Bumsoo Kim IE 332 Homework 3 (2) Answer and submit your answers to the following questions (via Blackboard)

a) Pg. 297: 3, 6, 8, 14 3) What is the business value of telecommunication and networking? What role is played by Metcalfes Law? The business values of telecommunication and networking are 1. Declining transaction costs 2. Declining agency costs 3. Increased agility 4. Higher quality management decisions 5. Declining geographical barriers 6. Declining temporal barriers Through use of telecommunication and networking, business managers derive extraordinary business value. According to Metcalfs law, the more people participating in a network, the greater its value since number of people each individual can talk to exponentially increases. Since the value of the network increases due to exponentially growing number of people being connected instantaneously, the business value managers derive from it also increases. 6) What is local area network (LAN)? What are the components of a typical LAN? What are the functions of each component? Local area network is network designed to connect personal computers and other digital devices within a half mile or 500 meter radius. It typically connect a few computers in a small office, all the computers in one building, or all the computers in several buildings in close proximity. The components of typical LAN are server, router, and operating systems. Server provides users with access to shared computing resources in the network and determines who gets access to what and in which sequence. Router connects the LAN to other networks, which could be the internet or another corporate network, so LAN can exchange information with networks external to it. Operating systems support TCP/IP as its default networking protocol and most common are Windows, Linux, and Novell. 8) Define the following: WAN, MAN, modem, protocol, optical network, and bandwidth. WAN: Wide area network. It spans broad geographical distances. The most universal and powerful WAN is internet. Computers connect to WAN through public networks such as telephone system, private cable systems, or through leased lines or satellites. MAN: Metropolitan area network. It spans metropolitan area, usually a city and its major suburbs. Its geographic scope falls between a WAN and LAN. It sometimes provides internet connectivity for local area networks in a metropolitan region. Modem: It is a device that modulates an analog carrier signal to encode digital information, and also demodulates such a carrier signal to decode the transmitted information. The goal is to produce a signal that can be transmitted easily and decoded to reproduce the original digital data. Modems can be used over any means of transmitting analog signals, from driven

diodes to radio. Protocol: It is a set of rules and procedures governing transmission of information between two points in a network. Nowadays corporate networks are increasingly using a single, common, worldwide standard called Transmission Control Protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP). It provides universally agreed on method for breaking up digital messages into packets, routing them to the proper addresses, and then reassembling them into coherent messages. Optical network: Network using fiber optic cables as a backbone for high speed network which can transmit all types of traffic; voice, data, and video, over fiber cables and provide the massive bandwidth for new types of services and software. Bandwidth: The range of frequencies that can be accommodated on a particular telecommunications channel. It is the difference between the highest and lowest frequencies that can be accommodated on a single channel. 14) What are intranets and extranets? How do they provide value to business? Intranet is an internal organizational network that provides access to data across the enterprise. It uses existing company network infrastructure along with internet connectivity standards and software developed for the World Wide Web. A firm can create an extranet to allow authorized vendors and customers to have limited access to its internal intranet. Both intranets and extranets reduce transaction and agency costs by providing additional connectivity for coordinating disparate business processes within the firm and for linking electronically to customers and suppliers. b) Pg. 334: 12, 14, 16, 17, 18 12) How do wireless portals and voice portals help users access information on the web? Due to introduction of 3G broadband service, the wireless portals feature content and services optimized for mobile devices to steer users to the information they are most likely to need. They offer variety of features such as links to other wireless ties, and the ability to select content to be pushed to the uses device as well as providing a point of entry for anyone to send the user a message. Voice portals accept voice commands for accessing web content, email, and other electronic applications from a cell phone or standard telephone. Sophisticated voice recognition software processes the requests and responses are translated back into speech for the customer. 14) What are some of the barriers to m-commerce? 1. Requires special digital payment system which is not well suited for transaction less than $10 2. Keyboards and screens on cell phone are still tiny and awkward to use 3. Data transfer speed on second generation cellular networks are very slow compared to dial up and high speed internet connections for PCs 4. More waiting time increases costs 5. limited memory and power supplies

16) What is RFID? How does it work? How does it provide value to business? Radio frequency identification (RFID) systems provides a powerful technology for tracking the movement of goods throughout the supply chain. It uses tiny tags with embedded microchips containing data about an item and its location to transmit radio signals over a short distance to special RFID readers. The RFID readers then pass the data over a network to a computer for processing. Unlike bar codes, RFID tags do not need line of sight contact to be read. The real saving from RFID come from the way it can improve an entire business process. RFID systems can give suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, and retailers much more detailed and real time data for control over inventory, shipping and other logistics. 17) What are wireless sensor networks? How do they work? What applications use them? Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are networks of interconnected wireless devices that are embedded into the physical environment to provide measurements of many points over large spaces. They are based on devices with built in processing, storage, and radio frequency sensors and antennas. The devices are linked into an interconnected network where data are routed seamlessly among all the nodes and forwarded to a computer for analysis. Applications are Electronic medical record retrieval, Wireless note taking for patient charts, lab test results, prescription generation, and medical databases. 18) Describe the challenges posed by wireless technology and some ways to address them. The principal challenges posed by wireless technology are maintaining security and privacy and integrating this technology into the firms IT infrastructure. Solutions include identifying the areas in which wireless can provide the greatest value, creating an appropriate framework for managing wireless technology, and using a pilot program before full scale rollout of wireless systems. Key management decisions deal with establishing the business value of wireless technology, selecting appropriate wireless technologies and standards, and identifying the necessary changes in business processes to make wireless technology work. c) Read the case UPS vs. FedEx (pp. 337-339) and answer questions 2, 3, 4 on pg. 339. 2) How are wireless technologies related to the core information systems and business strategies of UPS and FedEx? How do these technologies provide value to these companies? FedEx and UPS have determined that wireless technologies have a major impact on their key business processes, especially package pickup and delivery transactions and the physical packaging and sorting of packages. UPS counts global reach, technology systems, customer relationships, brand equity, and e-commerce capabilities among its competitive strengths. The companys growth strategies include building on its status as the leader in domestic package operations, continuing to expand internationally, offering comprehensive supply chain solutions to businesses that seek to outsource such a complicated business component, and backing up the core delivery service with a strong portfolio of e-commerce solutions. The FedExs growth strategies include increasing high tech and high value added business goods, globalization, acceleration of the supply chain, and continued expansion of internet and e-commerce solutions. The important thing is that both firms have improved their businesses since the late 1980s through the use of wireless technologies. This means that wireless technology is the backbone of all the core information systems and a tool for business strategies.

Theses wireless technologies provide great value to the companies by reducing the delivery time and missing-deliveries. Reducing the time required to make every delivery by even one second can have an enormous impact on the cost of doing business across the board. Also it makes them more competitive and efficient among the market making them as the barrier to the entry of the market. 3) How do the implementations of wireless technology reflect the organizational differences between UPS and FedEx? Which wireless strategy is more effective? Explain your answer. UPS uses a handheld unit called DIAD which can connect directly to UPS operations centers directly using cellular transmitters in the delivery trucks. FedEx uses PowerPad which is similar to DIAD but it uses Bluetooth technology. FedEx acts more like a startup business, jumping at the chance to adopt the latest and greatest applications as soon as they prove to be economical and effective for both the company and its customers. UPS, on the other hand adheres to a more measured schedule of new technology rollouts generally waiting from 5 to 7 years between major initiatives. UPS is more successful in the wireless strategy where it will soon complete the rollout of a new scanning unit that places the terminal on the users waist. The new scanners will reduce UPS maintenance costs by 30%, spare parts costs by 35%, and down time by 35%. FedEx is finding problems with implementing Bluetooth because its signals interfere with the operation of the 802.11b network that the company installed only three years ago. UPS avoided this problem by upgrading its new scanning system all at once. 4) How will wireless technologies help UPS and FedEx in the future? The wireless technology will in the future reduce the delivery time reducing the costs making them more efficient. Also it will enable precise tracking of drivers, vehicles, and packages in the field. It will further add value to the business as wireless technologies advance even further. Also as the technology advances, the cost of acquiring and implementing it decreases eventually benefiting the customers by allowing firms to provide better service at lower cost. d) Automation survey: 1. What is my definition of automation? Automation is use of control system such as computers to control industrial machinery and processes replacing human operators. Automation greatly reduces the need for human sensory and mental requirements as well. Processes and systems can also be automated. 2. When did I encounter automation in my life the first time and what was it? I first encountered automation when I was a kid I went to a field trip to a Nike shoe factory and there were machines pressing the parts that were used to make shoes. It was quite impressive that so many shoes are being made in a single day. Also the I heard that the cost of making a Nike shoe was less than $10 and it is being sold for so much more. However the workers working at the factory were not benefiting from the automation since as machines are replacing the jobs for human, their jobs are being threatened by the machines which are cheaper in a long term. 3. What is the one single greatest contribution of automation to society? Automation enabled mass production in which costs decreased and product quality

increased substantially. By increasing the productivity of the society, we are better off than before since productivity is used to measure the wealth of the society. Therefore higher productivity led to better quality of life. (3) Lab-based questions 1. In Lab 3, (i) What system (s) in AutoMod has (have) been used? (ii) How many processes have been defined? (iii) How many types of loads (products) have been defined? (iv) What is the first process at which loads arrive? i) Process system- created automatically when model is created Movement system- a simple conveyor was created ii) Two processes were defined. P_CompleteAssembly and P_EnterAssembly. iii) One type of load- L_carton was defined. 2x3x2 ft size. iv) P_EnterAssembly 2. Explain how simulation and emulation can be applied in a car crash test. For a car crash test, with the aid of computers emulation can be used as a replacement for a system whereas simulation is used to analyze it and make predictions about it. In the simulation of a car crash, we can use the computers to show how the crash damages the cars frame which is the effect on outward appearance. In emulation of the car crash we can analyze the cause and process of it Here we can analyze the effects of crash on the inner parts of the car and how it will affect the passenger. 3. Working at any ITaP lab, open the model (the model after production adjustment) you built during Lab 3 and run the model according to three different run controls: Run control 1 has 10 snaps. Run control 2 has 20 snaps. Run control 3 has 30 snaps. Each snap is 1 hour. Prepare a table to collect data after running the model according to each run control. You should have three tables that are similar to the tables used in Lab 3. Use data in AutoMod report to calculate (1) the number of products that completed both processes in each hour, (2) mean, and (3) standard deviation. (i) Include the three tables in your answer, and then compare the data you collected in the three tables, i.e., compare the number of products that completed both processes in each hour, mean, and standard deviation. It seems that the number of products that completed both processes in each hour is very similar for all three run controls. Since it follows exponential distribution, the number of products are not constant though out the process. The mean ranges from 354.4 products to 361.4 products. The mean value seems to increase as the number of snaps increase. This means that number of products complete both processes are increasing slightly though out the process. It is interesting to see that standard deviation of run control was 19.58 products and in run control 2 this figure decreased to 19 and then in run control 3, it increased to 21.91 products. Generally, more number of samples being tested means that the data is more reliable. (ii) Among the three means and three standard deviations you have calculated, which mean is closest to the theoretical mean and which standard deviation is closest to the theoretical standard deviation?

(iii) Explain several engineering decisions you can make based on these data.