Unit 1
MGMT305-1203A-02
Dee Cadwell
June 12, 2012
Professor Anne Nelson

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to show how companies us information systems to help manage business operations, show knowledge about computer networks, hardware, software, and database technologies. It will also evaluate how businesses use the Internet to their advantage for communicating with employees, working with other businesses and working with ecommerce businesses.

What Is The Buzz On Smart Grids? The Smart grid is a class of technology that people are using to bring electricity delivery systems to the 21st century using computer based remote control and automation. Two way communication technology and computer processing make it possible and has been used by other business for years. The “grid” is the network that carries the electricity from the plant to the consumer. The grid is made up of transformers, substations, wires, switches and more. The “smart” entity is pretty much the same as the new “smart phones” and it basically saying that the grid is computerized. It includes a 2-way digital communication technological device. (Energy.gov, n.d.)
Smart grids differ from the current electricity infrastructure because of the way the electricity is delivered to the consumer. The current grid does not explain how the power is distributed or used. The smart grid was developed to digitally save the consumer money by increasing ways to save energy, reducing cost and increasing reliability.
With these new smart grids the energy company will be able to send information from the electrical provider to the consumer and back to the grid allowing the consumer and the provider to get a better deal when it comes to energy consumption. (Laudon and Laudon, 2012)
The smart grid will show when and how much to raise prices when the need heightens or lessens. If these grids are introduced at the right time it could cause a 5 to 15% decrease in the consumer consumption. Doing this will cause a significant drop in the cost of power plants and the use of power plants will lesson. These grids also have a way to inform us when there is a power outage within 50 miles, therefore such outages can be followed up on within minutes.
When deciding on whether or not a grid should be considered, you would have to be knowledgeable of what works and what does not work for the grid. There are a multitude of networks of technology and tracking devices to measure the energy usage and how the energy is disbursed. Consumers would likely use their energy in a more conservative manner if they could have a visual of what is being used vs. waiting every month for a statement. The smart grid will also allow electricity to flow from homes and businesses to the grid and other sources.
How smart is the smart grid? Many challenges would be faced in developing the smart grid for consumers. The cost of these grids are astronomical. The Duke Energy Co in Charlotte, N.C. spent 35 million dollars and installed 80,000.00 worth of smart meters for different homes and businesses so that the amount of energy could be measured to see just how much of a savings would occur.
The things that will most hamper the development of the smart grid is the fact that while the energy is bouncing from house to house it is carrying heavy doses of radiation. Some utilitie companies are using “smart networks” to control appliances with antennas which act like trans-receivers allowing the consumers phone and computer to remotely control their appliances. There is concern how cellphones WiFi, and antennas and such are used to control so much of our lives and “smart” anything may not be such a wise choice. These grids are pumping generic radiation into the air therefore the exposure is going to be different and have different effects on the environment. There are case studies that state this new smart grid will be helpful in some homes but very harmful to the humans and animals on the outside. Consumer advocates are fighting the smart grid because they say it is difficult to understand how to read and measure the usage, it is very intrusive because you have the utility company measuring your usage and if you use what they may think is too much, they can easily cut you off. Many people are not computer literate and may not want the struggle with learning how to go online to do this. I think that many consumers and myself as well would rather stick to the old fashioned way of conserving by simply regulating my own thermostat and turning off lights in the rooms that are not being used.
Collaboration and Innovation at Proctor and Gamble Proctor and Gamble is known for their consumer products and has been in business for over 150 years. Sounds like, to me, their business strategy works. They have three divisions of the company. One is Household Goods, Beauty Care and Health and Wellbeing. Proctor and Gambles philosophy is the collaborate with the researchers the marketing teams and the managers and because the company is so large this has to be done daily. Proctor and Gamble does not have a problem spending 3.4 % of their profits on new innovations to research and develop teams that have new ideas on how to stay above the competition. It is critical for these large companies to find better ways to collaborate in other areas in order to be number one in that area. Another concern is how safe is the consumers personal information. This data is bouncing from here to there, how do we know that consumers personal information would not get trapped in the air somewhere and land in a place for all hackers to be able to get the consumers personal information? (Levitt and Glendinning, 2011). Proctor and Gamble found that the sytems they were using to collaborate with other sysems were outdated they took a new stance and began using systems such as Microsoft products. This system allowed the company to integrate services for voice over, instant transmission, data transmission and electronic conferencing. They began using a system called “Microsoft SharePoint where each executive, no matter what part of the world they were in, could post their information or presentation and colleagues and employees could easily get a hold of. Proctor and Gamble uses Microsoft Live Communications Server, Web Conferencing, and SharePoint. Another collaboration is InnovationNet. This system contains over 5 million research related documents in digital format and can be accessed through any browser. According to Joe Schueller (Innovative Manager) the email is not useful to P&G because it only pass along information, and the sender has full control of the information and also some information may be left out, or may not go to all the right people. The issues that empolyees have with the new collaborations is that they think it is more work than the normal email way of sending information. Change is always a stumbling block for people. They become accustomed to doing things a certain way and when introduced to change it may seem like more work until you learn how to use another system or way of doing things. TelePresence is a huge breakthrough in innovative systems because now companies can have meetings that cross the country without anyone having to travel which saves money in itself. In past years these types of technologies were experimental and often had breakdowns during the time they were trying to communicate with other countries. Now technology has it so that everything is high definition so that there is very little chance of malfunction. Cisco Systems have has it made it possible so that telepresence can be used all over the world. Some areas the usage is about 70%. Having this new technology has saved P&G and other countrie millions in travel. TelePresence has made it so that more than one country can share in the meetings so that everyone is getting all the company information at the same time vs email which has to be pulled up by each individual. According to Laura Heitsley, the telepresence system has saved the company $4.00 for every $1.00 invested in the telepresence system. (Heitsley, 2011). Proctor and Gamble have many ways they can collaborate to keep their products above competition. Their strategies in place will continue to keep them in the top percentile of product sales. How Much Do Credit Card Companies Know About You? When credit card companies have so much information about you that they can actually decide who should pay more in percentage because of where they shop, who pays their debts and who doesn’t…that means they are way too deep in your business!!! How is it possible that I am charged the same percent as a person who does not pay their bill on schedule. The companies strategies are that