...AUTOMAKERS BECOME SOFTWARE COMPANIES? Case Study 2 Abstract Automakers’ diving in head first in merging cutting edge technology with automobiles has caused some growing pains. The issues with providing a constant source of Wi-Fi capabilities, privacy concerns, distributing necessary software upgrades, and protecting the customers identity have been issues auto makers have faced since this endeavor started to enter the cars we buy. So companies like Ford, GM and BMW have been on the razor edge of break through innovation to draw the curious techy generation to friendlier interface systems, with high-tech navigation, Pandora music, Wi-Fi capabilities, and applications that car buyers and use to continue their social networking, technological dependent lives on the road. Together these advances suggest that auto makers are on the verge of entering an another industry to supplement their industry. Identifying the major issues and their outcomes Identifying the major issues in automakers exploring inclusion into technology within their cars is numerous, although the upside is great and there is evidence to support it. Of the many issues that automakers face, one of the more prominent is the lack of a central system to feed into to, or off of. This system does not exist yet to where these systems can receive traffic information, schedule reservations, or even connect...
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...Why companies are better than others? Analyzing the Automotive Industry we can notice the number of competitors in the market today. What strategies they use to growth their revenues, have more profit and be more productive? To stay solid in the market. A branch of the automotive industry is the Automaker industry. In this case is mentioned companies like Ford and BMW what enhance their vehicles with onboard software to improve the customer experience, that way also the automakers add value and freshness to their cars reducing and save cost because they not have to invest more in new vehicle production and once a new software is created, usually in months, this can be updated it and again over the life of the car, unlike when a new car is planned, designed and built. The software are very attractive to the customers is a cost effective way to compete in the Automotive industry. In this era where the time is more important than ever, customers can benefit with the software and application included in the vehicles by the automakers to save time and effort. An example of that is the navigation system, in my opinion is the most important software invented for automobiles, we can set routes and schedule the errands easy and effective, saving gas and time. In words of entertainment other benefits of the software included in car are applications for music, for download of have access to internet radio stations, also we can connect a tablet or a smartphone to the system, that way we...
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...CASE STUDY : Automaker Become Software Company 1) How is software adding value to automaker products? Software that improves the customer experience , and the auto industry is working on technology that allow car to be managed via the cloud perhaps, automakers doing the most to innovate with software and apps. It my Ford Touch intense is in dash touch available for select vehicles with control for navigation, music, phone integration and temperature. 2) How are the customer benefits from software enhanced cars? How are customer benefiting Automaker may save time that usually takes about two and one half years to plan, design, and build a new car. Design and production, including metal stumbling equipment and assembly line setup but the automaker can create a new software interface for a car within months and update it again and again ever the lite of the car without much lead time. Customer gets benefits of to avoid traffic jams to reserve parking spaces in advance and possibly to even drive themselves. 3) What value chain activities are involved in enhancing cars with software? Firstly, automakers are entering uncharted territory. They must now devote resources to updating and testing their software. Car companies need to coordinate their car development cycles more closely with their software development cycles also many of the technologies included in automobile software packages raise the same privacy concerns surrounding location tracking that have...
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...Pooja Koirala Automakers become software companies: This is a scary time for some and exciting for others. Should people rely so much on machines? Is trying worth the risk? No one knows the answer for sure. Advancement and innovation is leading to a phase that we are slowly letting machines take over the job we are not so willing to do, or in other words are machines more reliable and efficient than humans? Research shows that 9 out of 10 people are not comfortable letting the technology take their hands off the wheels. It is certain that population is never comfortable to an emerging revolution. We have come so far in 500 years when we use to think Earth was flat. Then the idea of Earth being round was unacceptable and punishable. May be after many years we will back and think same for people who did not accept the idea of letting go the wheels on the hands of machines. This might be the beginning of technological revolution when people start gaining confidence on the machines. We are currently using automotive technology and relying on it; For example airplanes are automated and they fly themselves but we are very comfortable with that so far (Langewiesche, 2014). Many car companies like Audi, Volvo and BMW has successfully demonstrated that we can completely rely on the automated vehicles. Automated driving is just the part of what has been invented. Honda, Nissan and most of the car now provides lane departure warning and blind spot monitoring. According to the web article...
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...Social networks not become the core of collaboration at the companies. Inertia in organization, many do work as they used to do from upper management to employees. Without realization that it would help to do their jobs, employees feel too time pressed to learn a new software tool also lacking incentive to use as necessary tool to complete work. Companies usually lack the analytic capabilities measure the performance and value created by their internal social network. 2. Why the most of the companies described in the case been successful in implementing internal social networks? It did not require big capital investment. CSC: Software allowed the company both to network within the company as well as with suppliers, partners, and customers which stratified a supply chain and customer feedback. Created “champions”, advocates to help in adoption, first tested over 200 groups before widespread implementation. Red Robbin refine recipes and operational procedures in restaurants in the franchise with fast turnaround and quick feedback on recipes change and operational decisions. Den-Mat Switched from 30 y.o. legacy system and paper, from e-mail to Chatter updates. Allowed some workers work from home. 3. Should all companies implement internal enterprise social networks. I would avoid recommending 100% adoption of any technology, including company’s social network. It has big potential for technology, informatics, knowledge based, manufacturing and some service companies. Initially needs to...
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...On September 18, 2015, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) accused Volkswagen of cheating on the emission test. Volkswagen had become extremely popular around the world due to the advertising on eco-friendly car. Volkswagen was advertising on the Super Bowl commercials, social media and much more. For seven years they had a false advertisement. It was a false advertisement because everything they were advertising was invalid. People were being lied to on what they were buying. Volkswagen had installed a software into the diesel engine. A deontologist, utilitarian and virtue ethicist could describe the action taken place by Volkswagen. A deontologist, utilitarian, and a virtue ethicist have different ways of describing what is morally...
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...American Thomas Davenport is credited with building the first practicalelectric vehicle -- a small locomotive. 1859 French physicist Gaston Planté invents the rechargeable lead-acid storage battery. In 1881, his countryman Camille Faure will improve the storage battery's ability to supply current and invent the basic lead-acid battery used in automobiles. 1891 William Morrison of Des Moines, Iowa builds the first successful electric automobile in the United States. Thomas Edison and an electric car. Courtesy of the Smithsonian 1893 A handful of different makes and models of electric cars are exhibited in Chicago. 1897 The first electric taxis hit the streets of New York City early in the year. The Pope Manufacturing Company of Connecticut becomes the first large-scale American electric automobile manufacturer. 1899 Believing that electricity will run autos in the future, Thomas Alva Edison begins his mission to create a long-lasting, powerful battery for commercial automobiles. Though his research yields some improvements to the alkaline battery, he ultimately abandons his quest a decade later. 1900 The electric automobile is in its heyday. Of the 4,192 cars produced in the United States 28 percent are powered by electricity, and electric autos represent about one-third of all cars found on the roads of New York City, Boston, and Chicago. A Ford Model T 1908 Henry Ford introduces the mass-produced and gasoline-powered Model T, which will have a profound effect...
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...sector, of which only about 6 per cent are organised and the remaining 94 per cent are small-scale, unorganized players. In terms of value added, however, the organised players account for nearly 77 percent of the output in the sector. The auto ancillary industry caters to three broad categories of the market: 1) Original equipment manufacturers (OEM) or vehicle manufacturers, that comprises of 25% total demand 2) Replacement market, that comprises 65% of the total demand 3) Export Market, that comprises primarily of international Tier I suppliers and constitutes 10% of total demand. The organized sector has about 425 firms who serve more than 20 big vehicle manufacturers. There are nearly 50 leading companies who account for a major share of the output. These companies have access to technology due to their tie-ups with some of the foreign collaborators. At present, there are nearly 450 foreign...
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...Table of Contents Forward 2 Introduction 3 Genesis 6 Failure, the Gateway to Success 9 Player Development is the Key 12 Superior Guest Experience Results 17 There is strange mathematical urban legend called the six degrees of separation. This law simply states that all people on Earth are separated by at the most six other individuals. Whether or not this is true is left for debate but it clearly shows the interconnectedness of people on a planet that seems not so large anymore. On a much smaller scale this theory can be used as well. I’ve seen it performed for sports players and coaches, i.e. the Bill Walsh coaching tree, Dean Smith coaching disciples and even the six degrees of Ricky Henderson. For me and my industry which happens to be gaming the six degrees of separation would make me somewhat of a legacy. In only four steps, my gaming lineage can be traced all the way back...
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...distinction, global auto sales plunged, leading to a loss for the fiscal year of $4.8 billion, the largest in the company's 72-year history. As Toyota returned to the black in late 2009, its reputation for safety and quality were battered by a series of recalls. The issue of unintended acceleration would lead the company through a bruising gantlet of government investigations, lawsuits from crash victims and one of the heaviest fines ever imposed on a car manufacturer in the United States. Toyota’s struggles continued late into 2010 as the carmaker dealt with the fallout from the recalls and the company was the only full-line automaker to report lower sales that year. In 2011, the company reduced production after the impact of the Japanese natural and nuclear disasters caused severe supply chain disruptions. Though Toyota’s 17 plants in Japan escaped the disaster relatively unscathed, factory lines are working at only half volume in Japan and at 40 percent overseas, as vital suppliers in Japan’s worst-hit areas struggle to restart operations. The company announced that it would not return to predisaster production levels until the end of 2011. The two other main Japanese automakers, Nissan and Honda, are also operating at only about half of normal production volumes in Japan. Akio Toyoda, president and chief executive of Toyota, said he expected to ramp up production gradually in Japan, starting in July, as more parts makers came back on line. Toyota will raise production at its overseas...
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... In The US Automobile Industry US automobile industry started booming after the recession and became an important part of the US economy. Low interest rate, cheap gas price, and new technologies of car influence buyers to get a new car. The US automobile industry consists of almost 200 companies and their annual revenue is about 280 billion (Automobile Manufacturing, n.d.). Last year US automobile industry sold record 17.5 million cars and trucks, which is a 5.7% increase from 2014 fiscal year (Spector, Bennett, & Stoll, 2016). The top four US automobile manufacturers are General motors, Toyota, Ford, and Chrysler, who account for about 70% of the total automobile sales. US based automakers face rivalry problems with foreign companies such as Toyota, Honda, and Nissan because of their cheap labor cost and no union problem. However, these companies also have their assembly lines in US, and hold around 45% of the US auto industry. US automakers are also taking advantage of NAFTA by assembling autoes in Mexico and Canada with lower labor costs (Automobile Manufacturing, n.d.). Usually 75% of the materials account for the selling price of a US made car. US companies have also increased importation of parts from abroad which helps them increase their profitability. Features like extended warranty, extended service plan, safety features, and fuel efficiency help attract consumers and increase sales. US retail sales have increased 7.00% in 2015 (Automobile Manufacturing...
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...Version 1.2 The Blue Sky Software Consulting Firm Case for Management and Leadership Program Assessment The Blue Sky is a fifteen-year old software-consulting firm. It was founded by Max Blue, who was until last year its CEO and Chairman of the Board. Blue has stepped down from the CEO role, but remains Board Chairman. The new CEO is Jim Willis, who joined the company as VP for the HR software division five years ago. Before coming to Blue Sky Willis was an executive with a major accounting/consulting firm. Blue Sky is divided into three divisions: Machine Tool Software—This division develops machine tool software used in the auto industry. Some of the software is utilized by the major manufacturing companies, but mostly they serve suppliers of parts and components. HR Software- This division has developed Human Resource Management software to be used in the retail industry. Their major client has been the Best Dollar Retail Chain, which sells upscale style, but affordable clothes for teenagers. They have retail locations in most parts of the country, except for the mid Atlantic and New England states. Most of their stores are in medium to small cities. Heath Payment Software- This division has developed software for state governments to help manage their Medicaid provider payment systems. They provide this software for 15 states scattered across the country. Each division is headed by a Vice President: Machine Tool—Michael James- was one of...
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...believe Toyota handled this situation from the deontological perspective and what other theories apply to the unethical situation. Description Unethical Situation In 2010, Toyota was forced to issue a series of highly-publicized recalls, due to reports of cars accelerating beyond the driver's control. The issue led to Congressional hearings, damaged the reputation of a company once known for its bulletproof reliability, and left millions of Toyota owners with questions about their own safety. Understandably, the news was worried for Toyota consumers. It also rocked the automotive industry, as questions about Toyota's reputation for reliability surfaced during this time. It started with a single, horrifying car crash in southern California in August 2009. In the weeks following, two separate recalls covering 7.5 million vehicles, Toyota was forced to announce it was suspending the sale of eight of its best-selling vehicles, a move that cost the company and its dealers a minimum of $54 million a day in lost sales revenue. How did a company that became the world's largest and most profitable automaker on the back of a rock-solid reputation for quality and dependability find itself at the center of the biggest product recall since the Firestone tire fiasco in 2000? And what does this mean for Toyota's brand image in its largest and most profitable market? (MacKenzie, 2010). August 28, 2009: Off-duty California Highway Patrol officer Mark...
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...Ford Motor Company – Case Study Jason Austin Denine Rood Jeanne Sands Like apple pie and a summer baseball game, Ford Motor Company has come to symbolize America, the land of opportunity. This America is a place where a person with scarcely any means can take little more than an idea and transform it into one of the most successful companies in the world. This is the story of Henry Ford and the Ford Motor Company. Consider the following quote from the Ford Web site. Ford Motor Company entered the business world on June 16, 1903, when Henry Ford and 11 business associates signed the company's articles of incorporation. With $28,000 in cash, the pioneering industrialists gave birth to what was to become one of the world's largest corporations. Few companies are as closely identified with the history and development of industry and society throughout the 20th century as Ford Motor Company. Henry Ford and his business partners where true entrepreneurs. Today, when we think about Ford, we think about innovation. From Henry Ford’s revolutionary idea of the assembly line to the new vehicles that Ford introduces every day, innovation has always been a cornerstone of Ford’s business. One little known fact is that Ford embraced QFD (Quality Function Deployment) , a Japanese quality methodology, into their product design process significantly earlier than most companies in the United States. This embracing of new ideology has led Ford to offer products...
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...increasing oil, and therefore gas, prices, people had an incentive for purchasing electric cars. Now with gas prices drop- ping, the incentive to buy would start to become less of one, and the demand for the product would probably drop. This was one of the challenges facing Musk on this New Year’s Day. In addition to hav- ing to contend with lower selling costs due to rising production, Tesla was also confronting increasing competition and economic headwinds that were likely going to lower the demand for electric cars. Musk is a serial entrepreneur longing to leave a legacy, and he believes that Tesla just might be the company that will help him leave his mark. He has a large profile already and has been described as “Henry Ford and Robert Oppenheimer in one person,” as well as “Tony Stark, the eccentric inventor better known as Iron Man.”2, 3 (In fact, Musk made a cameo appearance in Iron Man 2.) But, with sev- eral pressing issues and the additional demands of running SolarCity and SpaceX, can he find a way to make it all work? As Musk attempts to prioritize all of the critical information that must be reviewed, he contemplates the many obstacles in his path at Tesla Motors. Is Tesla the next great American car company? Can it disrupt the market with electric vehicles just as Japanese and Korean car companies did...
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