Assignments Portal: CSIT 450 Technology Management Assignment 2

Q. Look in an entrepreneurial or business magazine for an article about a technical venture that has succeeded (Business Week publishes special issues on growing companies). What was the entrepreneur's background? Who were her or his partners? How long did it take to have the company running?

Company: Google Inc. (1996-2009)

Google is currently the best search engine in the world, however their first steps were not easy at all!

It all started when Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page were still just students at the university. They had the brilliant idea of how they could rank webpages using their great idea of Page Rank.

"Don’t be evil.” That’s the motto of Google, which was founded in 1996. In the beginning Google did not have too much money, only a mere $100000 check to start their business is now worth $129 billion, making it the fastest growing company in the history of the world. The mixture of unprecedented financial growth and squeaky-clean ethics has made Google the only company in the world which is perceived as simultaneously cool, successful and on the side of the good guys.

Google Inc. is an American public corporation, earning revenue from advertising related to its Internet search, e-mail, online mapping, office productivity, social networking, and video sharing services as well as selling advertising-free versions of the same technologies. The Google headquarters, the Googleplex, is located in Mountain View, California. As of December 31, 2008, the company has 20,222 full-time employees.

Google was co-founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin while they were students at Stanford University and the company was first incorporated as a privately held company on September 4, 1998. The initial public offering took place on August 19, 2004, raising US$1.67 billion, implying a value for the entire corporation of US$23 billion. Google has continued its growth through a series of new product developments, acquisitions, and partnerships. Environmentalism, philanthropy and positive employee relations have been important tenets during the growth of Google, the latter resulting in being identified multiple times as Fortune Magazine's #1 Best Place to Work. The unofficial company slogan is "Don't be evil", although criticism of Google includes concerns regarding the privacy of personal information, copyright, censorship and discontinuation of services. It is the most powerful brand in the world

Google began in January 1996, as a research project by Larry Page, who was soon joined by Sergey Brin, when they were both Ph.D. students at Stanford University in California. They hypothesized that a search engine that analyzed the relationships between websites would produce better ranking of results than existing techniques, which ranked results according to the number of times the search term appeared on a page. Their search engine was originally nicknamed "BackRub" because the system checked backlinks to estimate the importance of a site.

The Google search engine attracted a loyal following among the growing number of Internet users, who liked its simple design and useful results. In 2000, Google began selling advertisements associated with search keywords. The ads were text-based to maintain an uncluttered page design and to maximize page loading speed. Keywords were sold based on a combination of price bid and clickthroughs, with bidding starting at US$.05 per click. This model of selling keyword advertising was pioneered by Goto.com (later renamed Overture Services, before being acquired by Yahoo! and rebranded as Yahoo! Search Marketing). Goto.com was an Idea lab spin off created by Bill Gross, and was the first company to successfully provide a pay-for-placement search service. Overture Services later sued Google over alleged infringements of Overture's pay-per-click and bidding patents by Google's AdWords service. The case was settled out of court, with Google agreeing to issue shares of common stock to Yahoo! in exchange for a perpetual license. Thus, while many of its dot-com rivals failed in the new Internet marketplace, Google quietly rose in stature while generating revenue.

99% of Google's revenue is derived from its advertising programs. Google is able to precisely track users interests across affiliated sites using DoubleClick technology and Google Analytics. Google's advertisements carry a lower price tag when their human ad-rating team working around the world believes the ads improve the company's user experience. Google AdWords allows Web advertisers to display advertisements in Google's search results and the Google Content Network, through either a cost-per-click or cost-per-view scheme. Google AdSense website owners can also display adverts on their own site, and earn money every time ads are clicked. Google began in March 2009 to use behavioural targeting based on users interests.

The Google web search engine is the company's most popular service. Google is the most used search engine on the web with a 53.6% market share, ahead of Yahoo! (19.9%) and Live Search (12.9%). Google indexes billions of Web pages, so that users can search for the information they desire, through the use of keywords and operators, although at any given time it will only return a maximum of 1,000 results for any specific search query. Google has also employed the Web Search technology into other search services, including Image Search, Google News, the price comparison site Google Product Search, the interactive Usenet archive Google Groups, Google Maps, and more.

In 2004, Google launched its own free web-based e-mail service, known as Gmail. Gmail features conversation view, spam-filtering technology, the capability to use Google technology to search e-mail. The service generates revenue by displaying advertisements and links from the AdWords service that are tailored to the choice of the user and/or content of the e-mail messages displayed on screen.

In early 2006, the company launched Google Video, which not only allows users to search and view freely available videos but also offers users and media publishers the ability to publish their content, including television shows on CBS, NBA basketball games, and music videos.

Google has also developed several desktop applications, including Google Desktop, Picasa, SketchUp and Google Earth, an interactive mapping program powered by satellite and aerial imagery that covers the vast majority of the planet. Many major cities have such detailed images that one can zoom in close enough to see vehicles and pedestrians clearly.

In 2007, Google planned to release its own mobile phone, possibly a competitor to Apple's iPhone. The project, called Android, an operating system provides a standard development kit that will allow any "Android" phone to run software developed for the Android SDK, no matter the phone manufacturer. In September 2008, T-Mobile released the first phone running the Android platform, the G1.

On 1 September 2008, Google pre-announced the upcoming availability of Google Chrome, an open-source web browser, which was released on 2 September 2008.

Google is one of the Fastest Growing Technology Company – TIMES MAGAZINE

Q. Do some research on the origin of Ford Automobile? Do you think Ford would succeed today? How have the opportunities changed over time?

The Ford Motor Company is an American multinational corporation and the world's fourth largest automaker based on worldwide vehicle sales, following Toyota, General Motors, and Volkswagen. Based in Dearborn, Michigan, the automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury brands, Ford also owns Volvo Cars of Sweden, and a small stake in Mazda of Japan and Aston Martin of England. Ford's former UK subsidiaries Jaguar and Land Rover were sold to Tata Motors of India in March 2008.

In 2007, Ford fell from the second-ranked automaker to the third-ranked automaker in US sales for the first time in 56 years, behind General Motors and Toyota. Based on 2007 global sales, Ford fell to the fourth-ranked spot behind Volkswagen. In 2007, Ford produced 6.553 million automobiles and employed about 245,000 employees at around 100 plants and facilities worldwide. Also in 2007, Ford received more initial quality survey awards from J. D. Power and Associates than any other automaker. Five of Ford's vehicles ranked at the top of their categories and fourteen vehicles ranked in the top three.

Ford introduced methods for large-scale manufacturing of cars and large-scale management of an industrial workforce using elaborately engineered manufacturing sequences typified by moving assembly lines. Henry Ford's methods came to be known around the world as Fordism by 1914.

The each part of a car is produced by assembly lines rather than making the complete car by one machine or worker. The different parts of each vehicle are assemble and manufactured by even different companies.

The Ford Motor Company’s success occurred in the past because of the introduction of a very tough and compact vehicle named Model T. The mass production of this automobile lowered its unit price, making it affordable for the average consumer. Furthermore, Ford substantially increased its workers' wages, giving them the means to become customers. These factors led to massive consumption. In fact, the Model T surpassed all expectations, because it attained a peak of 60% of the automobile output within the United States.

Henry Ford revolutionized a system, which consisted of synchronization, precision, and specialization within a company. These innovative ideas led to Fordism, this concept helped increase economic prosperity in the United States.

The opportunities changed over the time because the Ford Automobile ranking fell and became the world's fourth largest automaker after Toyota, General Motors and Volkswagen. So Many investors moved to these top ranked automakers leaving Ford. So the resources depreciated and opportunities declined for Ford Motor Company. These days Ford company share value is fallen to under $2 because of US recession. The company is going under heavy loss and in danger of bankrupt. Majority of People of US and UK no more afford expensive FORD cars because of world economic recession. However government bailout (rescue) plan had saved FORD from going bankrupt but the company is still going in loss and under heavy dept.

Q. Identify a company that chanted from being a follower to being a leader, what was its approach? How long did it take?

2004 –> Leader: Dell <=> Follower: HP

2005 -2009 -> Leader: HP <=> Follower: Dell

HP regains spot as No. 1 PC maker worldwide

Hewlett-Packard leapfrogged over Dell to recapture the lead as the No. 1 PC maker worldwide for the first time in almost three years

HP edged out Dell by a mere 110,000 units shipped in the third quarter. Competitor PC market trackers at IDC found HP had a larger volume of PCs by 28,000, which that firm called "a statistical tie."

In market share, Dell declining and HP continuing to gain share.

Dell had its lowest year-over-year growth ever, with its global PC shipments growing 3.6 percent. Its worldwide market share decreased to 16.1 percent, from 16.5 percent in the same quarter last year, which is showing weak growth.

Dell is in the trough of a replacement cycle. Large accounts are buying fewer machines. The delay of Microsoft's Vista operating system is a factor as well, with some consumers and a business waiting to replace desktops and notebooks until the final version is released.

Meanwhile, HP performed well in all regions, with its global PC shipments increasing 15.4 percent since the third quarter of last year. The market share went from 15.1 percent last year to 16.3 percent this quarter.

The forecast was just over 5 percent growth in the U.S., but actual final growth was negative. A big part of that was Dell, which is a third of the market. But Dell is not the only one at fault. Gateway (follower), the No. 3 U.S. PC maker, showed almost no significant growth this quarter at 0.3 percent.

Dell has seen a significant slowdown in its shipment growth over the past year, for a number of reasons.

They've looked at non-PC technologies. They've had some pressure from Wall Street to focus on profitability, some criticism of their pricing. They're in the middle of refocusing their efforts on a balance of profitability and volume, and maximizing customer satisfaction. That's all well and fine, but they're not growing as fast as they used to or, in this case, as fast as the market.

So the HP became a leader due to these approaches of larger volume of PC's production, timely adaption of new technology and on right time product launching. The company's quarter-over-quarter growth rate was more than five times its nearest competitors.

HP has reclaimed the leadership position in the worldwide PC market on 28 Feb, 2005, according to an International Data Corporation (IDC) report. IBM was the first leader in PC market. Then in 2005, HP jumped over the DELL to become the NO1 in PC Market. It took 65 years to HP to become a leader in PC market. (1939-2005).

Q. Discuss the effect of the fast pace of technological change on human resources.

EFFECT OF TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE ON HUMAN RESOURCES

Technological change has been a key contributor to economic development. The Industrial Revolution, which spurred the massive economic expansion of Europe, derived in large part from a number of key inventions, such as development of steam engine in 1785. While technological change has always been with us, over the last 15 to 20 years the microelectronics revolution has increased the rate of innovation and the severity of ongoing structural changes in the economy.

A widespread perception holds that the current wave of computer-related innovations might severely affect the labour market, by causing mass unemployment, by deskilling jobs and thereby reducing wages, or by increasing skill requirements and therefore aggravating income inequality between workers with different levels of education and training. In the early 1800's, the Luddite movement in England violently protested the mechanization of the textile industry, over fears that traditional craftsmen would be thrown out of work. Most recently, the move towards automation in America factories caused many to speculate that massive unemployment was likely to arise. At least in this instance, the record is clear that ongoing automation in the 1950's and 1960's did not coincide with high and increasing rates of unemployment in North America.

New Technology can take many forms and that their impact on the labour market can work through direct and indirect channels. The impact of technological change on employment and wages is exceedingly difficult to capture in practice because, for example, the implementation of a new technology in one factory may influence wages and employment in other factories thousands of miles away. Furthermore, in a market system in which prices in tens of thousands of inter-connected markets continually adjust to the ebb and flow of supply and demand, workers who are effected the technological change may not even be in the same industry as the one undergoing the technological change.

IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE ON THE OVERALL LEVEL OF EMPLOYMENT AND WAGES

A technological change is said to occur when a firm changes the way it operates to increase its productivity. A technological change may:

Alter a firm's work systems by entailing the purchase of new equipment or by introducing a change in process
Increase the productivity of a firm's labour or capital or both
Lead to job losses, depending on the conditions in which the local market operates
Involve the introduction of a new product rather than a change in work systems

Q. Read a book chapter or an article on the accounting methods of return on investment (ROI) and activity-based costing (ABC). Discuss the uses and limitations of each in regard to a technology development project.

ROI

The accounting method of ROI analysis is also sometimes referred to as Book Rate of Return method. It suggests key features of method that it measures ROI in terms of standard accounting procedure and techniques. It is a performance measure used to evaluate the efficiency of an investment or to compare the efficiency of a number of different investments.

Uses:

· It emphasizes accounting profit and loss effect of investment.

· It is consistent and relates to accounting data.

· It is easy to calculate.

· A ROI value typically used for personal financial decisions includes Annual Rate of Return and Annualized Rate of Return.

Limitations:

· It does not recognize the time value of money

· It gives not weight to either the amount or the value of money

ABC

Activity-Based Costing is a costing model that identifies activities in an organization and assigns the cost of each activity resource to all products and services according to the actual consumption by each it assigns more indirect costs into direct costs.

Uses:

· It is generally used as a tool for understanding product and customer cost and profitability.

· It has mainly been used to support strategic decisions such as pricing, outsourcing and identification and measurement of process improvement initiatives.