CASE-STUDY: 1.

Collaboration and Innovation at Procter and Gamble

INTRODUCTION
BY approaching each challenge and opportunity since 1837, P&G will continue their success toward the future. P&G is a global company. It manufacturing nearly 300 brands to five billion nearly Customers, it is competing in 160 Marketplaces. They have continuously analyzed and adapted the way in which do business Prior to 1988, P&G was based regional organized into the structure. Todays company is oraginised via the organization structure , 2005, the reotganization that places focus on the global prirorities that they have as a company.

 P&G started opearting in the balkans in 1992 with only three employees, by opening 1st office in romania. Today P&G is presenting in region in 7 countries;balgeria, public of maldova, yugoslavia,bosnia, albania, & republic of macedonia.

Question 1: What is Procter & Gamble's business Strategy? What is the relationship of collaboration and innovation to that business strategy? Answer: P&Gs strategy consists of maintaining the popularity of its existing brands and developing new products. Innovation is at the core of P&Gs strategy and collaboration is a critical tool to attaining this innovation. to encourage sharing of ideas and resources and avoid duplication of efforts. All objectives and business processes must be aligned in a way to foster and generate innovation. P&G is one of the top 10 largest companies in the world, operating in over 80 countries.

 Collaboration helps maximize efficiency, encourage communication across locations and ultimately fosters innovation. Procter and Gamble have to use a distributed development strategy.

Question 2: How is P&G using collaboration systems to execute its business model and business strategy? List and describe the collaboration systems and technologies it is using and the benefits of each.

The Microsoft collaboration systems implemented by P&G included, voice transmission, data transmission, instant messaging, e-mail, and electronic conferencing. They wanted a system that would bring realtime collaboration services, including calendars, schedules, workflow, virtual meeting sites, instant messaging, and virtual conferencing (Procter and Gamble Releases, 2008).

 Team center, gave them just that. It was easy to adopt, it was cost effective, and it supported the Microsoftbased IT infrastructure that they operated off of. It also provided them with the form of visual collaboration that they desired, CAD-neutral format. The Team center system gives the user a customized view of product information. It lets the user, such as the suppliers and employees; see their work in whatever format suits them, even the CAD-format content such as graphs. It also lets them share this information across the world, bridging geographical and time zone gaps.

Question-3: Why were some collaborative technologies slow to catch on at P&G?

Answer: It is micro infrastructure and IT systems that were already in place. Employees are resistance to change, they are hesitance to stray system. It is vary expensive to implement a new system. If ant errors occurs than no one want to switch away from a working system.

Question-4: Compare P&G's old and new processes for writing up and distributing the results of a research experiment.

Answer: the old systems of P&G is e-mail system. In that senders control the flow of information but may fail to send mail to colleagues. Some e-mails record often long time which lost interest. So that P&G launched new system which called collaboration systems. Benefit of new system like Microsoft outlook, which provides tools fore-mail, calendaring, task management, contact management, note taking and web browsing.

 Another criterion for distributing the results that P&G finding that one vendor isnt enough to satisfy their diverse need. for example, P&G found that Google search was not appropriate because it doesnt always gives the proper and instant information which is required and its reliance on keywords for its searches isnt ideal for all of the topics foe which employees might search.

Question-5: Why is telepresence such a useful collaborative tool for a company like P&G?
Answer: P & G telepresence is an excellent way to foster collaboration between employees across not just countries but continents. In the past telepresence technology was expensive & overly prone to malfunction. Today, the technology makes it possible to hold high definition. Using these tools has expected cost savings on travel and loss wear & tear on their workers. telepresence include significant travel savings, more efficient flow of ideas & quicker. Henry dewing thinks telepresence systems think it is worth the cost the technology is really cool . And it has the potential to fundamentally change how people view videoconferencing and how they do their work.

Question-6: Can you think of other ways P&G could use collaboration to foster innovation?
Answer: I think, the technology makes it possible to hold high-definition meetings over all worlds locations connected through teleconferencing. Modern technology is useful for P & G in collaborating to foster innovation. Cisco teleconferencing is the best way of P & G could use collaboration to create foster innovation. If P & G one times installed the Cisco teleconferencing technology it will beneficial company to reduce travel expenses and employees have become more efficient flow of ideas and quicker decision making. In past decisions took much time but now they can take decisions only few minutes. So time consuming also reduce by new technology.

Case Study: 2. Virtual Meetings: Smart Management

Introduction Virtual Meetings: Smart Management.

When looking at Virtual Meetings: Smart Management we are not only looking at the technologies used but also the benefits they provide. The way the internet has developed has made things like videoconferencing, and its extension, telepresence, a much cheaper, easier and a more accessible way to do business. This report looks primarily at reduced business travel and its associated costs, the environmental benefits, the differences in videoconferencing and telepresence, how these systems add value to a business, if they are needed at all by a business and how they are changing the way we prepare for business meetings. It will also include any recommendations that become apparent from the research.

Q-1. One consulting firm has predicted that video and Web conferencing will make business travel extinct. Do you agree? Why or why not?
We believe that video and web conferencing is a much more viable option for businesses in todays day and age and will in deed supersede business travel. Smart Management states that Videoconferencing is now growing at an annual rate of 30 percent. This confirms that videoconferencing is on the increase therefore we can only assume that business travel must be decreasing and will eventually be non-existent. Video/ web conferencing has become easily accessible for most businesses around the world and is much more convenient than organising flights and accommodation to attend those important meetings. There is less risk of not being able to attend a meeting due to flight delays or cancellations and if a meeting has been cancelled at the last minute there will be no expenses due to flight or accommodation cancellation charges.

 Videoconferencing products can be a significant expense incurred at the start but these costs will mean a large saving on travel expenses that will either be reduced or no longer exist. Most web based conferencing products are free so this would mean no initial out lay. These options would take away the face-to-face factor of a meeting and the personal touch.

2. What is the distinction between videoconferencing and telepresence?

In many ways telepresence is an extension of videoconferencing; both systems allow for transmitting audio and video data, document sharing, computer displayed information and whiteboards. Telepresence differs in that it creates a more "in person" meeting experience over a converged network. One of the main technology elements whichtelepresence uses is high definition video and audio. is managed by building telepresence conference suites. These suites allow for large screen displays and perfect placement of the equipment and furniture.

 Some of the disadvantages of videoconferencing that have been eliminated by telepresence include problems with eye contact, echo, lost packets during transmission making the audio and video choppy, complex set up and operational procedures, and the unreliability that sometimes exists. These problems have been resolved mainly due to the use of high definition transmission. For example the problem of eye contact could have been due to lag, but as telepresence is real time there is not lag and no longer an eye contact problem. The complex set up problems are eliminated as the systems themselves are more complex allow them to be more user friendly.

 Telepresence systems start at around about $200,000 per system/room to install, the average cost for a 6 seater room would be about $300,000. In contrast a Videoconferencing system starts at about $10,000, with the industry average at about $25,000.

3.What are the ways in which videoconferencing provides value to a business, inparticular the business communication processes? Would you consider it smartmanagement? Explain your answer.

INTRODUCTION
Many pizza lovers in America agreed up until recently that Dominos home-delivered pizza was among the worst. The home-delivery market for pizza chains in the United States is approximately $15 billion per year. Domino's is trying very hard to overcome its reputation for poor quality by radically improving ingredients and freshness. Domino's was founded in 1960 by Tom Monaghan and his brother James when they purchased a single pizza store in Ypsilanti, Michigan.

The company slowly began to grow, and by 1978, Domino's had 200 stores. Today, the company is headquartered in An Arbor, Michigan, and operates almost 9,000 stores located in all 50 U.S. states and across the world in 60 international markets. In 2009, Domino's had $1.5 billion in sales and earned $80 million in profit. Domino's is part of a heated battle among prominent pizza chains, including Pizza Hut, Papa John's, and Little Caesar.

Domino's also competes with local pizza stores throughout the U.S. To gain a competitive advantage Domino's needs to deliver excellent customer service, and most importantly, good pizza. But it also benefits from highly effective information systems. A point-of-sale system captures purchase and payment data at a physical location where goods or services are bought and sold using computers, auto mated cash registers, scanners, or other digital devicesimproved customer service, reduced mistakes.

Domino's prefers not to disclose the specific dollar amounts that it has saved from Pulse, but it's clear from industry analysts that the technology is working to cut costs and increase customer satisfaction.

More recently, Domino's released a new hardware and software platform called Pulse Evolution. Along with Pulse Evolution, Domino's rolled out its state-of-the-art online ordering system, which includes Pizza Tracker.

1. What kinds of systems are described in this case? Identify and describe the business processes each supports. Describe the inputs, processes, and outputs of these systems. 2. How do these systems help Domino's improve its business performance? 3. How did the online pizza ordering system improve the process of ordering a Domino's pizza? 4. How effective are these systems in giving Domino's a competitive edge? Explain your answer.

Problem-1 What kinds of systems are described in this case? Identify and describe the business processes each supports. Describe the inputs, processes, and outputs of these systems.

Transaction processing system: the point of sale system captures purchase and payment data at a physical location where goods or services are bought and sold using computers, automated cash registers, scanners or other digital devices.
Inputs: customer orders that describe the type of pizza crust, pizza ingredients and toppings, side orders, and delivery location.

Data Processes: data updates the system's database.

Outputs: the number of pizza and side orders sold, cost numbers for ingredients, delivery information, customer information.

Management information system: Inputs: data from the TPS. Processes: transaction data from the TPS are summarized and presented in reports. Outputs: amount of ingredients used, time to make the pizza, the time it takes to deliver it, delivery distances, profit and loss numbers for each menu item, customer demographic data, reports describing sales trends and employee performance.

Decision Support system: Inputs: data from the TPS and external data. Processes: analyze data.

Outputs: analyze sales data per menu item, analyze customer demographics, and analyze past and potential sales trends.

2. How do these systems help Domino's improve its business performance?

Dominos proprietary point- of-sale system, Pulse, is an important asset in maintaining consistent and efficient management functions in each of its restaurants. Those stores using Pulse reported improved customer service, reduced mistakes, and shorter training times. Its clear from industry analysts that the technology is working to cut costs and increase customer satisfaction. These systems can improve customer service, shorter training times, reduce mistakes and business costs, increase customer satisfaction, be used by a touch-screen interface, maintain sales figures, compile customers accurate information, record purchase and payment data, etc.

3. How did the online pizza ordering system improve the process of ordering a Domino's pizza?

According to the case, consumers can go to Dominos website through connecting with the Internet anywhere, and order pizzas whatever they like. Dominos rolled out its state-of-the art online ordering system, which includes Pizza Tracker.

The system allows customers to watch a simulated photographic version of their pizza as they customize its size, sauces, and toppings.
The image changes with each change a customer makes. Then, once customers place an order, they are able to view its progress online with Pizza Tracker.

Pizza Tracker displays a horizontal bar that tracks an orders progress graphically. As a Dominos store completes each step of the order fulfilment process, a section of the bar becomes red. Even customers that place their orders via telephone can monitor their progress on the Web using Pizza Tracker at stores using Pulse Evolution. In 2010, Dominos introduced an online polling system to continuously upload information from local stores.

4. How effective are these systems in giving Domino's a competitive edge? Explain your answer.

The company's improved business processes are becoming a source of competitive strength because the systems enable the company to innovate and execute its operations more quickly than its rivals. Many of the steps in Domino's business processes are automated which changes the flow of information and makes it possible for more people to access and share information. The technology is also supporting new business models like the online pizza ordering system.

Even though Domino's main rivals, Pizza Hut and Papa John's have online ordering capabilities, they lack the Pizza Tracker technology and the simulated pizza features that Domino's has successfully implemented. Today, online orders account for almost 20% of all of Dominos orders, which is up from less than 15% in 2008.