are no fixed numbers as to what counts as being large enough. If the population in question is not very diverse (a population of cloned mice, for example) then a very small sample would suffice. If the population is very diverse (people, for example) then a fairly large sample would be needed. The size of the sample also depends on the size of thepopulation. Obviously, a very small population will not support a huge sample. Finally, the required size will depend on the purpose of the sample. If Bill wants to know what Joe and Jane think about gun control, then a sample consisting of Bill and Jane would (obviously) be large enough. If Bill wants to know what most Australians think about gun control, then a sample consisting of Bill and Jane would be far too small.

People often commit Hasty Generalizations because of bias or prejudice. For example, someone who is a sexist might conclude that all women are unfit to fly jet fighters because one woman crashed one. People also commonly commit Hasty Generalizations because of laziness or sloppiness. It is very easy to simply leap to a conclusion and much harder to gather an adequate sample and draw a justifiedconclusion. Thus, avoiding this fallacy requires minimizing the influence of bias and taking care to select a sample that is large enough.

One final point: a Hasty Generalization, like any fallacy, might have a true conclusion. However, as long as the reasoning is fallacious there is no reason to accept the conclusion based on that reasoning.

What is the role of the project manager?

What is the role of the project manager? Why is leadership so important for project managers?

The role of the project manager is one of leadership and to oversee planning, scope, personnel, budget, safety, execution and implementation of the project in an effective and efficient manner to deliver the project on time and within budget and scope. Managing these constraints is the primary objective to project management.

For example when I was part of a 30 million dollar store construction project the project manager was there to provide leadership and vision and to inform the execution team what was to be expected during the project. He provided daily briefing to the progress of the project in relation to the expected completion time of the entire project. When an area of the project was encountering difficulties or delays, he would provide extra support to ensure that the area would not fall behind. The project was managed without the safety (Goldratt) built-in to projects and with and awareness of the student syndrome phenomenon.

The manager would also constantly be updating the whole team on our successes as well as the problem areas throughout the duration of the project. Based on our progress through the timeline, we would adjust our schedules to work longer days in order to stay on time. We had to aggressively monitor out teams progress and be aware of the next possible constraint and make contingent plans to work around the constraint. The leadership provided was not afraid to make difficult and unpopular decisions to keep the project on track.

Keeping all the employees focused was another critical success factor. Daily goals were presented and the team would meet at the end of the day to follow through on our progress. In the end we finished two days early and under budget. Without the leadership provided this project would have easily fell behind due to the many delays encountered.

In summery, the role of the project manager is keeping the team focused on the constraints of scope, time and budget and executing the plan with strong leadership and organization.

Demographic Winter

This term may be unfamiliar to some of you but this is the real crisis of our time. It is the explanation for the collapsing birth rates in the mainly Western countries and the resulting effects on these societies as the demographic collapse accelerates.

The birth rates in the West have been shrinking in some cases to below replacement levels and our way of life, the good and the bad, will disappear as well.

Our economies are based on consumption and growth. Since we have adopted a eugenics approach to children and rejected the organic natural law, the only way for growth to continue inorganically is to embrace an increasingly materialistic lifestyle. However, the recent recession has brought to light the shortcomings of our economic system, and I believe it is only a beginning to the harsh realities currently unaddressed by our educational, political, and sociatal systems.

Indeed, the embers continue to smolder and gather strength under contemporary Rome. Some day the embers will catch fire and make the current economic situation seem like an afterthought. The old order is dead, but the marketing department didn't get the memo.

First Semester Faculty

Leonard Branson, Ph.D, CPA and CMA, professor of accountancy and chair of the accountancy department, was a management accountant and a manager for the Holiday Inn Corporation. He received a B.A degree from St. Louis Christian College, an M.A. degree from Lincoln Christian Seminary, an M.B.A. from Illinois State University, and a Ph.D. in business administration from St. Louis University. Branson has served as an instructor of accounting, finance, and management science at McKendree College.

Ranjan Karri, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Management in the College of Business and Management at the University of Illinois at Springfield. Dr. Karri teaches Strategic Management and Leadership and Organization Theory.
Ranjan Karri, Associate Professor of Management, received his Ph.D. in Strategic Management from the Washington State University in 2001. Prior to joining the faculty of UIS, Dr. Karri was a faculty member at Bryant University since 2000, where he received tenure and promotion to associate professor.
His research interests are in the area of entrepreneurship, business ethics, and strategic management. Dr. Karri's research has been published in top tier journals such as Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice and Journal of Business Ethics, as well as practitioner journals such as Business Horizons, Organizational Dynamics and Journal of Academic Ethics.

Nathan Steele, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Management in the College of Business and Management at the University of Illinois at Springfield. Dr. Steele teaches Power and Negotiation and Managing Organizational Behavior.
He received his Ph.D. in Social Psychology from Indiana University in 2004. At Indiana University he primarily studied negotiation and bargaining with Dr. Jerome M. Chertkoff, and completed a minor in quantitative analysis.
Following the completion of his degree, he was awarded a postdoctoral position in the David Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah as part of their Organizational Behavior group. At the Eccles school, Nathan continued a line of research begun with his dissertation on perceptions of equity or fairness in negotiation scenarios.
His other research interests include a fascination with game theory, especially concepts related to coalition games and concepts of equity and utility within games. Nathan's research primarily centers on using game theoretic paradigms to investigate organizational situations in their simplest form.
He also conducts research along the lines of group processes and has consulted for non-profit attorney's organizations on these topics including team building and intergroup dynamics. His research has been published in refereed professional journals and presented at various refereed national and international conferences.
Nathan's teaching interests include negotiation, group processes, the fundamentals of organizational behavior, and teamwork. Prior to his academic career, Nathan worked as a business analyst for Healthcare Recoveries, Inc., an insurance subrogation firm, and he completed a B.S. at Murray State University.

Congratulations, Bankers -- You're Rich Again

This great piece from Stein is for everyone that likes to complain about single mothers on welfare and food stamp families. Granted I understand your frustration with the system. However, just remember the suited robbers that can take more government welfare in the name of economic progress in a matter of minutes than any group of poor people can do in their lifetime. I know the poor momma with her benefit card buying chips and soda pisses you off, but leave her alone and get mad at the real crooks stealing your money. Also, don't forget the thieves that find it so easy to give your money away.

Just in case your blood pressure is not high enough today, here are a few
news bulletins on how the world works. Generally, these bulletins all come under
the heading of, "The Golden Rule: He Who Has the Gold, Makes the Rules."You will
recall that a few years ago the banks and investment banks of this great land
were making money hand over fist by making loans that, even at the time, gave
off the powerful aroma of danger and recklessness. The fees for those loans were
immense though, and so the banks made them -- for mortgages, for private equity
deals, for mergers, for refinancings, for anything where they could employ the
vast pools of liquidity Uncle Sugar was throwing onto their laps.As bank profits
skyrocketed, the pay of bankers reached unbelievably high levels, with immense
percentages of the national wealth being paid to a few thousand bankers in New
York City.Then, as happens with Towers of Babel, it got so high it simply fell
down with a resounding crash. Since the major banks had borrowed many times
their equity capital, pretty much all of them -- with a few exceptions -- were
in danger of failing. The government allowed one of them, Lehman Brothers, to
fail, and the results were catastrophic in terms of lending and consumer and
business confidence.So, the government decided to take heroic measures to keep
any other big banks from failing. The government bought immense amounts of stock
in the banks. That raised their levels of equity capital. The government
guaranteed the banks' borrowings. That allowed the banks to stay afloat. The
government greatly lowered the banks' cost of borrowing by lending directly to
the banks at levels far less than normal, levels approaching zero percent.All of
this was done in the name of creating a far sounder national banking system and
one that would resume lending, especially to consumers and home buyers, to "hit
the reset button" as President Obama likes to say, on previous obscenely selfish
behavior by bankers. The bankers promised they would be a whole new kind of
banker and would act in the unselfish public interest.The government completed
the circle of bank rescue by not only letting the banks borrow at almost zero,
but then by allowing the banks to invest the money they borrowed in totally risk
free Treasuries at roughly 3.6 percent. It was shooting fish in a barrel for the
banks and for the investment banks, which were allowed to call themselves
banks.The very predictable result: The banks started making staggering profits
again. With free money furnished to them by the Federal Reserve, and the
taxpayers paying them hefty interest on the money they got for free, how could
the banks lose?

Daniel H. Burnham

Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men's blood and probably themselves will not be realized. Make big plans. Aim high in hope and work. Remembering that a noble, logical diagram once recorded will not die.

Great corporate mission statement

Our Corporate Philosophy

The corporate philosophy of Yoshinoya is simple: We are for the people.
We believe that companies only exist to serve the needs of society and contribute to the greater happiness of mankind. Our company spans national and regional borders, and we treat people from every nation as our customers. As such, we understand that we all share the same human spirit and come from every part of society. We serve people, we value people and we want to be a valued part of people's lives.

We strive to provide our customers with products that deliver excellent value for the money. We endeavor to foster a spirit of enthusiasm and fulfillment in our employees. We aspire to operate in harmony with society and concern with the global environment. We are for the people.

Atul Agarwal

Specialties:

Cellular manufacturing
Lean Manufacturing
Manufacturing systems specialist
Quality control
Statistical applications in business processes

Description:

Dr. Atul Agarwal, associate professor of Production Operations ManagementPh.D. from the University of Texas at Arlington in Business, with expertise in lean operations, quality control, performance issues, and production systems.
Agarwal finds Kettering students driven, mature, and career-minded, with a "razor-focus" approach to career, and the exposure to the best practices in industry that sets Kettering students apart from students at other universities. He enjoys the closer interaction with students that results from Kettering's small class size. teaching graduate courses through the Distance Learning program.
At the beginning of every term Agarwal tells his students how to pronounce his first name. He tells them to say "tool" with an "A" so it's "Atool." A couple of years later he met a student in a store and the student forgot about "tool" in his name and asked, "Aren't you Mr. Hammer?" Since then, he has stopped introducing himself this way.
He would tell prospective students that Kettering is "the best value for your time and money."
Hidden talents and outside interests: Agarwal isn't all business, all the time. Though he avidly tracks Wall Street activity, he also enjoys reading and writing poetry and literature, playing tennis, and traveling both the United States and abroad.

Theory of Constraints

Theory of Constraints (TOC) is an overall management philosophy introduced by Dr. Eliyahu M. Goldratt in his 1984 book titled The Goal, that is geared to help organizations continually achieve their goal.[1] The title comes from the contention that any manageable system is limited in achieving more of its goal by a very small number of constraints, and that there is always at least one constraint. The TOC process seeks to identify the constraint and restructure the rest of the organization around it, through the use of the Five Focusing Steps.

Key Assumption
The underlying assumption of Theory of Constraints is that organizations can be measured and controlled by variations on three measures: Throughput, Operating Expense, and Inventory. Throughput is money (or goal units) generated through sales. Operating Expense is money that goes into the system to ensure its operation on an ongoing basis. Inventory is money the system invests in order to sell its goods and services.[2]

The five focusing steps

Theory of Constraints is based on the premise that the rate of goal achievement is limited by at least one constraining process. Only by increasing flow through the constraint can overall throughput be increased. [1]
Assuming the goal of the organization has been articulated (e.g., "Make money now and in the future") the steps are:
1. IDENTIFY the constraint (the resource/policy that prevents the organization from obtaining more of the goal)
2. Decide how to EXPLOIT the constraint (make sure the constraint's time is not wasted doing things that it should not do)
3. SUBORDINATE all other processes to above decision (align the whole system/organization to support the decision made above)
4. ELEVATE the constraint (if required/possible, permanently increase capacity of the constraint; "buy more")
5. If, as a result of these steps, the constraint has moved, return to Step 1. Don't let inertia become the constraint.
The five focusing steps aim to ensure ongoing improvement efforts are centered around the organization's constraints. In the TOC literature, this is referred to as the Process of Ongoing Improvement (POOGI).
These focusing steps are the key steps to developing the specific applications mentioned below.

Constraints

A constraint is anything that prevents the system from achieving more of its goal. There are many ways that constraints can show up, but a core principle within TOC is that there are not tens or hundreds of constraints. There is at least one and at most a few in any given system. Constraints can be internal or external to the system. An internal constraint is in evidence when the market demands more from the system than it can deliver. If this is the case, then the focus of the organization should be on discovering that constraint and following the five focusing steps to open it up (and potentially remove it). An external constraint exists when the system can produce more than the market will bear. If this is the case, then the organization should focus on mechanisms to create more demand for its products or services.
Types of (internal) constraints
Equipment: The way equipment is currently used limits the ability of the system to produce more salable goods / services.
People: Lack of skilled people limits the system.
Policy: A written or unwritten policy prevents the system from making more.
The concept of the constraint in Theory of Constraints differs from the constraint that shows up in mathematical optimization. In TOC, the constraint is used as a focusing mechanism for management of the system. In optimization, the constraint is written into the mathematical expressions to limit the scope of the solution (X can be no greater than 5).
Please note: Organizations have many problems with equipment, people, policies, etc. But the constraint is the thing that is preventing the organization from getting more Throughput (typically, sales).

Buffers

Buffers are used throughout Theory of Constraints. They appear as part of the EXPLOIT and SUBORDINATE steps of the five focusing steps. Buffers are placed before the key constraint, thus ensuring that the constraint is never starved. Buffers used in this way protect the constraint and should allow for normal variation of processing time and the occasional upset (Murphy) before the constraint.
Buffers can be a bank of physical objects before a work center, waiting to be processed by that work center. Buffers can also be represented by time, as in the time before work reaches the constraint. There should always be enough (but not excessive) work in the time queue before the constraint.
Buffers are not the small queue of work that sits before every work center in a Kanban system. The assumption in Theory of Constraints is that with one constraint in the system, all other parts of the system have sufficient capacity to keep up with the work at the constraint. In a balanced line, as dictated by Kanban, when one work center goes down, then the entire system must wait until that work center is restored. In a TOC system, the only situation where work is in danger is if the constraint is unable to process (either due to malfunction, sickness or a "hole" in the buffer).

Plant types

There are four primary types of plants in the TOC lexicon. Draw the flow of material from the bottom of a page to the top, and you get the four types. They specify the general flow of materials through a system, and they provide some hints about where to look for typical problems. The four types can be combined in many ways in larger facilities.
I-Plant: Material flows in a sequence, such as in an assembly line. The primary work is done in a straight sequence of events (one-to-one). The constraint is the slowest operation.
A-Plant: The general flow of material is many-to-one, such as in a plant where many sub-assemblies converge for a final assembly. The primary problem in A-plants is in synchronizing the converging lines so that each supplies the final assembly point at the right time.
V-Plant: The general flow of material is one-to-many, such as a plant that takes one raw material and can make many final products. Classic examples are meat rendering plants or a steel manufacturer. The primary problem in V-plants is "robbing" where one operation (A) immediately after a diverging point "steals" materials meant for the other operation (B). Once the material has been processed by A, it cannot come back and be run through B without significant rework.
T-Plant: The general flow is that of an I-Plant (or has multiple lines), which then splits into many assemblies (many-to-many). Most manufactured parts are used in multiple assemblies and nearly all assemblies use multiple parts. Customized devices, such as computers, are good examples. T-plants suffer from both synchronization problems of A-plants (parts aren't all available for an assembly) and the robbing problems of V-plants (one assembly steals parts that could have been used in another).
For non-material systems, one can draw the flow of work or the flow of processes and arrive at similar basic structures. A project, for example is an A-shaped sequence of work, culminating in a delivered project.

The Robotic Society is near...

ScienceDaily (June 10, 2009) — European researchers in robotics, psychology and cognitive sciences have developed a robot that can predict the intentions of its human partner. This ability to anticipate (or question) actions could make human-robot interactions more natural.
The walking, talking, thinking robots of science fiction are far removed from the automated machines of today. Even today's most intelligent robots are little more than slaves – programmed to do our bidding.
Many research groups are trying to build robots that could be less like workers and more like companions. But to play this role, they must be able to interact with people in natural ways, and play a pro-active part in joint tasks and decision-making. We need robots that can ask questions, discuss and explore possibilities, assess their companion's ideas and anticipate what their partners might do next.
The EU-funded JAST project (http://www.euprojects-jast.net/) brings a multidisciplinary team together to do just this. The project explores ways by which a robot can anticipate/predict the actions and intentions of a human partner as they work collaboratively on a task.
Who knows best?
You cannot make human-robot interaction more natural unless you understand what 'natural' actually means. But few studies have investigated the cognitive mechanisms that are the basis of joint activity (i.e. where two people are working together to achieve a common goal).
A major element of the JAST project, therefore, was to conduct studies of human-human collaboration. These experiments and observations could feed into the development of more natural robotic behaviour.
The researchers participating in JAST are at the forefront of their discipline and have made some significant discoveries about the cognitive processes involved in joint action and decision-making. Most importantly, they scrutinised the ways in which observation plays an important part in joint activity.
Scientists have already shown that a set of 'mirror neurons' are activated when people observe an activity. These neurons resonate as if they were mimicking the activity; the brain learns about an activity by effectively copying what is going on. In the JAST project, a similar resonance was discovered during joint tasks: people observe their partners and the brain copies their action to try and make sense of it.
In other words, the brain processes the observed actions (and errors, it turns out) as if it is doing them itself. The brain mirrors what the other person is doing either for motor-simulation purposes or to select the most adequate complementary action.
Resonant robotics
The JAST robotics partners have built a system that incorporates this capacity for observation and mirroring (resonance).
“In our experiments the robot is not observing to learn a task,” explains Wolfram Erlhagen from the University of Minho and one of the project consortium's research partners. “The JAST robots already know the task, but they observe behaviour, map it against the task, and quickly learn to anticipate [partner actions] or spot errors when the partner does not follow the correct or expected procedure.”
The robot was tested in a variety of settings. In one scenario, the robot was the 'teacher' – guiding and collaborating with human partners to build a complicated model toy. In another test, the robot and the human were on equal terms. “Our tests were to see whether the human and robot could coordinate their work,” Erlhagen continues. “Would the robot know what to do next without being told?”
By observing how its human partner grasped a tool or model part, for example, the robot was able to predict how its partner intended to use it. Clues like these helped the robot to anticipate what its partner might need next. “Anticipation permits fluid interaction,” says Erlhagen. “The robot does not have to see the outcome of the action before it is able to select the next item.”
The robots were also programmed to deal with suspected errors and seek clarification when their partners’ intentions were ambiguous. For example, if one piece could be used to build three different structures, the robot had to ask which object its partner had in mind.
From JAST to Jeeves
But how is the JAST system different to other experimental robots?
“Our robot has a neural architecture that mimics the resonance processing that our human studies showed take place during joint actions,” says Erlhagen. “The link between the human psychology, experimentation and the robotics is very close. Joint action has not been addressed by other robotics projects, which may have developed ways to predict motor movements, but not decisions or intentions. JAST deals with prediction at a much higher cognitive level.”
Before robots like this one can be let loose around humans, however, they will have to learn some manners. Humans know how to behave according to the context they are in. This is subtle and would be difficult for a robot to understand.
Nevertheless, by refining this ability to anticipate, it should be possible to produce robots that are proactive in what they do.
Not waiting to be asked, perhaps one day a robot may use the JAST approach to take initiative and ask: “Would you care for a cup of tea?”
The JAST project received funding from the ICT strand of the EU’s Sixth Framework Programme for research.

Fallacy: Ad Hominem

Description of Ad Hominem

Translated from Latin to English, "Ad Hominem" means "against the man" or "against the person."

An Ad Hominem is a general category of fallacies in which a claim or argument is rejected on the basis of some irrelevant fact about the author of or the person presenting the claim or argument. Typically, this fallacy involves two steps. First, an attack against the character of person making the claim, her circumstances, or her actions is made (or the character, circumstances, or actions of the person reporting the claim). Second, this attack is taken to be evidence against the claim or argument the person in question is making (or presenting). This type of "argument" has the following form:

Person A makes claim X.
Person B makes an attack on person A.
Therefore A's claim is false.

The reason why an Ad Hominem (of any kind) is a fallacy is that the character, circumstances, or actions of a person do not (in most cases) have a bearing on the truth or falsity of the claim being made (or the quality of the argument being made).

Example of Ad Hominem

Bill: "I believe that abortion is morally wrong." Dave: "Of course you would say that, you're a priest." Bill: "What about the arguments I gave to support my position?" Dave: "Those don't count. Like I said, you're a priest, so you have to say that abortion is wrong. Further, you are just a lackey to the Pope, so I can't believe what you say."

The End of an Era

The End of an Era

When General Motors filed for bankruptcy yesterday it marked the end of an era. The first truly modern, manage-by-the-numbers corporation, created by Alfred Sloan in the 1920s, was laid to rest as a viable concept. But what comes next?
This is not just a question for GM or large enterprises more generally. Yesterday also marked an end of the lean narrative that has been unfolding for thirty years, ever since GM first began to decline in the recession of 1979. David (in fact a team of Davids) finally felled Goliath just as Goliath was finally paying attention to the lean message. So we need to consider what happens next for the Lean Community as well.
What's Next For GM?
At the beginning of 2009, GM had three major weaknesses. It had too much legacy debt – bondholders and retirees. It had compensation costs for current employees that were too high to compete with transplant operations in North America. And the money it received for its products in most segments of the market was far below average, partly as a legacy of decades of defective products and partly due to losing the pulse of the public on what the company and its products should mean for customers.
Ironically, GM also had considerable strengths. It had competitive factories in terms of productivity and quality and a competitive product development process when it could focus its energies. (E.g., the new Chevy Malibu.) After failing for 15 years to learn lessons from NUMMI (its California joint venture with Toyota), GM had in recent years developed a competitive and consistent global manufacturing system and rationalized its global product development organization. It had even taken impressive steps to lean its internal business processes. But -- as in the case of its cast-off parts supplier Delphi -- lean came too late.
The bankruptcy re-sets the trip odometer. The legacy debt has been written down to a manageable level and compensation costs for current employees will now be much more competitive. In addition, the company is dramatically retrenching toward a reasonable portfolio of brands with production capacity appropriate to its realistic share of likely market volumes.
So what is the problem? Simply that GM has now explained what it is not. It is not Saturn or Saab or Pontiac or Hummer. (Or Opel or Vauxhall either, although surely the new Opel will be a supplier of fully-engineered cars for GM for a long time to come.) And GM is not a significant manufacturer in the U.S. outside of the Midwest. And GM is not, from a profitability standpoint, mainly a finance company. And GM will not have a dealer net blanketing every area of every city across the continent.
But what a company is not is of no interest to consumers. If General Motors is no longer "your father's GM" (to paraphrase its advertising line in the last years of Oldsmobile) or "the company that let you down" (as CEO Fritz Henderson phrased it at yesterday's news conference), then what is it? Why should any new customers care to shop GM products, much less pay the top-of-the-segment prices GM needs to flourish? And who can define what the new, appealing GM is?
Sloan's great genius in re-creating General Motors in the 1920s (after its second trip through reorganization – yesterday marked the third in 100 years) was to provide a compelling explanation of how GM fit into every American's life. He presented a complete range of vehicles from a used Chevrolet as a first car for the low income buyer to a fully-equipped Cadillac for those who had succeeded financially. And GM products were carefully arrayed in a status hierarchy with brilliant attention to the look and feel of each product in relation to American tastes. Indeed, as it gained massive size, GM was often the arbiter of American tastes.
So far the only message about what GM is is the Volt, its extended-range hybrid. Perhaps this is a start, although with enormous risks given the flux in technologies and in political and public perceptions about climate change and energy dependency. But even if it is a start, it is a very small start. Who can comprehensively define "your son's GM", "the GM that never lets you down"? And what freedom will they have to do so?
It is easy to blame GM's recent management for its troubles. But the senior GM managers I have known – almost all of whom had strong finance backgrounds --were remarkably competent at running the company in the financially oriented, manage-by-results way that had produced success for generations. So the problem is not the individual competence of mangers but GM's irrelevant conception of what management needs to do. In simplest terms, where is the new Sloan, the leader able to rethink GM's management and purpose and make it relevant to Americans again?
And supposing the new Sloan (or Sloans) can be found. What freedom will this person or team have to run the company in a way that restores its former glory? This is truly a central question because the U.S. government, as the new owner, is sure to be enormously conflicted:
Should the company be immediately and completely "right-sized" for its new place in the world? (This would be the best way to boost share prices so the government can sell the stock to recoup its massive investment. And it would be the best way to help Ford and Chrysler as well, by eliminating excess capacity.) Or should GM stimulate employment in a deep recession and placate the union by minimizing cutbacks? It can't do both.
Should GM focus in the next few years on the big pick-ups and SUVs that account for all of its profits? (This would be another excellent way to boost share prices so the government can recoup its investment.) Or should GM take a dramatic turn toward highly fuel-efficient products, which won't sell and certainly not at high margins unless energy pricing is also dramatically adjusted upward toward world levels? (e.g., $5 versus $2 per gallon.) It can't do both.
Clearly the hard part comes now, after bankruptcy, and we will all watch what happens. But let me make an exception for those readers – and there are many – who work at GM and who can take an active role in making it happen. I truly wish you the best.
What's Next for Lean?
For 30 years now the Lean Community has benefited from a strong trailing wind. GM steadily declined as Toyota steadily advanced. All we needed to do was standby and cheer! But this narrative is over.
GM and almost all large manufacturers have now accepted lean as a management theory, although the actual practice is always a struggle. As I noted above, GM was becoming a vastly leaner enterprise just as it collapsed and I have confidence that it will continue to embrace lean principles and methods in the years immediately ahead.
At the same time Toyota has turned out to have flaws of its own in the current financial crisis. It barged ahead with capacity expansion across the world that outran its ability to create lean managers and defied reasonable expectations for long-term market demand. (As I have mentioned in previous e-letters, in the mid-1990s Toyota redefined its purpose from being the best organization at solving customer problems to being the largest, an objective of no interest to any customer.) This has been a real setback for the lean movement.
We in the Lean Community therefore find ourselves in the odd position of winning a battle of ideas without actually getting most believers to fully practice their new convictions. And we have as our ideal organization a company that is experiencing significant management and revenue challenges despite "winning" the great contest between modern management and lean management.
Even as this drama plays out within manufacturing, lean ideas are spreading rapidly to new fields, from the beleaguered financial industry to healthcare to government services. Yet we have not fully defined what lean means in these areas, much less how to implement and sustain it. So the dramatic events of recent weeks are not a time for self-congratulation. Instead, they are a time for modesty and self-reflection – hansei, if you will – as we all struggle with the economic crisis while trying to re-define our own purpose as a Lean Community for the new era ahead.

Saving Milwaukee’s Best

Milwaukee is home to America’s most vibrant school-choice program: More than 20,000 students participate, almost all of them minorities. They have made academic gains and boast higher graduation rates than their peers in public schools. They even save money for taxpayers. Inevitably, Democrats in the state capital are trying to eviscerate the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program.They’ve wanted to gut school choice for years, at the behest of teacher-union patrons who believe education should be a government monopoly. Until recently, Republicans have stood in the way. That changed following last year’s elections. Now, for the first time since the advent of school choice in Milwaukee two decades ago, Madison is a one-party capital. The governor, Jim Doyle, is a Democrat. Members of his party control both the state assembly and the state senate. School choice is in their crosshairs.Last week, the legislature’s Joint Finance Committee approved a series of auditing, accrediting, and instructional requirements that will force successful voucher schools to shift resources away from classrooms and into administration. Several schools will have to comply with new bilingual-education mandates, even though many immigrant parents choose those schools precisely because they emphasize the rapid acquisition of English instead of native-language maintenance.Lawmakers also propose to strip funding for school choice. With the value of each voucher reduced, private schools will see their payments fall. Meanwhile, public schools will watch their budgets increase by hundreds of dollars per student. This is on top of what is already a startling financial asymmetry: Taxpayers currently hand over $13,468 per student to Milwaukee Public Schools, compared to just $6,607 per student in the school-choice program. In 2008 alone, school choice saved the public almost $32 million, according to Robert M. Costrel of the University of Arkansas. Since 1994, the figure is $180 million. The savings would be even larger if more students used vouchers.At the National Press Club last week, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said that he opposed school choice: “Let me explain why. Vouchers usually serve 1 to 2 percent of the children in a community. . . . But I don’t want to save 1 or 2 percent of children and let 98, 99 percent down.” It was a bizarre statement: Why not simply let more than 1 or 2 percent enjoy the benefits of school choice? In Milwaukee, they actually do. It’s the largest urban school-choice program in the country, dwarfing the size of the one in Washington, D.C., whose de-funding by congressional Democrats has drawn so much criticism. Roughly one in five of Milwaukee’s school-age children receive vouchers. All of them must fall below an income threshold. Researchers say that the program is beginning to show systemic effects. In other words, it doesn’t merely help its participants. It also gives a lift to non-voucher students because the pressure of competition has forced public schools to improve.Sometimes onerous regulations are at least well-intentioned blunders. Not these. The enemies of school choice in Madison know exactly what they’re doing. In the name of “accountability,” they attack the quality of voucher schools with deadly precision. The goal is to make them as mediocre as the public schools they routinely outperform — and to leave parents, once again, without a choice.

Ways to Increase Sales Volume

Convert nonusers to your product(s)

Enter new market segments after proper analysis of the market

Attract competitors’ customers

Have consumers use the product on more occasions (Orange Juice, It's not just for breakfast anymore!)

Have consumers use more of the product on each occasion

Have consumers use the product in new ways (Post-It note art projects!)

Strategies for Sustaining Rapid Market Growth

Improve product quality, add new features, and improve styling

Add new models and flanker products

Enter new market segments

Increase distribution coverage

Shift from product-awareness advertising to product-preference advertising

Lower prices to attract the next layer of price-sensitive buyers

Market Opportunity Analysis (MOA)

Questions companies need to ask before expanding into new markets…


Can the benefits involved in the opportunity be articulated convincingly to a defined target market?

Can the target market be located and reached with cost-effective media and trade channels?

Does the company possess or have access to the critical capabilities and resources needed to deliver the customer benefits?

Can the company deliver the benefits better than any actual or potential competitors?

Will the financial rate of return meet or exceed the company’s required threshold for investment?

Effective Leadership

Was Martin Luther King, Jr an effective leader? The question seems unintelligent since the outcome of history can been seen all around us in the fruitful labors of the Civil Rights movement. Clearly, King was an effective leader by the definition of accomplishing racial equality for black Americans through his actions, speeches and writings such as The Letter from a Birmingham Jail. One could go on to enumerate all the accomplishments of Dr. King throughout his life, but this analysis will focus on specific instances of leadership in order to gauge the degree of effectiveness of his proclaimed mission:

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. (American Rhetoric, 2009)

Born into a family which had a tradition of pastors, and after completing his education, King began to assume different leadership positions. King recognized the opportunities before his race and was convinced that the injustice that was subject to blacks would not stand for long. After the early success of the Montgomery Bus Boycott which began when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat, King became the leader of the Civil Rights movement. King was deeply inspired by Jesus and Gandhi. He became utterly convinced of the power of love to transform the racial hatred and bitterness that was at the root of segregation. This power which originated from Jesus himself in the Sermon on the Mount tells Christians to love your enemies:

You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on (your) right cheek, turn the other one to him as well. (NAB, 2002)

King applied these principals along with the concrete example of Gandhi during his battle for the independence of India. According to Kevin Morrow, the Gandhi approach had caught King’s attention at a time of disillusionment and despair about love as a force for political and social change. "I became deeply fascinated by his campaigns of nonviolent resistance,” King remembers. “As I delved deeper into the philosophy of Gandhi, my skepticism concerning the power of love gradually diminished, and I came to see for the first time its potency in the area of social reform." (Examiner, 2009)

King knew about the laws of God which are just and in conformity with the natural law, and the laws of man which if not based on the natural law can be unjust. Thus, one has a duty to fight against and disobey unjust laws and King taught this to his followers.

King was a pastor, a man of God and he used the words of Jesus to rally the deeply spiritual elements of the civil rights movement. For instance during his sermon, “I’ve been To the Mountaintop,”, King uses powerful biblical language and weaves the civil rights struggle into an eternal perspective, a fight that will go on even after King is gone:

We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn’t matter with me now, because I’ve been to the mountaintop and I don’t mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will, and He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over and I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you, but I want you to know tonight, that we as a people will get to the Promised Land. And I’m happy tonight; I’m not worried about anything. I’m not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.” (King Center, 2009)

This type of powerful language coupled with the seriousness of the task at hand, allowed King to use his rhetorical skills to the greatest effect. King was a student of history, of struggle, and a man of great character. He followed the greatest practitioners of non-violent resistance in Jesus and Gandhi and effectively implemented their strategy and tactics into the civil rights battle. Additionally, King did not avoid confrontation, but sought victory unequivocally and without compromises for what was right. He also foresaw the danger to his own life, but placed his destiny into the hands of God and courageously continued to fight for justice until his assassination in 1968.

“Let us rise up tonight with a greater readiness. Let us stand with a greater determination. And let us move on in these powerful days, these days of challenge to make America what it ought to be. We have an opportunity to make America a better nation. And I want to thank God once more for allowing me to be here with you.” (King Center, 2009)

Bibliography:

"American Rhetoric: Martin Luther King, Jr. - I Have a Dream." American Rhetoric: The Power of Oratory in the United States. 4 Mar. 2009 .

Morrow, Kevin . "DC Christian Culture Examiner: In Jesus-Gandhi-King connection, Sermon on the Mount's influence comes full circle." Burlington Vermont News. 6 Mar. 2009 .

"The King Center." The King Center. 6 Mar. 2009 .

"USCCB - NAB - Matthew 5." United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. 6 Mar. 2009 .