MIS In Your Pocket
CASE STUDY QUESTIONS:
1 - The kinds of applications that are described in this case study are as simple as e-mail, calendar, photo sharing, and text messaging applications to applications like the one used for MEDITECH electronic medical records system, Epocrates Essentials, ChainLinq Mobile, and the app developed by Timothy Childs to help control machines in his business. These types of applications help employees stay better kept up with each other and business information. The e-mail application allows employees to receive e-mails almost directly after they are sent. The MEDITECH application gives doctors the ability to look at things like medical records and results whenever they need to and where ever they are. Also being able to access applications like Epocrates Essentials helps them understand the results and get more medical information. Basically, all the applications described help support business functions like timeliness and punctuality. These application help improve operational efficiency because they improve the speed of the information being communicated in businesses. This allows the businesses to operate faster and helps decision-making be done quicker which will help companies avoid potential problems or fix problems that are happening faster.
Q2: Businesses in this case study solved problems like doctors being able to stay on call, having a secure mobile network, quickly delivering information to customers, and controlling some parts of machines through specific applications. Doylestown Hospital uses the iPhone for their doctor’s to be able to access medical information they might need at any moment by connecting it to the hospital’s electronic medical records system called MEDITECH. This takes away the hassle when a doctor is not in the office and there is a question about a patient that needs immediate attention. This hospital also uses the iPhone for their doctor’s to be able to receive important e-mails promptly and also to allow the doctor’s to be on call no matter where they are. By using the iPhone for e-mail and on call service, doctor’s don’t have to worry about missing an e-mail because they can’t get to a computer or missing a call because they weren’t at home all night. D.W. Morgan uses an application specific for their company called ChainLinq Mobile. This helps them avoid shipping problems or solve them quickly if there is a problem. They work at a just-in-time speed so when a company makes an order it is their job to immediately have it delivered. The ChainLinq Mobile allows for trucks to give their location at all times and to immediately notifies the company when a product has been delivered. Timothy Childs is the owner of TCHO which develops unique chocolate flavors through custom-developed machinery. He made an app for the iPhone that allows him to control the machines time and temperature, to turn it on and off, and it also notifies him if and when temperature changes. This helps him constantly control the machines with out actually being around them so if something needs fixed he can do it wherever he is.
Q3: Many different types of businesses would benefit from equipping their employees with mobile digital devices. Public Relations businesses would benefit very much from using these devices. Public Relations deal with communicating with all types of publics. Devices like the iPhone, iPad, Blackberry, and Droid would allow Public Relation employee’s to quickly and easily communicate with any of their publics. This would be especially useful when they are dealing with a crisis. When Public Relations Specialist have to deal with a crisis they have to immediately respond to the problem and fix it. The use of these mobile devices and mobile devices like them would allow for the specialist to immediately deal with the problem whenever and wherever they are. They could also reach any public they need to be in contact with. Any business could really benefit from using these mobile devices because people in companies are always on the go. Through these pieces of technology people can share business ideas, graphs, inventory, sales, etc. at the touch of a button anywhere they are. As Eric Conlon states “By having access to their office anytime, professionals can work anywhere, helping to maximize efficiency while enjoying greater freedom that comes from no longer having to be tied to their desk (Conlon 1).” This allows the business to communicate and get things done faster with out spending endless hours in the office.
Q4: D.W. Morgan’s statement refers to the fact that the iPhone is something that everyone can benefit from. In this case study a really good example of how the iPhone can change an industry is the example involving Doylestown Hospital. Doctors at this hospital literally have all the information they could need about their patients with them at all times. This is something that in the past was only available on site at hospitals or doctors offices. If someone needed to know something from their doctor and the doctor wasn’t in the office or hospital, it could take days to get back to them. Another good example in this case study is the application that D.W. Morgan came up with for their business. Through the iPhone they are able to track orders, drivers are able to update their location, and they can get signatures straight to the phone. This helps their business because this is a process that used to be very long and difficult involving a lot of communication between a lot of people made simple by just one mobile device. These devices are industry changers because the world is always moving faster because of the improvements in technology. The world expects everything to be done at a rapid pace. With these devices almost anything can be done no matter where you are or what time it is. This will change the industry because it is going to push businesses to step up and competition will come down to who can work the most efficiently the fastest and most inexpensive.
MIS IN ACTION
Q1: Capabilities of the iPhone include Facetime, Retina Display, and Multitasking. Facetime is an application that can be used to video chat with many other people through multiple Apple products like the iPad and iTouch. The display on the iPhone is almost crystal clear because of the Retina Display. The Retina Display has such high pixel counts that it is unable to distinguish between each individual pixel. Another capability of the iPhone is Multitasking, which allows not only multiple applications to run at once but also allows them to run with out extra drainage of the battery. These capabilities could be used by a business in many ways. A business could use Facetime to quickly reach anyone and possibly have a conference call to it or to just quickly discuss something. The Multitasking could be very useful because businesses can run multiple applications that they might need for one project all at once. The iPhone also works all over the world so which makes it easier for when companies need to travel. The iPad has a lot of the same features as the iPhone and more. It has a Dual-core A5 chip which allows for multitasking to move even faster. Business will most likely need to multitask and the Dual-core A5 chip will allow them to do that quickly and easily right in the palm of their hands. It also has a long lasting battery so business could do work on the go for long periods of times. The Droid, Blackberry, iPhone, and iPad have a lot of compatibilities in common. The Droid has a lot of same capabilities as the iPhone but cannot multitask and does not have as many applications. I have a droid and it is very annoying that you can’t multitask. You have to exit out of one application to go to another and you can only run one website at a time. Blackberry’s also have a lot of the same capabilites but falls short of the Droid and the iPhone. I had a Blackberry and it was very slow and inconvenient. Only one application could be ran at once and the over-all speed of the phone was slow. Some of the capabilities that all of these mobile devices share are the ability to receive e-mails, download multiple applications, and all have security capabilities that keep information used or stored on the phone private. Q2: Three applications that would be useful to download on the iPhone would be Saleforce Mobile, FedEx Mobile, and Cisco WebEx Meeting Center. Salesforce Mobile would be beneficial to businesses because it allows you to access business and client data at all times, log sales, and even check charts or graphs if needed (Apple). FedEx Mobile makes it easy to track shipments sent out or coming into the company (Apple). Just put the tracking number in and name the order and you’ll always know where it is. Cisco WebEx Meeting Center is an app that allows you to be in meetings even when you can’t actually be there (Apple). It enables you to keep up with the meeting and even interact in it. Three applications that would be useful to download to the iPad would be Roambio-Visualizer, CNBC Real-Time, and Omni Graffle. The Roambio-Visualizer makes business data easier to read and analyze helping businesses decision-making process (Apple). CNBC Real-Time helps business keep up with the stock market. Through this app businesses can make “stock watchlists and stay up-to-date with exclusive breaking business and news alerts (Apple).” The OmniGraffle app allows you to create graphs and diagrams at the touch of your fingers (Apple). Three applications that would be useful to businesses to download on the Droid would be Cam Card, Quick Office Pro, and Print Share. The Cam Card app is an app that organizes business cards on your phone. You take a picture of a business card and it stores all the information in your phone (“Business- Android Market”). The Quick Office Pro app allows you to work with Microsoft apps like Excel, Power Point, and Word documents on the go (“Business- Android Market”). The Print Share app allows you to print from your phone to a near-by computer through Wi-Fi or Bluetooth (“Business- Android Market”). Three applications that would be useful to download to a Blackberry would be Memory Booster Pro, Blackberry Mobile Conferencing, and Data Backup. Memory Booster Pro recovers lost or used memory from the phone to help the phone run faster and smoother (Agent). This would help businesses using Blackberry have their phones run faster. Blackberry Mobile Conferencing makes scheduling, joining, and rejoining conference calls easier (Agent). This would allow businesses smoother transitions to conference calls. Data Backup would be really important for businesses to use because it keeps information that is on the phone safe in case the phone crashes or anything were to happen to it (Agent). Obviously this would be important to businesses so important information could not be easily lost or destroyed.