Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Joining Air War College ( Awc ) - 958 Words

Joining Air War College (AWC) will remain one of my memorable things to have happened in my life because it marked the transition from being just a leader to being a Strategic Leader. In the military, once enlisted as an officer you assume leadership right from the beginning but through experience and training at different levels, officers continue to develop their leadership skills as well. As we started Joint Strategic Leadership Modules in AWC, we learned that a strategic leader combines the day to day operations and the long term goals to grow an organization. Hence, strategic leadership calls for an individual to have the ability to influence subordinates through motivation, persuasion and other leadership traits in acquiring/achieving an organization’s vision. We also learned that strategic leadership involves development and enhancement of new skills and abilities that will enable a leader face the new strategic environment which is volatile, uncertain, complex, and amb iguous (VUCA). Whereas my current leadership posture is more of direct leadership where missions and goals are rather clear, joining AWC meant the beginning for transformation into strategic leadership where working with peers will be paramount as opposed to command. Therefore, this essay endeavors to state my goals and objectives for this academic year while in AWC, where I will also be able to evaluate my current leadership ability at strategic level and identify any shortcomings thereon, assess waysShow MoreRelatedJoint Professional Military Education Phase II4456 Words   |  18 PagesUSA Joint Forces Staff College Joint and Combined Warfighting School Class #15-03 17 August 2015 Faculty Advisor: CDR Michael Bissell, USN Seminar #7 A submission to the Faculty of the Joint and Combined Warfighting School in partial satisfaction of the requirements for Joint Professional Military Education Phase II. The contents of this submission reflect our writing team’s original views and are not necessarily endorsed by the Joint Forces Staff College or the Department of Defense

Monday, December 16, 2019

Bus 475 Week 3 Learning Team Functional Area Interrelationships Free Essays

Functional Area Interrelationships October 29, 2012 BUS/475 University of Phoenix Abstract Huffman Trucking is a trucking company that was established in 1936. Throughout this paper, we will discuss the company’s mission and vision statement. It will also identify the type of organizational structure and how each of those roles supports the company’s goals. We will write a custom essay sample on Bus 475 Week 3 Learning Team: Functional Area Interrelationships or any similar topic only for you Order Now The collaboration process among the functional areas must also be established to support the goals. Finally, the stakeholders will be reviewed and how the company plans to protect them and how their communication is vital to the success of Huffman Trucking. â€Å"Huffman Trucking started in 1936 in Cleveland, OH. By 1945, the company had increased in size to 16 tractors and 36 trailers. † (Virtual Organization) Today Huffman trucking is one of the largest trucking companies in the United States. The company has four locations across the U. S. ; Cleveland, OH, Los Angeles, CA, St. Louis, MO, and Bayonne, NJ. The company has created a core foundation to continue to grow the company and sustain financial stability. Since the inception of the organization in 1936, Huffman trucking has grown their fleet of tractor-trailers from one to over 800 tractors, 2,100 45 foot trailers, and 260 roll on/ roll off units. Huffman trucking also employees 925 drivers and 425 technical support staff members, which is based from the increase in business that they have seen over the years from their acquisitions of five other freight companies. The mission of Huffman trucking is â€Å"to be a profitable, growing, adaptive company in an intensively competitive logistical services business environment†. Huffman Trucking according to the mission statement wants to be a competitive company within the logistics industry, and they also want to maintain the growth and profitability that they have experienced over the years. The vision statement of Huffman Trucking is â€Å"to be a model company to our stockholders, employees, customers, and all stakeholders†. Through the vision statement that Huffman Trucking has put into place at their organization they want to be a company that does right by all the people that are investors in the company, as well as, the employees and customers that are also valued by the organization. In analyzing the mission and vision statements of the company, Huffman Trucking existence is to maintain their market share in the logistics industry by treating the customer, employees, stock, and stakeholders with the upmost respect and consideration. The reason that Huffman Trucking uses the business structure that they have is to maintain the solid structure of the employment, and maintain the growth of the business in the industry of logistics. Huffman Trucking is a company that prides themselves on the idea that taking care of the employees will help the employees will take care of the customers, and the revenues from the customers will help the business and the stock and stakeholders maintain their edge. Huffman Trucking is a leader in the industry of logistics, and is one of the larger corporations that are in operation. The contracts that Huffman Trucking has are strong stable contracts that will help the vision and mission of the company to be successful in the completion and achievement of the goals that they set for the organization. Huffman Trucking has a strong foundation and the future of the organization is solid with the contracts that are in place from years to come. The services that Huffman Trucking offers to its customers are services that can help the growth of the business, and to maintain the competitive edge that Huffman Trucking has over its competition. Huffman Trucking is a privately held United States based company. Huffman Trucking’s Mission Statement is â€Å"to be a profitable, growing, adaptive company in an intensively competitive logistical services business environment†(Huffman Trucking, 2012). Huffman’s Trucking Vision Statement is â€Å"to be a model company to our stockholders, employees, customers and all stakeholders† (Huffman Trucking, 2012). Huffman trucking has implemented the following steps of the collaboration process that must be employed to achieve organizational goals. The action plan to implement the collaboration process is to create an important objective, build, sustain, or enhance a core competence or competitive advantage, important new market opportunities as well as mitigate significant risk to the trucking business. Facilitating the close cross-company by merger and acquisition strategies play a part in Huffman trucking. Expanding the company’s geographic coverage and independently developing whatever resources and know-how were needed to be successful was imperative. Huffman Trucking has facilities in four major cities in the United States, Cleveland, OH, Los Angeles, CA, St. Louis, MO, and Bayonne, NJ. In order for Huffman Trucking to be a successful business there had to be several things put into place. The mission of the company is to be a profitable, growing, adaptive company in an intensively competitive logistical services business environment. The vision of Huffman Trucking is to be a model company to our stockholders, employees, customers and all stakeholders. In order for Huffman Trucking to be able to achieve the mission and reach the vision for the company there had to be the use of collaborations within. Such collaborations would include lateral and vertical collaborations. Lateral collaboration is where a group of people with the same ranking work together to accomplish a task. An example of lateral collaboration would be if two or more of the floor employees work together to try and come up with a way to increase production. A vertical collaboration would occur when a person of higher rank works with a person of lower rank to accomplish a goal. The CEO of the company working with a floor shift manager to try to increase production would be an example of vertical collaboration. Looking on the service request page, there has been many requests for service made by different people. One request that was made was made by the CIO for a Windows server upgrade for all the network locations. The expected goal of this server upgrade is to provide a migration path from the current network to one running Windows Server 2008. An action plan will be put together in order to accomplish this goal. Vertical collaboration will be used as the CIO works together with the IT department in order to accomplish the task of upgrading the server. They will work together to make sure that the server upgrade allows Huffman Trucking to do everything that it needs to be successful such as the right domain model and network dministration for all sites. An action plan will then be put into effect for lateral collaboration. This will allow the front line staff to develop ways that the upgraded server can help them. Examples of that would be that Administrative control of domain controllers can be decentralized if needed and allows the drivers to have access to at least one computer at each site. Huffman Trucking takes great pride in their company not only for their employees and customers but also for their stakeholders. They have developed a mission statement for their stakeholders; â€Å"We will maintain continuous awareness of our stakeholders and apply the test of reasonableness to assure our business practices are commensurate with stakeholder expectations. † (Virtual Organization) By identify awareness to the stakeholders, they will want to continue to invest in Huffman Trucking. Some of the stakeholders include; President/CEO, VP of Transportation, VP of Equipment, VP of Real Estate, VP of Terminal Operations, VP of Sales, Shareholders and all employees. The collaborative interaction between the Huffman Trucking Executive Management is critical to the success of the business. They are the making the deciding factors for each category that they are over. At the end of the day, each VP relies on another VP in order to proceed with their decisions. The management team must work together in order to ensure that Huffman Trucking and the Stakeholders are happy and successful. At the end of the day, if the stakeholders do no collaborate together all of them will lose out. Huffman Trucking has created a company that continues to grow and build upon their success year after year. By staying true to their mission and vision statement the company will be able to open up more locations in the United States. Huffman trucking has a clear strategic plan that allows them to have a strong internal and vertical collaboration. By keeping their focus and foundation alive to their shareholders, stakeholders, employees, and customers Huffman Trucking will continue to be a leading trucking company. References Virtual Organization Portal. (2012) Huffman Trucking. Retrieved on October 29, 2012 from http://ecampus. phoenix. edu How to cite Bus 475 Week 3 Learning Team: Functional Area Interrelationships, Essays

Sunday, December 8, 2019

Information System Project Management Information Systems

Question: Discuss about the Report on Information System Project Management for information systems? Answer: Five key lessons learned from the case study The five top lessons learned from this case study are as follows: Top 500 General Electric executives from Boca Raton, Florida, Welch had brought an innovative thought of turning GE to a famous Internet company. Previously GE had taken several initiatives including globalization for the exceptional rise in profit for the last two decades. The focus of that effort was to provide product plus services for the customers (Schwalbe, 2015). From this case study, it is evident that The Internet is permanently going to change the overall business structure, which includes every relationship between the suppliers, customers, and markets. Within six months of the use of Internet for the purchasing purpose, the GE Lighting had decreased their cycle of purchasing from 14 days to 7 days. The online system of GE allows their customers to download the product information, to verify about the product specification, for tracking the shipment, and to return commodities (Fitzsimmons Fitzsimmons, 2013). A web connection to customer's GE equipment known as iCenter allows collecting the data regarding the equipment provided by GE to their potential clients. The Power system of GE uses the Web for monitoring any GE turbine and which can improve the performance of the turbine. Earlier the GE appliances were sold through small and large retailers in a traditional manner but with the increasing use of Internet the previous model were destroyed, and now machines are sold on auction sites, and big retails. Relationship of GE case studies with other case studies Common Lessons: The general electric is using The Internet and upcoming technologies for changing the overall business infrastructure of their company. New Lessons: The customers of GE use iCenter, which collects the data regarding the equipment, and presents that information to their potential clients. The GE uses the Internet facilities for selling their appliances in big retails and auction sites (Raymond Bergeron, 2015). Case Study of Rand McNally Five key lessons learned from the case study The five top lessons drawn from this case study are: Rand McNally produces many geographical materials and travel outlining software and with the development of the digital economy, the computer-oriented products and use of Internet came into account. Rand McNally faced many problems while modernizing itself with the use of online maps since the senior management was concerned about the fact that if they would introduce online maps, then the sale of traditional paper maps might have been affected (Marchewka, 2014). The management of the company prepared some plans including the availability of Rand McNally website for travelers, up gradation of mapping products for fast growing Internet environment, linkage of company's website with various services available on the net, introducing of mortar and bricks stock business. Finally, the management plan includes that the enterprise needs to be a business-to-consumer company. For achieving these management plans, the company needs to focus on the immediate requirement of information regarding the travel conditions and recommendations proposed during the meetings. The Web site alone is not able to fulfill the requirement of the travelers for planning any trip. The travelers also need to have a continuous Internet access with them. The travels require road status updates, specified driving instructions, online road maps, and for that reason, they need to have a wireless technology. For the inexperienced Internet users, the website needs to have a simple network. Profitability plays a vital role for both investors and management related to this company (Olson, 2014). MapQuest was the chief competitor of Rand McNally in the field of online communication. For getting the leadership in the digital age, Rand McNally tried to introduce wireless travel services in their company. From the case study, it is evident that MapQuest also had some weaknesses where Rand McNally became successful. The maps of Rand McNally were appropriate than that of MapQuest. The driving instructions were vastly detailed in MapQuest, and they were not timely upgraded. Moreover, the route selection in MapQuest was not optimal. For competing with the MapQuest, the management of Rand McNally decided to develop an auto club, which is same as American Automobile Association (AAA). The planning of this auto club was to provide a network for reconstruction shops and to provide necessary roadside services to the travelers. Creating of linkage for the users with the help of car navigation structures, Internet-enabled cell phones, and various wireless gadgets were the chief concern of Rand McNally management. Rand McNally also introduced Global Positioning System for the customers to maintain the track of their current position. All these facilities provided by RandMcNally.com attracted many visitors and made it a strong competitor of MapQuest (Schwalbe, 2015). Relationship of Rand McNally Case Study with other Case Studies Common Lessons:Rand McNally is using the Internet facilities and some innovative technologies for bringing change in their business infrastructure. New Lessons: Rand McNally primarily faced several problems during their introduction to the use of online maps. However, later on, they tried to bring a relationship with wireless technology and their manufactured products. They introduced GPS services, car navigation services, Internet-based cell phones, and many wireless gadgets for overcoming the problems faced earlier. Case Study of Boo.com The five top lessons learned from this case study are: com was using the Internet services for creating online shops, which offered stylish, high quality sportswear that can be bought from anywhere. Boo.com became the initial public offering of stock and after six months of its website launching, it was bankrupted, which led to the loss of $185 million for the shoppers. The business model of Boo.com is different from other Internet organizations, and they focus on full retail price as compared to discount. The Boo.com website offered their customers with leading site engine for searching various types of clothes of the choices and allowed to view products from 360-degree angles. This site is highlighted with a universal sizing structure depending on the size variations among countries and brands. They deployed a telephone based customer care service also offered loyalty points for every purchase that could serve as discounts for future purchases (Kerzner, 2013). com allowed free home delivery within a week, and they took free returns by the unsatisfied consumers. Their website was available in seven different languages including British and American English, and they accepted local currencies from 18 different countries. In this way, they tried to revolutionize their shopping techniques. With the increasing technical development, Boo.com decided to launch satellite offices in Amsterdam, Paris, Munich, and New York. Different people were hired for taking orders on an online basis. Boo.com seemed to be multinational of the 1950s rather than an Internet start-up. The website of Boo.com was ultimately launched in November, and their proposed marketing assault was not realized at the end. The actual advertising campaign was not up to the mark and resulted in disappointment among the potential consumers. Their website was comprised of many critical errors, which was resulting in freezing of the customer's computers. Boo.com was not compatible with the users of Macintosh computers. The navigation of Boo.com site was very much slow for the users having low-speed Internet connections since the interactive features, and attractive graphics took a very long time for downloading. The unsatisfied customers even jammed the client help line of Boo.com. Finally, a website named as Fashionmall.com acquired maximum part of Boo.com such as web address, online content, brand name, and materials of advertising. Their chief concern was to prepare the Boo name into a great existing website for clothing. The new site is acting as a portal with no inventory. The designing of this site is less flashy and graphics-comprehensive with the help of which the consumers can smoothly browse the site with ease. Boo focuses on directing their customers to this new structured site for selling the merchandise for their clients rather than having orders and shipping products. Relationship of Boo.com Case Study with other Case Studies Common Lessons:For better maintenance of Boo.com website, they use the latest models for designing their website and also availing the Internet facilities. New Lessons-Boo offered their customers with best site engine comprised of various featured, but suddenly that was bankrupted by some unauthorized access. They allowed free home delivery facilities and accepted the returns from the unsatisfied customers through their website. They provided sites in seven different languages and accepted local currencies of 18 different countries.The drawbacks of its web site comprised of freezing of the customer's computers, incompatibility of the site for Macintosh computer users. For overcoming such problems, some of the parts of Boo.com is acquired by a website known as Fashionmall.com, which worked as a portal without any inventory. Thus, Boo focuses on this latest structured site for selling their products in an innovative way(Braglia Frosolini, 2014). Case Studies in Chapter 1 The main idea of the opening vignette: With the usage of Internet almost every enterprises and organization can transform their provided services as a digital mode of services. Most personal case study and reason for it: The most personal case study is "possible adoption of emerging technologies in businesses". The reason is that it provides interconnection through the Internet routers, provides improved decision-making and deep learning with the use of various innovative and emerging models (Verzuh, 2015). Least favorite case study and reason for it: The least favorite case study is "Boo.com gets booted out". The reason is that it promised their online shoppers with online purchase of designer and high quality sportswear but after the publicity, they suddenly declared bankruptcy and resulted in the loss of $185. Case Studies in Chapter 4 The main idea of the opening vignette:The businesses are not aware of investing in Internet of Things technology and since the usefulness of IOT is, known but still companies are unable to develop healthy strategies to use. Most personal case study and reason for it:The most personal case study is "Porter's thoughts on Internet Strategy" because it shows that The Internet is most efficient technology, which helps in making strategies in any industries. Least favorite case study and the reason for it:The least favorite case study is Kmart looses due to lack of attention to e-business because the company was a large group of retails stores but was bankrupt in 2002 due to its improper IT strategy. Case Studies in Chapter 5 The main idea of the opening vignette: Walmart gained practical competitive advantages by making itself the largest and most efficient sales as well as supply chain structure in the industry of retailers. Most personal case study and the reason for it: The most personal case study is "Possible use of Big Data, Analytics, and Learning in Business Applications" because it provides improved decision-making and helps the managers to gain enhanced intuition for better operations. Least favorite case study and reason for it: The least favorite case study of Outsourcing through a service provider of application because the cost of outsourcing the application services by the service provider is maximum (Kerzner, 2013). Case Studies in Chapter 6 The main idea of the opening vignette:It is necessary to have a better understanding of the risks related to important ERP project. Most personal case study and reason for it:The most personal case study is about "Kinion Furniture" because they established online order entry structure which is connected with DBA system and introduced web-oriented intranet with the help of SharePoint Team Services for real-time access to information. Least favorite case study and reason for it:The least favorite case study is about An integrated manufacturing system because this system is comprised of decision support, operational support, and real-time. The interconnection of the above applications is the major challenge faced by Xbuild company (Hussein Hafseld, 2014). Planning Methodology Addressing of business issues before technology issues- Yes The main competitor-AccellentInc The new entrants-2 Wire, Inc The substitute products-The substitute products would be the implementation of some new models for manufacturing of electronic products. Product strategy-New products to new customers The main business processes- Procurement, Logistics, Enterprise business process, Distributions, Operations, Products development, Marketing, Customer Account, Sales, and After sales services. The critical business processes- Project management, Risk Analysis and Review, and Testing and Exercising The name of the software package that could be of high value for this company- com References Braglia, M., Frosolini, M. (2014). An integrated approach to implement project management information systems within the extended enterprise.International Journal of Project Management,32(1), 18-29. Fitzsimmons, J., Fitzsimmons, M. (2013).Service management: Operations, strategy, information technology. McGraw-Hill Higher Education. Hussein, B. A., Hafseld, K. H. (2014). Impact of conformity, commitment and management style on an information system project.International Journal of Computing,13(4), 227-239. Kerzner, H. R. (2013).Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley Sons. Marchewka, J. T. (2014).Information technology project management. John Wiley Sons. Olson, D. (2014).Information systems project management. Business Expert Press. Raymond, L., Bergeron, F. (2015). Impact of Project Management Information Systems on Project Performance. InHandbook on Project Management and Scheduling Vol. 2(pp. 1339-1354). Springer International Publishing. Schwalbe, K. (2015).Information technology project management. Cengage Learning. Verzuh, E. (2015).The fast forward MBA in project management. John Wiley Sons.