WEB-BASED CASE STUDY, BBC DIGITAL MEDIA INITIATIVE REVISITED.

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WEB-BASED CASE

BBC Digital Media Initiative Revisited 

The National Audit Office (NAO) scrutinizes public spending in the United Kingdom. Its memorandum on the BBC’s DMI project reported on several key findings. First, the in-house team was severely challenged by the fact that the project was already 18 months behind schedule when they began work on the project. Second, the technology team issued releases throughout the project that did not meet end-user expectations and eroded confidence in the project. Third, the BBC focused more on the technological development rather than on encouraging organization-wide changes in workflow that would encourage adoption. Finally, the NAO concluded, the DMI lacked governance arrangements for the scale, risk, and complexity of the project.

Do research online to identify the capabilities of digital asset management software. What are the top rated digital asset management software products? Who uses this software?

Given the NAO’s findings and what you discover about available off-the-shelf products, would it have been wiser for the BBC to adopt a collection of these existing products?

 What actions would be necessary to gain the cooperation of the business units to incorporate this collection of products into their work processes? 

Answer all the questions 1000 words.NO PLAYGIRIZUM. PLAGIARISM REPORT NEEDED.SUBMIT IN TIME.

Summarize the article in your own words- this should be in the 150-200 word range.

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4th question

Summary:

Pick one of the following terms for your research: Stakeholder, corporate citizenship, reputation, corporate governance, or executive compensation.

Journal article I need two copys

Plz follow this instructions

DEFINITION: a brief definition of the key term followed by the APA reference for the term; this does not count in the word requirement. SUMMARY: Summarize the article in your own words- this should be in the 150-200 word range. Be sure to note the article’s author, note their credentials and why we should put any weight behind his/her opinions, research or findings regarding the key term. DISCUSSION: Using 300-350 words, write a brief discussion, in your own words of how the article relates to the selected chapter Key Term. A discussion is not rehashing what was already stated in the article, but the opportunity for you to add value by sharing your experiences, thoughts and opinions. This is the most important part of the assignment. REFERENCES: All references must be listed at the bottom of the submission–in APA format.

5th question

Summary:

Read Wells Fargo Banking Scandal and complete the questions at the end of the case study.

Plz click the link you got questions

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6th question

Summary:

Pick one of the following terms for your research: Integrity, ethical dilemma, conflict of interest, bribery, or fraud.

Journal article I need two copys

Plz follow this instructions

DEFINITION: a brief definition of the key term followed by the APA reference for the term; this does not count in the word requirement. SUMMARY: Summarize the article in your own words- this should be in the 150-200 word range. Be sure to note the article’s author, note their credentials and why we should put any weight behind his/her opinions, research or findings regarding the key term. DISCUSSION: Using 300-350 words, write a brief discussion, in your own words of how the article relates to the selected chapter Key Term. A discussion is not rehashing what was already stated in the article, but the opportunity for you to add value by sharing your experiences, thoughts and opinions. This is the most important part of the assignment. REFERENCES: All references must be listed at the bottom of the submission–in APA format.

  • attachment

    businessethicshomework.docx

Write a query to display the products that have a price greater than $ 50.

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19. Write a query to display the products that have a price greater than $ 50.

20. Write a query to display the current salary for each employee in department 300. Assume that only current employees are kept in the system, and therefore the most current salary for each employee is the entry in the salary history with a NULL end date. Sort the output in descending order by salary amount.

21. Write a query to display the starting salary for each employee. The starting salary would be the entry in the salary history with the oldest salary start date for each employee. Sort the output by employee number.

22. Write a query to display the invoice number, line numbers, product SKUs, product descriptions, and brand ID for sales of sealer and top coat products of the same brand on the same invoice.

23. The Binder Prime Company wants to recognize the employee who sold the most of their products during a specified period. Write a query to display the employee number, employee first name, employee last name, email address, and total units sold for the employee who sold the most Binder Prime brand products between November 1, 2013, and December 5, 2013. If there is a tie for most units sold, sort the output by employee last name.

24. Write a query to display the customer code, first name, and last name of all customers who have had at least one invoice completed by employee 83649 and at least one invoice completed by employee 83677. Sort the output by customer last name and then first name.

 

 25. LargeCo is planning a new promotion in Alabama ( AL) and wants to know about the largest purchases made by customers in that state. Write a query to display the customer code, customer first name, last name, full address, invoice date, and invoice total of the largest purchase made by each customer in Alabama. Be certain to include any customers in Alabama who have never made a purchase; their invoice dates should be NULL and the invoice totals should display as 0.

How will end users typically respond to such announcements?

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Include at least 250 words in your posting and at least 250 words in your reply.  Indicate at least one source or reference in your original post. Please see syllabus for details on submission requirements.

Module 8 Discussion Question

Search “scholar.google.com” or your textbook. Discuss the issues organization’s face with regards to the protection of its customer information. How might an organization notify its users that all communications are being monitored and preserved? How will end users typically respond to such announcements?

Reply(Shiva)

 

It is normal for organizations to collect their customers’ data and store it in their databases. This act always comes with a price. The organizations have a duty to diligently protect the information at all costs. Even though organizations promise that they will protect their customers’ data, sometimes they fail to do so (Karjoth, Scunter, & Waidner, 2003).

Most organizations face problems for failing to protect their customers’ information. Take the example of a situation where the data is stolen by attackers. The customers’ run to courts demanding compensation. In other cases, organizations are accused of misusing personal data. This is done by selling customers’ data to third parties or using the data for marketing purposes. Sometimes they fail to observe disclosure requirements.

It also happens that some firms delete data accidentally or let unauthorized personnel access it. The end result is that the organization spends millions trying to retrieve the data. Poor handling of clients’ data leads to a bad reputation. Firms should notify their users whenever a breach occurs (Schwartz & Janger, 2007). Organizations have a role of informing their clients that they do collect, monitor and store their data. This can be done by including it in websites where clients are expected to submit their data. They can also send a notification to clients letting them know what time of information is being collected and monitored. If calls are affected, customers should be notified before they start giving their details.

On their side, customers can respond to this by accepting or declining to share their information. They can unsubscribe from services their dislike. Furthermore, they can seek clarification in case there is ambiguity. They can also ask firms to delete their data after the contractual terms.

References

Karjoth, G., Scunter, M., & Waidner, M. (2003, June 24). Platform for Enterprise Privacy Practices: Privacy-Enabled Management of Customer Data. Retrieved December 4, 2018, from https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/3-540-36467-6_6

Schwartz, P. M., & Janger, E. J. (2007). Notification of Data Security Breaches 105 Michigan Law Review 2006-2007. Retrieved December 4, 2018, from https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/mlr105&div=36&id=&page=

Reply(venu)

 

Organization have the right to monitor their employee’s use of the information and internet including visiting social networking sites, checking e-mails, and instant messaging on computers owned by the organization, during employee’s on-duty hours. Organization need to have a plan to ensure the security of your information assets. Failure to protect your data’s confidentiality might result in customer credit card numbers being stolen, with legal consequences and a loss of goodwill. Lose your clients’ confidential information and you may have fewer of them in the future.

Designated security officer: organizations for security regulations and standards, having a Designated Security Officer is not optional it’s a requirement. Security officer is the one responsible for coordinating and executing our security program. The officer is our internal check and balance. This person or role should report to someone outside of the IT organization to maintain independence.

Policies and Procedures: The policies and procedures component is the place where we get to decide what to do about them. Physical security documents how you will protect all three C-I-A aspects of your data from unauthorized physical access. Authentication, authorization, and accountability establishes procedures for issuing and revoking accounts. It specifies how users authenticate, password creation and aging requirements, and audit trail maintenance. Security awareness makes sure that all users have a copy of your acceptable use policy and know their responsibilities; it also makes sure that your IT employees are engaged in implementing your IT-specific policies.

Risk assessment: This component identifies and assesses the risks that your security program intends to manage. Unauthorized access to your own data and client or customer data. Remember, if you have confidential information from clients or customers, you’re often contractually obliged to protect that data as if it were your own.

Tableau Project – Car Insurance Claim Project

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Dear Participants,

“Today many big organizations are sitting on large chunks of data, not knowing what to do with it. They invite consultants & business analysts to have a look at data and come up with insights that could help the organization run their business better. There is no clear set of instructions in such open-ended problems and it is expected of the consultant to do a lot of exploration first and formulate the problems themselves. These DVT projects fall into the bucket of such open-ended problems and a specific problem statement has not been given intentionally. It is expected of students to explore the data and come up with good insights. There is no right and wrong answer here. There should a clear logical story which should come out of their submission.”

Please find below DVT Project instructions:

Note: Please upload the project on Tableau public and include the URL in a word doc and upload it.

  • Any assignment found copied/ plagiarized with another person will not be graded and marked as zero.
  • Please ensure timely submission as a post-deadline assignment will not be accepted.

Please find the instructions here.

To learn how to publish your tableau file, click here.

Please use the following  datasets- (Car Claim Insurance.xlsx)

Business Context 

We are all aware that accidents are prone everywhere due to negligent driving or climatic conditions. An insurance company always needs to be prepared to estimate the number of accidents and the claims that they can receive at a given point time. Also understanding the pattern of claims would help the companies to frame different types of policies for the users providing better benefits and at the same time increasing the premium to the company.

Problem Statement:

Consider that you are a Lead Data Analyst at an Insurance Claims company that has provided you with the Car Insurance Claims dataset. You have been given a task to explore the data, create different plots and interpret useful insights/findings. Your end goal here will be to create a storyboard that you have to present to the Senior Management and the story has to have an end objective and should follow a logical flow to display that you are heading towards achieving the end objective. This will help the Senior Management in taking some decisive actions on the current claims system in place. This storyboard will be an open-ended story for you to explore various different features in the data and try to showcase different plots. Make sure to have minimum clutter in the plots, follow a consistent color scheme across all the plots, and use proper colors to highlight a specific insight. Moreover, your plots on all the dashboards should be interactive and responsive. There should be 1 dashboard that should cover the summary of the story as well as your recommendations.

Important Note: Please reflect on all that you have learned while working on this project. This step is critical in cementing all your concepts and closing the loop. Please write down your thoughts here.

Regards,

Program Office

CriteriaPoints

Creation of multiple charts and tables for representing useful insights/findings. The charts used should be inline with the objective that you wish to convey to the Senior Management.

[Mandatory 8 types of charts/tables from any of the following: text table, bar chart(multiple/stacked/side by side), bubble chart, treemap, Pareto chart, scatterplot, Wordcloud, line plot, histogram, boxplot, circle views, heatmap, highlighted tables. No restrictions on the upper limit of the number of charts/tables to be used]  16 points

Creating a calculated field. The calculated field should add some meaningful value and should be inline with your storyboard which you will create in this project. (Specify where calculated field has been used)

2 points

Use of filters, parameter, actions, etc in the charts.

4 points

Minimal clutter and consistency in use of colors across charts.

5 points

Multiple Dashboards creation

At least 5 Dashboards 10 points

Correct interpretations/insights from each type of chart created. The interpretations should be inline with the storyboard which is to be created in this project.

These interpretations can be in the captions of the storyboard or in the plots as well 16 points

Interactivity among the charts on each Dashboard 5 points
Storyboard Creation

At least 1 Storyboard 15 points

Logical flow to the story represented in the storyboard. 5 Points
1 dashboard which will cover the summary and the recommendations from the insights to be added to the end of the storyboard

This dashboard will be an extra dashboard apart from the mandatory 5 dashboards mentioned in the 5th part of the rubric. At least 5 summary/recommendation points should be mentioned in this dashboard(at least 1 recommendation/summary point from each dashboard you created). 1 conclusion point of the story. This dashboard has to be a part of the storyboard created and not to be submitted separately. Note: This will not be evaluated if submitted as a separate dashboard/storyboard.

  • attachment

    Carclaimsforinsurance.xlsx

Determine the net present value of a new equipment purchase.

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Clemenson Imaging LLC monitors increased revenue from the use of CT scan equipment. You analyze the number of patients and procedures by technician and location.

[Student Learning Outcomes 6.3, 6.4, 6.5, 6.6, 6.7]

File Needed: ClemensonImaging-06.xlsx (Available from the Start file link.)

Completed Project File Name: [your name]-ClemensonImaging-06.xlsx

Skills Covered in This Project

  • Calculate the net present value of a purchase.
  • Use TRANSPOSE to rearrange labels into a column.
  • Concatenate cells to display full names.
  • Use SUMIFS to summarize data.
  • Calculate procedure times.
  • Format times with fractions.
  1. Open the ClemensonImaging-06 workbook and click the Enable Editing button. The file will be renamed automatically to include your name.
  2. Determine the net present value of a new equipment purchase.
    1. Click the Financials sheet tab and select cell H5.
    2. Use NPV with a Rate argument of 4.25%.
    3. Select cells D7:D13 for the Value1 argument and click OK. This is the same as entering each value argument separately.
    4. Edit the formula to add both costs (cells D4 and D5) at the end of the formula. The net present value is $268,921.79.
  3. Use TRANSPOSE and CONCAT to display technician names.
    1. Click the Technicians sheet tab. The names are in rows.
    2. Select cells A4:A10, seven rows in one column.
    3. Select TRANSPOSE from the Lookup & Reference category and select cells A1:G1 for the Array argument.
    4. Press Ctrl+Shift+Enter to complete the array formula.
    5. Repeat the TRANSPOSE task for the first names in cells B4:B10.
    6. Select cell D4 and create a CONCAT formula to display the name in first name, last name order (Figure 6-111).ImagesFigure 6-111 CONCAT formula to display names
    7. Copy the formula in cell D4 to cells D5:D10.
    8. Click the Summary sheet tab, select cell A5, and create a 3D reference to cell D4 on the Technicians sheet.
    9. Copy the formula and preserve the borders.ImagesFigure 6-112 SUMIFS with absolute and relative references
      ImagesFigure 6-113 Change time format to display fractions
  4. Use SUMIFS to total number of patients by procedure and technician.
    1. Click the Summary sheet tab and select cell C5.
    2. Use the SUMIFS function with an absolute reference to cells $D$5:$D$41 on the Procedures sheet as the Sum_range argument.
      • The Criteria_range1 argument is an absolute reference to the image type column on the Procedures sheet, cells $E$5:$E$41.
      • The Criteria1 argument is a relative reference to cell B5 on the Summary sheet.
      • The Criteria_range2 argument is an absolute reference to the technician names column on the Procedures sheet.
    3. Select cell A5 for the Criteria2 argument (Figure 6-112).
    4. Copy the formula in cell C5 to cells C6:C11 and preserve the borders.
  5. Use SUMIFS to total number of patients by category and location in cells C14:C15.
  6. Look for and correct format inconsistencies.
  7. Calculate procedure times.
    1. Click the Times sheet tab and select cell F6.
    2. Build a formula to subtract the start time from the end time and multiply those results by 24. The result is shown in hours.
    3. Copy the formula to row 41.
    4. Select cells F6:F41 and open the Format Cells dialog box. On the Number tab, choose Fraction with a Type of Up to two digits (Figure 6-113).
  8. Save and close the workbook (Figure 6-114).
  9. Upload and save your project file.
  10. Submit project for grading.

Reflections On HIPAA Regulations

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If you have gone to a doctor’s appointment within the last 20 years, you have likely signed a Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) form. HIPAA protects a patient’s mental and physical health information and allows the patient access to records. Under the law, the patient can also distribute those records to other parties. As with mandated reporting, there are exceptions to the HIPAA protection, such as in cases of abuse or public health threats.

you learn more about HIPAA regulations and reflect on your exposure to HIPAA as a patient.

watch the Southside Community Services video listed in this week’s Learning Resources and reflect on how HIPAA informs the interaction between the social worker and the client.

Reflection

  • Identify two HIPAA regulations for health care providers.
  • Describe a time when you have signed a form related to HIPAA (e.g., doctor’s office)
  • Reflect on your knowledge as the consumer on the regulations of HIPAA and how your provider explained your rights. Explain whether or not your provider adequately informed you of your rights?
  • Explain how HIPAA supports or doesn’t support the NASW Code of Ethics (2008).

https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/index.html

 

Cummins, L., K., & Sevel, J., A. (2017). Social work skills for beginning direct practice: Text, workbook, and interactive web based case studies (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

  • Appendix B, “HIPAA and Confidentiality Issues” (pp. 299-303)

must be 2-3 pages and have reference page

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    WAL_SOCW2002_11_A_EN-CC2.zip
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    AppendixB1.pdf
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    theprecedingstandards..pdf
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    AppendixE.pdf

create a table and import data from Excel to create a second table

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GO19_AC_CH01_GRADER_1E_AS – Computer Club 1.0

 

Project Description:

In this project, you will create database objects to track the inventory of new computer parts used by the Computer Club. You will create a table and import data from Excel to create a second table. You will create a simple query, a form, and a report.

 

Start   Access. Open the downloaded file named Student_Access_1E_AS_Computer_Club.accdb,   enable the content, and then open the Inventory table.

 

Beginning   in the second column of the Inventory table and using the specified data   types, create the following fields (in this order):
Part (Short Text), Room (Short Text), Cabinet Location (Short Text), Vendor ID (Short Text), Price (Currency), Quantity in Stock (Number).

 

Change   the data type of the ID field to Short Text, rename the ID field to Part ID, and then save the table.

 

Add   the following three records to the Inventory table and then close the table.
Record 1:
Part ID: V-01
Part: Monitor with speakers
Room: SE110
Cabinet Location: Cabinet A, Shelf 3
Vendor ID: V-015
Price: 199.99
Quantity in Stock: 3
Record 2:
Part ID: S-01
Part: Sound Card
Room: SE110
Cabinet Location: Drawer A
Vendor ID: V-002
Price: 24.99
Quantity in Stock: 10
Record 3:
Part ID: P-01
Part: Power Supply
Room: SE110
Cabinet Location: Drawer C
Vendor ID: V-010
Price: 189.99
Quantity in Stock: 2

 

Append   the records from the downloaded Excel file a01E_Parts_Inventory.xlsx to the Inventory table and then open   the table in Datasheet view (the table has 13 records).

 

Switch   to Design view and delete the Room field. For the Part field, enter a   description of Enter the computer   component name and then change the field size to 50. For the Part ID field, change the   field size to 4   and then save the table.

 

Switch   to Datasheet view, apply Best Fit to all of the fields in the table, save the   table, and then close the table.

 

Import   the records from the downloaded Excel file a01E_Vendors.xlsx into the database as a new table named Vendors. Designate the first row as column   headings and the Vendor ID field as the primary key. Open the Vendors table   in Datasheet view (the table has 15 records).

 

Switch   to Design view. For the State field, enter a description of Enter two-letter state abbreviation   and then change the field size to 2.   For the Vendor ID field, change the field size to 5   and then save the table.

 

Switch   to Datasheet view, apply Best Fit to all of the fields in the table, save the   table, and then close the table.

 

Based   on your Inventory table, use the Query Wizard to create a simple query. Add   the Part, Cabinet Location, and Quantity in Stock fields (in that order).   Keep the default name of Inventory   Query, click Finish to display the query results, and then close the   query.

 

Based   on your Vendors table, use the Form tool to create a form for the table. Save   the form as Vendor Form,   display the form in Form view, and then close the form.

 

Based   on your Inventory table, use the Report tool to create a report. Delete the   Vendor ID and Price fields from the report. Save the report as Inventory Report.

 

Sort   the Part field in ascending order. Set the width of the Part and Cabinet   Location fields to 2   inches. Delete the page number from the report, save the report, and then   close the report.

 

Close   all database objects, close the database, and then exit Access. Submit the   database as directed.

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    GO19_AC_CH01_GRADER_1E_AS_Instructions.docx

Sony BUSINESS PROBLEMS AND DECISION MAKING

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Sony
BUSINESS PROBLEMS AND DECISION MAKING
 
 
12/6/2015

 

 

In this paper we will discuss in detail about the analysis and problem solving approach of Sony.

Umer Arif

MIS 535

Prof. Najib Kalai

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT   ………………………………………………            3

INTRODUCTION     ………………………………………            4

COMPANY BACKGROUND         ………………………            5

PROBLEMS FACED BY SONY     ……………………….            6-7

PROBLEM SOLVING PROCESS   ………………………            8-10

APPROACHES USED BY SONY   ………………………            10

TOOLS USED BY SONY    ………………………………            11

SOLUTIONS TAKEN BY SONY    ………………………            12-13

SWOT ANALYSIS OF PDCA         ………………………            14

CONCLUSION         ……………………………………….           15

REFERENCES          ……………………………………….           16

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ABSTRACT

Decision making and problem solving are important skills for any business. Sony is a leading company in innovation but they gradually lost their superiority in the new competitive world of innovation and the presence of new technology to solve business problems.

In this report, we discuss the current procedures adopted to analyze and solve the problem and also the tools used by Sony to get these problems solved. We also identify the best solutions and new opportunities which helps Sony to become a leader again.

In this report, I would like to perform SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats) analysis on the existing model (Plan-Do-Check-Act Cycle- PDCA Cycle) of Sony. I will compare the existing model with other available models in the market and suggest the recommendations to the company by findings and comparative results.

Finally, I will implement the best strategy adopted by Sony to solve their problems in the future.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

INTRODUCTION

 

Sony lost its magic formula from last decades. Company lost it high position in the market. By seeing continuous downfall in the sales of Sony, the management finds the solution to this problem and plans to reorganize the company “ONE SONY” to prioritize the business. But this solution didn’t help the company at all. The downfall in the sales continues and Sony lost its position in the World market day by day.

From last several months, Sony is facing an expected loss of $640 million in financial year 2011 (Jeff Blagdon, 2012) due to increase in tax charges and restructuring costs. Sony also incurs a loss of $312 million in Q1 of financial year 2012 (Daniel Copper, 2012). Sony is continuously losing money and its position in the market and don’t have any chance for its growth in recent years due to its problem solving strategies.

A reputed business magazine reports that the shares of Sony is at its lowest price in 31 years of period and incur a net loss of 456.7bn yen at the end of March, 2012 (NEWS Business, 2012). Sony’s movies, music and financial proves to be profitable in the quarter but regular loss from television, personal computers and mobile phones bring the company to its bottom line.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SONY COMPANY PROFILE

Sony is a Japanese multinational corporation established in 1946 and headquarter is located in Tokyo, Japan. Sony is the leading manufacturer in the field of consumer electronics such as refrigerator, television, mobile phones etc. In the list of Fortune Global 500, its rank was 87th in 2012 (CNN Money, 2012). Sony is an international company which is engaged in the development, design, manufacture and sale if various consumer electronic products (The New York Times, 2012). Sony also contact third party manufactures for information technology products. Sony’s sales team and management work hard to sales its products globally through subsidiaries, retailers, distributors and office websites. Sony is also engaged in entertainment industry including Pictures, Music. Sony is also engaged in financial services such as banking and credit financing. Sony is also engaged in network services and advertisement business.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PROBLEMS FACED BY SONY

Sony is facing many problems but there are two main reasons which lead to the decline in Sony. These reasons are:

Lack of Innovation

The major quality of Sony is its development of innovation. Sony has the ability to develop new products according to the consumers need. They understand the hidden needs of the consumer well and try to develop new innovative products to fulfill their needs. The development of Walkman made him leader in the field of portable music players but they didn’t continue with this product and never upgrade it to sustain its initial success (Surowiecki’s, 2011). When Apple iPad is launched in the market, they prove to be a big challenge for the innovative ideas of Sony (Business@GW, 2012). Sony is continuously losing its consumer oriented innovative ideas which directly harms the reputation of Sony (Hirai, 2012).

Lack of Core Competence

Another reason behind Sony’s fall is that Sony ignored the improvement in its core business of developing innovative ideas. They stuck into their new multiple businesses of financial services, music label, online music store, advertisement agency, movies and games. Sony is lacking behind in product positioning and branding due to lack of focuses and core competence (Byford, 2012).

Objectives

Sony identifies these two problems as the vital business problems. Once Sony lacks in innovation, it also lose core competency. With the help of problem solving and decision making skills, we can identify the root cause of the problems and find best solutions to overcome from these problems. The best solutions and theory helps Sony to gain competitive advantage over their rivals.

With the help of problems which we have studied for Sony, we will discuss how to solve critical business problems by adopting proper strategies and how to implement these overall strategies to achieve the goal. This problem solving process include theories, analysis of situations with the help of real life management problems, help us in understanding decision making skills and strategies and finally teach us how to solve real life problems in future.

Overview of the Problem Solving and Decision Making

Problem Solving and decision making are important skills for any organization to survive in today’s competitive world (Shibata, 1997). Problem Solving is a methodology in which we proceed step by step to analyze a situation and then develop and implement available solutions of the problem (Kendra, 1997). Decision making is nothing but taking right decision at every step of problem solving process (Adair, 2010). The quality of decision making supports problem solving process in order to get better results for business strategies (Greg, 2009).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PROBLEM SOLVING PROCESS IN SONY

Consumers need and requirements are changing everyday as electronic market is developing and reach to its new heights. Sony has to take immediate steps to reinforce its competitive advantages (Mariko, 2012). The major issue which should be resolved by Sony is to make their products more appealing to current consumers (Shunichi, 2012). With reference to business, problem solving approach begins with the analysis of problem and ends with the solution with the help of which organization gains profit (Ozasa, 2000).

Sony use a five step integrated problem solving and decision making process (Saeromi, 2012). Sony deals with this process of problem solving and decision making together to achieve the best solutions for the business problems in order to get effective and quick solutions (Yau, 2011). The table below describes all the five steps in brief and then we will discuss all the steps in detail and how Sony applies them to the problems.

 

 

Table 1: Problem Solving Process in Sony

STEP PROBLEM SOLVING STAGE DECISION MAKING
1 Identify the problem 1 Frame the decision.
2 Explore alternatives 2 Innovate to address needs and identify alternatives.
3 Select an alternative 3 Decide and commit to act.
4 Implement the solution 4 Manage consequences.
5 Evaluate the solution 4 & 1 Manage consequences and frame the related decision.

 

Step 1: Begin with a Problem and treat it as a challenge

All business has problems. Problem solving process starts with the analyses of problem and then to treat these problems as a challenge. The major problem of Sony is in the reduction of sales of products. For this, Sony is trying to collect all the information related to its products, services and market. Once the major problems are identified, Sony will consider these problems into the challenges.

Step 2: Explore Alternatives

The second step is to explore alternative solutions to the problem identified in Step 1. In this step we generate alternative solutions and then evaluate the alternatives. After Sony will generate all the alternatives for the problem then they will make criteria to prioritize the solutions. To generate alternative solutions Sony may adopt some approaches like group discussions and market surveys.

Step 3: Select an alternative

In this step, we have to select the best solution to implement. After evaluating all the alternatives, the best solution which is closest to the problem will be evaluated properly. Sony will have to make proper check to identify all the results by implementing the solution. This step is a critical step in problem solving process as one wrong decision may lead to entire failure of system.

Step 4: Implement the solution

Sony is now ready to implement the plan entirely. In this Sony will have to implement the solutions with five parts: develop a basic plan, determine objectives, identify the resources required, and build a plan and finally implement the plan.

Step 5: Evaluate the situation

The last but the major step is evaluating all the situations after implementing the process. In this we have to monitor the ongoing process with the decision making process to achieve the goal of organization.

APPROACHES USED BY SONY

CPS approach is used by Sony to adopt changes made inside the organization. Sony recognizes that its own employees have innovative ideas but the only need is to put these ideas at right place and also have to motivate them to share those ideas. In this approach, Sony develops a team of personnel to participate in the change process and share their ideas. This process brings all employees, employers and even consumers. Sony use CPS approach to encourage consumers to participate in the survey which helps in innovating new ideas rather than to rely on traditional ideas of problem solving.

The major characteristic of this approach is that it converts the problems into opportunities and help Sony in the development of their business. With the help of this approach Sony not only able to generate new innovative ideas but also gain competitive advantage over its competitors. It helps Sony to re-define the problems they are facing, change these problems into challenges with new innovative ideas and then take appropriate actions to achieve the goals.

Sony consider CPS approach as an innovator and try to resolve each and every problem to gain competitive advantage with new innovative ideas and develop new and latest products by keeping the consumer needs in mind and become a leader in its market again.

 

 

 

TOOLS USED BY SONY

PDCA Cycle (Plan-Do-Check-Act) is a four step never ending tool used by Sony for continuous improvement (Walter Shewhart, 1986). This cycle is just like a circle which is repeated again and again for continuous improvement. PDCA tool helps Sony to control and continuous improvement of products and market (Golum, 2010). PDCA cycle helps Sony to answer some major questions in problem solving and decision making process. The table below explains it.

Table 2: Objective of PDCA cycle at each stage by Sony

PLAN  
Identify the problems – what Analyze the problem and identify the future business opportunities of Sony. Set SMART (Specific, Measureable, Agreed, Realistic and Timeframe) Goals.
Analyze the problems – why Analyze the root cause of the problem so that we get best solution for the problem. We have to gather data from the personnel in this step.
Develop solutions Find more than one potential solution for the problem and also make plan to chose and implement the best solution from all the alternatives.
DO  
Implement Solutions Sony will immediately and cost effectively implements the best solution to solve the problem and collect and record the results for further improvement.
CHECK  
Evaluate and study results Sony will check all the desired results of the new solution and if Sony will found any undesirability in the solution, they will return to plan phase to find another best solution by analyzing the problem again.
ACT  
Implement the full scale solutions Sony will now fully implement the new solution with all the changes necessary to adopt this solution, provide proper training and also look for future opportunities.

 

 

SOLUTION TAKEN BY SONY AND ALTERNATIVES

Innovation Oriented Solution

Innovating new ideas and technology was the key of success for Sony which is lost from several years. In order to reinforce its capabilities in the field of innovation, Shoji Nemoto (head of innovation technology) and Tomoyuki Suzuki (image senior Vice President) take a serious lead towards it and guide individuals of Sony to develop new technologies and ideas with their great experience in the field of R&D and technical knowledge (Ellen, 2012). Sony also lead by Kunimasa Suzuki (head of products and services innovation strategy) to provide efficient technological ideas for the existing product line (Rosen, 2012). Sony is now working in order to generate new innovative ideas and also acquire next generation innovative technology. The important departments like R&D, design and marketing consumer centric to develop new ideas and technologies which helps the company to re design all the products and regain the image of the products.

Sony is now working with long term strategies and growing ever faster in the field of developing new ideas and technologies. They are now capable of developing true values to its products so that the products will be closer to the consumers and will be liked by them. The major success and growing field of Sony is its new developing business in the field of medical. They start developing printers, monitors, cameras and other useful equipments in the field of medical. Till yet its medical business line is not a separate unit but scattered at various business lines but now they decide to make a different and separate medical business group under the leadership of Executive Deputy President Hiroshi Yoshioko (Sony Annual Report, 2012).

Brand Focus and Core Competence Oriented Solutions

After studying the need of the market and consumers, Sony wants to focus on three major areas of developing digital imaging, game and mobile business. They now adopt new technologies and features to make proper research for these products and wants to make investment in these areas to move forward. Sony decided to dedicate about 70% of its total R&D budget to these three areas only (Sony Group, 2012). Sony wants to regain its brand leadership by strengthening its brand focus.

Sony is also focusing in television business for which they are reducing their operational cost. They already make cost reduction in the manufacturing of LCD panel by reducing models in the year 2012 as compared to the year 2011. Sony also wants to make reduction in fixed business costs to up to 60% and also 30% reduction in operating costs (Sony Annual Report, 2012).

The alternative solution is the restructuring of organizational structure and operational units and also has to take necessary steps about the business units which are of no use to gain efficiency and enhancement in managerial and operational efficiency (Minato-ku, 2012).

Impact of these solutions

After implementing these solutions, the business from consumer electronics rises about 70% of overall sales and 80% of operating income came from this business unit at the end of year 2014 (Sony Annual Report, 2012). Sony also target total sales of digital imaging business unit of about 1.5 trillion yen and a double digit. Sony also focuses on game business and mobile business and target sales of one trillion yen and 1.8 trillion yen respectively with a profitability of 8%.

 

 

 

 

SWOT ANALYSIS OF PDCA CYCLE USED BY SONY

Strengths

·         With the help of this approach, Sony was able to identify the problem clearly with all the possible risks, able to find best solutions and then implement the solutions for the evaluation of business changes.

·         PDCA cycle is an effective tool with the help of which Sony will able to use its resources optimally and get best results.

·         Possibility of errors is reduced to its minimal after the completion of whole PDCA cycle.

·         Sony will able to take corrective measures and can change the solution if the solution chosen by them not suited the organization fully.

·         This will also save time of Sony while solving any problem in future also.
Weakness

·         PDCA cycle is a simple method which does not reflect some activities such as leadership, training and communication and other major skills.

·         PDCA cycle works only for short term strategies and improvements instead working for long term strategies and improvements.

·         Change is implemented in the organization, individual have no right to complain for it and resist it.
Opportunities

·         The “plan” step help Sony to think and make plans for future whereas “check” step helps Sony to identify whether the solution is able to achieve the goals or not.

·         PDCA cycle is a never ending process which continuously finds errors and corrects them at early stages only.

·         PDCA cycle help Sony to optimum utilization of its resources which make problem solving and decision making process simple and faster.

·         PDCA cycle is a continuous process which helps Sony to reduce the chance of mistakes.
Threats

·         Ignores the individual in an organization.

·         A major threat of PDCA cycle is its reactive nature which is far behind from the proactive approach of new methodologies and technologies.

·         PDCA cycle is a continuous improvement process and requires continuous changes which lead Sony in a continuous state of instability.

·         PDCA cycle may lead to uncertain environment which also lead to confusing and fatigue environment among the individuals.

 

 

 

 

 

CONCLUSION

Problem solving and decision making skills are important for the success of any individual or organization. The proper implementation of solution is required to make it a success. It is not an easy task but proper use of available technologies, methodologies, models and tools to support this process will lead to produce effective solutions. Effective problem solving and decision making approach requires careful identification, analysis, evaluation and step-by-step planning. It proved to be advantage if implemented in an effective manner and also a disadvantage for the business.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

REFERENCES

Hirai (2012) Sony Accelerates Transformation to Drive Innovation and Growth. Available at: http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/News/Press/200911/09-133E/index.html (January 24, 2013).

 

Kendra (1997). One Greater Lesson From Steve Jobs: Innovation Begins as A Social Movement. Available at: http://www.fastcodesign.com/1665211/steve-jobsembodied-the-entrepreneurial-capitalism-we-alllove (February 13, 2013).

 

Mariko (2012). An Overview of the General Theory of Innovation. Available at: http://www.trizjournal.com/archives/2008/04/06/ (February 15, 2013).

 

Minato-Ku (2012). Classic Brand Failures: Sony Betamax. Available at: http://brandfailures.blogspot.sg/2006/10/calssic-brand-failures-sony-betamax.html (February 15, 2013).

 

NEWS Business (2012). Sony Shares Tumble to 31-Year Low Amid Record Losses. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-18030939 (February 20, 2013).

 

Ozasa (2000). Mapping the Problem Solving Process.Available at: http://www.studygs.net/problem/problemsolvingo. htm (February 20, 2013).

 

Problem Solving Process in Sony (2012).Available at: http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/News/Press/index.html (February 20, 2013).

 

Rosen (2012). Creative Problem Solving Leads to Organizational Innovation. Available at:

http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/creative-problemsolving-leads-to-organisational-innovation.html

(February 21, 2013).

 

Shewhart, W. (1986). Innovation Process. Available at:http://www.jpb.com/creative/innovationprocess.php (March 4, 2013).

 

Shibata, H. (1997) Sony Says Professional Products to Help Consumer Unit. Available at:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-05/sonysays-professional- products-to-help-consumerunit.html (January 24, 2013).

 

Shunichi (2012). Overview of the Problem Definition Process. Available at: http://www.processinnovation.ca/problem/problemsolve.html (February 21, 2013).

 

Sony Annual Report (2012). Available at: http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/IR/financial/ar/2012/

index.html (February 22, 2013).

 

Sony Group (2012). Decision-Making-Solution. Available at: http://www.decision-making-solutions.com/decision_making_model.html (February 22, 2013).

 

Surowiecki’s, J. (2011). Sony R & D Mission. Available at: http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/technology/rd/index.html (February 7, 2013).

Finance Problems

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Problem 1

 

Chuck Sox makes wooden boxes in which to ship
motorcycles. Chuck and his three employees invest a total of 40
hours per day making the 120 boxes.
a) What is their productivity?
b) Chuck and his employees have discussed redesigning the process
to improve efficiency. If they can increase the rate to 125
per day, what will be their new productivity?
c) What will be their unit increase in productivity per hour?
d) What will be their percentage change in productivity?

 

Problem 2

 

Lillian Fok is president of Lakefront Manufacturing,
a producer of bicycle tires. Fok makes 1,000 tires per day with the
following resources:

 

Labor: 400 hours per day @ $12.50 per hour
Raw material: 20,000 pounds per day @ $1 per pound
Energy: $5,000 per day
Capital costs: $10,000 per day

 

a) What is the labor productivity per labor-hour for these tires at
Lakefront Manufacturing?
b) What is the multifactor productivity for these tires at
Lakefront Manufacturing?
c) What is the percent change in multifactor productivity if Fok
can reduce the energy bill by $1,000 per day without cutting
production or changing any other inputs?

 

Problem 3

 

Charles Lackey operates a bakery in Idaho Falls, Idaho.
Because of its excellent product and excellent location, demand has
increased by 25% in the last year. On far too many occasions, customers
have not been able to purchase the bread of their choice.
Because of the size of the store, no new ovens can be added. At a
staff meeting, one employee suggested ways to load the ovens differently
so that more loaves of bread can be baked at one time. This
new process will require that the ovens be loaded by hand, requiring
additional manpower. This is the only thing to be changed. If the
bakery makes 1,500 loaves per month with a labor productivity of
2.344 loaves per labor-hour, how many workers will Lackey need to
add? (Hint: Each worker works 160 hours per month.)