This article presents an interview with Mike Zisman, who is the executive vice president for strategy at Lotus Development and vice president of strategy for parent company IBM. He is the IBM groupthink guru and he is leaning towards a new instant messaging and knowledge management system in his firm. He spends most of his time exploring knowledge management and collaborative communications. When asked how he thinks the traditional messaging and groupware market will pick up out of its maturation phase, he answered that messaging is something people need these days and so the market is moving in a new direction. The focus is more on solving problems in the collaborative market and real-time messaging, which yields knowledge management. He then describes knowledge management with a quote, stating that it is best explained as, “HP would be better off if HP knew what HP knew.” He defines it as consisting of a whole set of technologies, the five key ones being business intelligence, collaboration, distributed learning, knowledge discovery and mapping, and expertise location. (Some of these match up with the knowledge management values in chapter 11.) He states that technology plays a major role in knowledge management, but it would be futile without it. Just as we learned in chapter 11, knowledge management requires the recognition that a firm’s core processes need to be changed; throwing out technologies will not solve any problems. The real-time collaboration market that deals with pure messaging has peaked according to Zisman, and customers now want to see messaging-based collaboration. The resulting collaboration products have proven to be successful; he uses it himself in his company and is able to instant message anyone in the company. Using a browser, he can go to a website and click on a meeting and work with the members in the meeting, which eliminates the need for travel. The future holds directly embedding the collaboration tools into applications, and the integration of this into other IBM units is something to look forward to as well.
Reference:
Songini, Mark. (1999). What’s Beyond Groupware? Retrieved from PC World on May 22, 2009.
Website: http://www.pcworld.com/article/13198/whats_beyond_groupware.html
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Information Systems and your Doctor
1. The major problems faced by hospitals and physicians include drug errors and inappropriate prescriptions. 1.5 million Americans are injured each year due to drug errors in hospitals, nursing homes, and doctor’s offices. Over 7000 Americans are killed each year due to inappropriate prescriptions. These preventable drug errors add over $5800 to a patient’s hospital bill. These errors are typically a result of human factors, such as poor handwriting, memory lapse, fatigue, or distractions. Management and organizational problems include not having a secondary person to check up on the drug order. Technological factors include not having the appropriate information technology system to aid in making these important decisions.
2. A CPOE system is appropriate because it helps doctors and nurses make better prescription decisions using information technology. Errors can be reduced, physicians can be kept updated on drug treatment guidelines, and the ordering of superfluous tests or drugs can be avoided. The DDS system is also appropriate because it tries to reduce misdiagnoses of patients by providing a comprehensive list of possible conditions to the physician regarding the patient. This system also directs physicians to important information that can be found in medical journal articles regarding the latest research. Issues involved with the systems include the fact that physicians must be willing to incorporate the use of the system into their workflow; plenty of doctors are resistant to change in the workplace. The system itself can also cause a new set of problems, such as scattering patient data and drug-ordering forms over different computer windows, which increases the chances that physicians would order the wrong medication. The system may also be rigid by not allowing attempts to enter orders for patients not admitted yet. The systems can be improved and can allow for greater efficiency and communication if implemented correctly.
3) Obstacles that prevent computer systems from improving the medical industry include the lack of participation on behalf of medical staff to train on a new system that may not even do the job correctly, the introduction of new types of errors such as scattering patient information which results in mix-ups, the lack of sensitivity to the specific patient such as his height, weight, and age, and rigidity, in that orders may not be able to be written up unless the patient is admitted. These problems can be circumvented, however, by using improved systems that minimize errors and increase the communication among medical staff. These systems can potentially save the users a great deal of money. It is also important to remember that the systems are not there to replace the physicians; rather, they are there to aid in the efficiency of the physician’s work. In the end, the physician has the final say.
2. A CPOE system is appropriate because it helps doctors and nurses make better prescription decisions using information technology. Errors can be reduced, physicians can be kept updated on drug treatment guidelines, and the ordering of superfluous tests or drugs can be avoided. The DDS system is also appropriate because it tries to reduce misdiagnoses of patients by providing a comprehensive list of possible conditions to the physician regarding the patient. This system also directs physicians to important information that can be found in medical journal articles regarding the latest research. Issues involved with the systems include the fact that physicians must be willing to incorporate the use of the system into their workflow; plenty of doctors are resistant to change in the workplace. The system itself can also cause a new set of problems, such as scattering patient data and drug-ordering forms over different computer windows, which increases the chances that physicians would order the wrong medication. The system may also be rigid by not allowing attempts to enter orders for patients not admitted yet. The systems can be improved and can allow for greater efficiency and communication if implemented correctly.
3) Obstacles that prevent computer systems from improving the medical industry include the lack of participation on behalf of medical staff to train on a new system that may not even do the job correctly, the introduction of new types of errors such as scattering patient information which results in mix-ups, the lack of sensitivity to the specific patient such as his height, weight, and age, and rigidity, in that orders may not be able to be written up unless the patient is admitted. These problems can be circumvented, however, by using improved systems that minimize errors and increase the communication among medical staff. These systems can potentially save the users a great deal of money. It is also important to remember that the systems are not there to replace the physicians; rather, they are there to aid in the efficiency of the physician’s work. In the end, the physician has the final say.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Fully Automated Supply Chains are Difficult to Implement
This article relates to supply chain management mentioned in chapter 9. A key feature to remaining competitive is to adopt a fully automated supply chain in a business in order to make the relevant data available to suppliers, consumers, and distributors. This is, however, a difficult step to take, largely due to the fact that it is expensive to implement and there is no consensus among suppliers in pursuing such a task.
CIOs believe that being able to link business information to the customer is worthwhile, but it is a difficult task. Customers usually enjoy the convenience of being able to check upon the delivery status of the online products they have ordered, but this can only be achieved with the full cooperation of all the links along the supply chain, big and small. This full supply chain connectivity, however, is impossible to achieve because the small links on the supply chain are not interested in the extraneous expenditure of implementing new IT systems, training for those systems, and business plan changes that would result from such changes. Larger companies have no problem investing in such technologies, but small companies simply are not willing to invest what little they have for electronic data interchange (EDI) or web-based transaction links. Some people believe that large companies must do their share in providing the resources or whatever else they can to help out the smaller companies to make this connectivity work. As an example, being able to set up an EDI system in a small office would require a translator to convert data between the different systems used in the companies. Therefore, it would be very difficult for customers to be able to view data from the small mom-and-pop stores because there is no connectivity between the different information systems used in the companies along the supply chain. Even if all companies desired to implement this system, it would be impossible simply due to the heterogeneity of the information systems.
Despite these problems, however, both the CIO of Sport Chalet and the information systems application manager at West Marine plan on using a supply chain integration service to make it easier to provide connections between the small and large companies along their supply chain. I think this is a great idea, especially since I like to track my packages too and half the time the information is not available, so it would be a greater convenience for me to know where my package is, especially in the event that the package gets lost. I can see how this integration would be difficult, though, particularly since small companies cannot afford to participate. Large companies want to satisfy their customers, but if small companies start taking advantage of their help, a lot of problems can ensue too.
Reference:
Songini, Marc L. (2001). Fully Automated Supply Chains Hard to Pull Off. Retrieved
May 8, 2009 from PC World.
Website: http://www.pcworld.com/article/40862 /fully_automated_supply_chains_hard_to_pull_off.html
CIOs believe that being able to link business information to the customer is worthwhile, but it is a difficult task. Customers usually enjoy the convenience of being able to check upon the delivery status of the online products they have ordered, but this can only be achieved with the full cooperation of all the links along the supply chain, big and small. This full supply chain connectivity, however, is impossible to achieve because the small links on the supply chain are not interested in the extraneous expenditure of implementing new IT systems, training for those systems, and business plan changes that would result from such changes. Larger companies have no problem investing in such technologies, but small companies simply are not willing to invest what little they have for electronic data interchange (EDI) or web-based transaction links. Some people believe that large companies must do their share in providing the resources or whatever else they can to help out the smaller companies to make this connectivity work. As an example, being able to set up an EDI system in a small office would require a translator to convert data between the different systems used in the companies. Therefore, it would be very difficult for customers to be able to view data from the small mom-and-pop stores because there is no connectivity between the different information systems used in the companies along the supply chain. Even if all companies desired to implement this system, it would be impossible simply due to the heterogeneity of the information systems.
Despite these problems, however, both the CIO of Sport Chalet and the information systems application manager at West Marine plan on using a supply chain integration service to make it easier to provide connections between the small and large companies along their supply chain. I think this is a great idea, especially since I like to track my packages too and half the time the information is not available, so it would be a greater convenience for me to know where my package is, especially in the event that the package gets lost. I can see how this integration would be difficult, though, particularly since small companies cannot afford to participate. Large companies want to satisfy their customers, but if small companies start taking advantage of their help, a lot of problems can ensue too.
Reference:
Songini, Marc L. (2001). Fully Automated Supply Chains Hard to Pull Off. Retrieved
May 8, 2009 from PC World.
Website: http://www.pcworld.com/article/40862 /fully_automated_supply_chains_hard_to_pull_off.html
Limited Brands and its Supply Chain
2) Since the first Limited store opened back in 1963, the business grew rapidly, yet there were operational problems behind the scenes. The main issues dealt with the supply chain management, which was evident in the logistics disaster of 400 merchandise trailers showing up at a distribution center parking lot designed to hold only 150. This catastrophe was an immediate result of bad planning systems and lack of proper communication between different segments of the enterprise; no one had knowledge of where the inventory came from and where it was headed to. Another crucial incident that lead to problems revolved around the fact that Limited Brands acquired a number of companies to grow in size, and in doing so, it acquired a number of information systems with hundreds of applications running on a variety of platforms. Thus, supply chain information was not easily transferred between applications, which is a crucial step in properly managing the supply chain. These problems all served to negatively impact the business, particularly in slowing down the supply chain process, which inevitably leads to unhappy customers.
3) The main management problems deal with the lack of communication between the various departments in the firm. Not a single person knew of the origin of the inventory nor where it was headed to, and this is a significant issue that must be dealt with in order to run an efficient business. The organizational problems deal with the lack of communication again, in addition to the fact that most of the managers do not agree on the same methods that should be implemented for the good of the company. The technology problems were the various information systems that were used in the variety of companies that were acquired by Limited Brands and the fact that they were not integrated into one centralized system. Instead, they were all kept as separate entities, which only leads to redundancies and the inability to transfer information from one system to another efficiently.
4) To address these problems, Limited Brands decided to upgrade its supply chain and eliminate the numerous information systems that only complicated the infrastructure. The company tried to increase sales, increase flexibility in responding to customers’ needs, and free up employees so they can better address sales issues, as opposed to focusing on the supply chain and logistics. Several cross-functional projects were launched to increase the credibility of the brands’ new mission, such as the building of regional dock centers to direct products to stores at a cheaper cost and in a shorter amount of time. This way, managers had more time to make decisions on what products to reorder. Limited Brands also contracted to Tibco Software the development of a global application integration platform to improve the company’s ability to track and manage the flow of information throughout the global supply chain. The resulting assessment revealed issues with scheduling and processing of delays, which was attributed to the simplistic point-to-point infrastructure. To improve this, different application programming interfaces were needed, so that changing one API would result in a chain reaction that required changes in all APIs in the connected applications. Real-time reporting and communications with delivery agents were also established, in addition to the integration of the outbound supply chain accountability and reporting (OSCAR) application with the logistics application. Thus, real-time communications and enhanced shipment tracking came about. Limited Brands united all its brands’ technology operations under a single central entity, namely Limited Technology Services. Further technological improvements included using a reusable framework for the replication of software solutions and an enterprise resource planning (ERP) deployment. Web-based demand and supply chain management tools were also adopted. In terms of management and organization, supply chain management was brought closer to the boardroom so the corporate level would be aware of the supply chain concerns, which helped in contributing to the overall corporate strategy, in addition to helping in costs, quality, and customer satisfaction.
3) The main management problems deal with the lack of communication between the various departments in the firm. Not a single person knew of the origin of the inventory nor where it was headed to, and this is a significant issue that must be dealt with in order to run an efficient business. The organizational problems deal with the lack of communication again, in addition to the fact that most of the managers do not agree on the same methods that should be implemented for the good of the company. The technology problems were the various information systems that were used in the variety of companies that were acquired by Limited Brands and the fact that they were not integrated into one centralized system. Instead, they were all kept as separate entities, which only leads to redundancies and the inability to transfer information from one system to another efficiently.
4) To address these problems, Limited Brands decided to upgrade its supply chain and eliminate the numerous information systems that only complicated the infrastructure. The company tried to increase sales, increase flexibility in responding to customers’ needs, and free up employees so they can better address sales issues, as opposed to focusing on the supply chain and logistics. Several cross-functional projects were launched to increase the credibility of the brands’ new mission, such as the building of regional dock centers to direct products to stores at a cheaper cost and in a shorter amount of time. This way, managers had more time to make decisions on what products to reorder. Limited Brands also contracted to Tibco Software the development of a global application integration platform to improve the company’s ability to track and manage the flow of information throughout the global supply chain. The resulting assessment revealed issues with scheduling and processing of delays, which was attributed to the simplistic point-to-point infrastructure. To improve this, different application programming interfaces were needed, so that changing one API would result in a chain reaction that required changes in all APIs in the connected applications. Real-time reporting and communications with delivery agents were also established, in addition to the integration of the outbound supply chain accountability and reporting (OSCAR) application with the logistics application. Thus, real-time communications and enhanced shipment tracking came about. Limited Brands united all its brands’ technology operations under a single central entity, namely Limited Technology Services. Further technological improvements included using a reusable framework for the replication of software solutions and an enterprise resource planning (ERP) deployment. Web-based demand and supply chain management tools were also adopted. In terms of management and organization, supply chain management was brought closer to the boardroom so the corporate level would be aware of the supply chain concerns, which helped in contributing to the overall corporate strategy, in addition to helping in costs, quality, and customer satisfaction.
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