MODUE # 5 (WSU FALL 2014)

The Triple Convergence was where basically all ten of the flatteners pulled together, and started working to create a new level playing field.  Convergence 1 was more of the flatteners finding each other and taking root, in order to connect with one another.  Southwest Airlines realized that there were enough people using the internet, and that were technically educated enough to be able to download and print their own boarding passes at home.  This was the beginning along with Minolta showing us how to scan, fax, print etc...all from one machine.  These flattening forces, needed time to work together, and create new platforms, and ways of doing things with technology.  Convergence 2 was basically the call for a change in habits.  It brought about a change in the manufacturing process, like Walmart being able to utilize it's supply chain effectively.  It lead to better processes and a set of business practices that mutually reinforced each other. Convergence 3 allowed collaboration amongst the masses.  This global community will be allowed to play together, and discover and innovate like never before.  "What is occurring in the world now is just the tip of the iceberg" friedman says.  It is unsettling, because the competition is so fierce, and everyone has to play their A game in order to win.

India versus Indiana in my opinion was a win win situation.  The Indian engineers were struggling to get work, because of the Indian Government social economic policies.  So they offered to do the job at a reduced rate, and I feel that they exploited each other.  This happens everyday in business, especially when it comes to global horizontal collaborations.   When we use outsourcing we are exploiting the cheaper costs of another community, is this exploitation, or smart business.  I would assume that in this case that everyone wins, because it creates jobs, and lowers taxes, and puts money back into the economy.  I believe that the government need not interfere with the industries, and that it should have been separated into smaller pieces.  My opinion is that whatever works for the economy, and works for business, works for the people.  You will never make everyone happy, and that is the bottom line.  We exploit each other in business, that is the nature of business.  If we didn't exploit each other, then no one would ever make a profit, which would probably lead to higher prices, and a horrible economy. 

Intellectual property to me is like a copyright, or patent on something.  Where companies formulate ideas, and try to keep those ideas to themselves, before other companies mimic those ideas and share them with the world.  They do it with software, and music, and many other types of products.  Everything can be copied, or counterfeited in today's world.  I see it everyday with off brands, and clones of products that are not the real thing.  The Ipod was intellectual property at one point, and now there are hundreds of MP3 players and brands.  Companies feed of each others success.  I see it in my own business, where another company follows everything we do that is successful in order to create it's own success.  they offer the same lower quality product at a lower price, and try to sell quantity not quality.  Intellectual property laws need to be adjusted, and constantly scrutinized in order for the inventors to reap the rewards.  The problem I see is that it borders on monopolizing, much like Microsoft was scrutinized for many years ago.  I think the bottom line is that Intellectual Property Rights should have royalties involved.  The company that invents the initial product, should be paid a royalty off of every similar product sold.  Why not?  They do it in the music business every single day!

MODULE # 4 (WSU FALL 2014)

The person I have chosen to interview is a gentleman named Trent, who is employed by Advanced Brain Technologies in Ogden, Utah.  ABT is a company that sells products that help train the brain to be more productive and efficient by the way of music therapy, and brain building software and programs.  He works in the IT department, and handles pretty much everything, including customer service and warranties.  Trent’s typical day revolves around making sure that all computers on the office network are running well and maintained.   They have one main server at ABT, but have an online hosting company as well.  There is an entire department of programmer’s, that code ABT’s online programs, and websites.  They have 8 websites that are all integrated together, and they sell their products on these sites, as well as enabling the customer to listen to their programs online.  They also have specific websites for their providers to do their certified training.  It is a very large network of data management for ABT, and Trent gets to fix it all.   Trent maintains and manages over 100 terabytes of information daily, and also speaks to customers on the phone who are experiencing problems.  Technical support is one of his biggest challenges, due to the nature of technology constantly changing, and the knowledge of the end user.  Trent says that people are much more tech saavy than ever before, and his job has actually become easier with time, as more people are more skilled when it comes to using computers.  ABT’s online listening program can be utilized on an IOS format, Android, and any web browser, so there are many compatibility challenges involved when it comes to listening online. He deals with those questions on a daily basis, and has to understand all of the operating systems, and mobile OS’s, which is a challenge because of all of the constant updates.   He fields an average of 50 calls per day in technical support.  They have a software program called brain builder which requires license codes that the consumer has to call in to receive.  He provides them with the code in order for them to use the software.  In speaking with Trent, he does so many jobs, that it is extremely overwhelming to me.   He is constantly backing up daily operations to the servers, and external drives, taking warranty calls, sending out RMA’s (return merchandise authorizations), walking people through the online process, maintaining the office network and computers, and programming  all of the Ipod listening devices and physical systems.  Trent has a big job to do, and does it very well.  He is certified in many different computer an IT areas, and is still working on more certifictaions.   He says that since technology always changes, there will always be a certification to take.  However, those certifications can add up to big money in the long run, as employers now days hire many IT people based on what they are certified in!  I truly do not feel I could do Trent’s job, as there are to many components to it, and I would lose my mind.  I guess I’d better stick with my job!

MODULE 3 (WSU FALL 2014)

Offshoring is basically when a company moves the most important part of it's manufacturing operations overseas or to another country.    There are times when offshoring is useful for less important items that can be produced cheaper in another country, like bulk items that are needed in the manufacturing process.  Offshoring helps a company save money by being able to pay lower wages, benefits, and health care etc...Basically, the employees are cheaper, and get the same work done.  However, the drawbacks are that the quality will suffer due to the employee's not caring for the product, due to the the investment made in the employee by the company.  When something is Made in the USA, we take pride in it's quality and production.  We have a higher standard of quality control than in china.  How many times do we hear the term, "Made in China" and think of how low of quality it must be.  Offshoring is different from outsourcing because you're not really moving a whole, or part of your company overseas, you are just providing a small piece of your company's product to be worked on in a different place.

Supply chaining is a  system that was developed to move a product or service from the supplier to the end user, or customer.   Walmart is the single largest retailer in the world, and does not make one single product.  The moment you take something off the shelf, the supply chain begins.  By the time your item is put in the shopping cart at Walmart, the manufacturer of that product has been notified to make another to replace the one that you bought.  Supply chains are critical in today's world,  because companies have to take advantage of the cheapest, best producers.  According to Friedman, if a company doesn't keep up with the times,  someone else will, and the company that snoozes, loses.   A drawback to the supply chain is predicting the demand of an item.  Walmart does this very well, because they can allocate which products, at which stores, in which areas, are in demand, and always adjust accordingly.  It is a brilliant operation. 

Google is God! I would like to discontinue writing anything more about Google, but it is the most powerful source of information in the world.  It has changed the way we do business, and the way our generation is learning.  It is shaping and molding our society into a lazy way of thinking, and there is no end in sight.  Google has developed into it's own entity, and doesn't even seem like it's a business anymore.  Google seems like part of our lives, and something we really cannot live without.  It is very unsettling when I sit and ponder about how much this company, that was started in a garage has changed technology, and our lives.  Google for business is a very amazing tool.  You can utilize it for research, developement, ideas, and networking.  Everything you need to know about business is on google.  Literally anyone can start a business, just by Googling "How to start a business!" You can use Ad Words, Analytics, and many other tools that Google has for helping your business succeed.  There are so many tools now that shape the way we do business.  Once you build a website, and sign up with Google, you can track everything from Google, setup your business in Google, advertise, purchase supplies, etc...It is expensive to advertise with Google, and you pay by the click, and you pay for the keywords.   Of course Friedman's book is behind the times when it comes to Google, but his foresight about the future seems to be very relevant.   The bottom line which is ironic from me to Friedman is that God is everywhere, God sees everything, Google is God, just Google it........................

Module 2 (WSU FALL 2014)

Workflow Software was created and designed to help people collaborate on a global scale by standardizing and sharing a universal language and protocol.  It enabled anyone, anywhere, to exchange more information than just emails and word documents.  Machines now can talk to each other with absolutely no human interaction, which makes things faster, more efficient, and less time consuming.   An example of work flow software which saves a lot of time would be Google Search.  It is free, flexible, easy to use and is available to everyone.  Google search retrieves information and organizes all of the data in a way that saves humans countless hours and headaches.   The end user does not need to be trained in using the software, nor understand the complexities in the programming, they simply use it.   I think that Workflow Software saves time and improves efficiency.  It also gets rid of unnecessary steps, with less human errors, which is very important to our economy, our business, and our lives.
Open Source Software is a platform where developers of software share their source code with other developers, which in turn help contribute to it’s success and make it available to everyone, generally for free.  It is important, because it allows people to share their ideas with the world and be professionally critiqued on their work.  Open Source allows for better functioning software, and a positive global perspective on the platform.  Many of the source code developers like to be credited for their work when others use their software.  Those credits seem to be a narcissistic characteristic shared by the general population of open source developers, as everyone wants to be recognized for their work.  I have used Joomla to build my websites for many years, which is an open source platform.  It has declined in the last couple of years, but I used to enjoy discovering new modules and extensions for Joomla, that enhanced my website.  These modules were developed by people all over the world, and were available for free for many years, then people started charging for their ideas, and updates, and I stopped using the platform.  I think in an open source market where everything is free, that the developers start out with the intention of creating something viable for everyone, but when they realize how much work they put into it, they want to charge people for their efforts (which is ok, they should be rewarded!).  I see this happen every day with apps, and so called “Free” software.  It is a thin line to walk when they provide a source code on which to build ideas, because the odds of getting paid for a brilliant idea are pretty rare.  I guess many just do it for the passion of invention, and the hunger for the challenge.  It is like creating a musical masterpiece, and giving it away for free!

Outsourcing is when a company contracts out a portion or all of their business and development to another company or third party.  Outsourcing is a way that companies can save money, time, and resources, especially if the company that they outsource to specializes in a specific area that they do not.   Companies use outsourcing more than ever before, and have moved many of their operations overseas, where land, taxes, and payroll is cheaper.  Outsourcing let's a company pay for only the services that they need, when they need them, and reduces the need to hire people with special skills, which ultimately reduces operating expenses.  A big reason for outsourcing in the digital age, is that you can use global resources, where there might be a lack of those locally. 

I believe that Workflow software, Open source software, and outsourcing are all very important to society, and that way that we develop things globally.  These components make things easier, in a very technologically advanced age with much competition.  I feel that by utilizing these tools, that we can stay one step ahead of the competition, save money, time, and valuable resources.