Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Addendum
One poiny I forgot to make about Ch 9, was that the authors were talking about T-shaped managers. Workers need to be concerened not only with own division interests, but the organization as well. That is the goal of the on-line info sharing, and getting input and ideas from front line employees.
Ch11
I checked out the website. I guess it has changed since the book was written, as it is now more of a blog. It is similar to the layout of the Freakonomics writers’ blog. There is a section about the book, a blog section where the writers post their thoughts on various news items. The wiki is rather small, and not much is on it. I think the authors thought their book would be a lot more popular than it was, and people would rush to the website to leave their mark.
Ch10
The last real chapter of the book. This chapter summarizes all the writers’ ideas. I am very cynical of the writers’ ideas that mass collaboration is going to change the world. I think it is just a new tool available. Also, the writers say throughout that the IT should drive the firm’s strategy, but as we learned in class, strategy should drive IT.
That new companies are slow to adopt is not a new idea. Schumpeter called this “Creative destruction”. A new firm comes along with a new way of doing things and drives the others out of business. Then another new firm has a even newer and better way, and drives more firms out of business. Or, the old firms adapt to the new way of doing things, and survive. I think this is what will happen with mass collaboration. Either it will change everything, or nothing.
I agree with the statements about outsourcing. The most efficient firms and countries should be the ones producing, and then trade with each other. This is how society maximizes benefits in a capitalistic society.
A major point that I think was underplayed was when P&G said for ever top person they have, there are 200 more just as good out there. I think this is important. Too many people emphasize pedigree ie where you went to school, rather than your actual ability. Many people that I have met that went to fancy top tier schools were incompetent. Their parents happened to be well off enough to send them to a fancy private school, which helped them get into elite colleges. When I worked with them, they were very incompetent. The best tax lawyer in Canada had a C average in law school. F. Lee Baylee went to a small no name Boston law school, failed criminal law twice, and became the US’s best defense lawyer. The problem is, many companies think that unless you went to X school with an awesome GPA, you aren’t worth hiring. All this leads to is grade inflation, and those who are capable get squeezed out for a less capable person who was lucky enough to get a brand name education. Off topic, but I wanted to get that out there.
Finally, some additional info on France and Apple. France is telling Apple that its iPod and iTunes violate competition laws. In response, Apple wants all DRM removed. This would put them and their competitors at equal footing. Otherwise, someone can use iTunes and not iPod and vice versa.
That new companies are slow to adopt is not a new idea. Schumpeter called this “Creative destruction”. A new firm comes along with a new way of doing things and drives the others out of business. Then another new firm has a even newer and better way, and drives more firms out of business. Or, the old firms adapt to the new way of doing things, and survive. I think this is what will happen with mass collaboration. Either it will change everything, or nothing.
I agree with the statements about outsourcing. The most efficient firms and countries should be the ones producing, and then trade with each other. This is how society maximizes benefits in a capitalistic society.
A major point that I think was underplayed was when P&G said for ever top person they have, there are 200 more just as good out there. I think this is important. Too many people emphasize pedigree ie where you went to school, rather than your actual ability. Many people that I have met that went to fancy top tier schools were incompetent. Their parents happened to be well off enough to send them to a fancy private school, which helped them get into elite colleges. When I worked with them, they were very incompetent. The best tax lawyer in Canada had a C average in law school. F. Lee Baylee went to a small no name Boston law school, failed criminal law twice, and became the US’s best defense lawyer. The problem is, many companies think that unless you went to X school with an awesome GPA, you aren’t worth hiring. All this leads to is grade inflation, and those who are capable get squeezed out for a less capable person who was lucky enough to get a brand name education. Off topic, but I wanted to get that out there.
Finally, some additional info on France and Apple. France is telling Apple that its iPod and iTunes violate competition laws. In response, Apple wants all DRM removed. This would put them and their competitors at equal footing. Otherwise, someone can use iTunes and not iPod and vice versa.
Ch9
This chapter discussed horizontal integration. This is not a new concept, as many companies have been doing this for awhile now. I agree that this is what companies need to be doing, especially including employees in the decision process. This bottom up approach has been used at Toyota for years. If any employee has ideas, and it leads to cost savings, they get a share of the savings as a bonus. Some get put on the management fast track.
Wiki’s may not be the next wave of the future, as many workplaces ban using Wikipedia. China also has firewalls that prevent people from using it. If the most populous country in the world can’t use it, then in a globalized world economy, mass collaboration is not going to take off in my opinion. Rather, it is just a new tool in the manager toolbox. The authors even say so, “Added collaboration tool to palate”. I believe this means that mass collaboration is not going to replace the current way of doing things.
I think the multiplayer games for group meetings that Geek Squad uses is a great idea. I think other firms should experiment with it, as I would lie to see if it works in other settings.
I remember the Star Wars stunt. It was covered in the Canadian news, and thought it was hilarious. More companies should have wacky ideas like that, but they are too conservative and risk averse for that I think.
Finally, this book needs a better editor in the next edition. The spelling, grammar and wrong word errors are getting annoying and distract from the point the authors are trying to make.
Wiki’s may not be the next wave of the future, as many workplaces ban using Wikipedia. China also has firewalls that prevent people from using it. If the most populous country in the world can’t use it, then in a globalized world economy, mass collaboration is not going to take off in my opinion. Rather, it is just a new tool in the manager toolbox. The authors even say so, “Added collaboration tool to palate”. I believe this means that mass collaboration is not going to replace the current way of doing things.
I think the multiplayer games for group meetings that Geek Squad uses is a great idea. I think other firms should experiment with it, as I would lie to see if it works in other settings.
I remember the Star Wars stunt. It was covered in the Canadian news, and thought it was hilarious. More companies should have wacky ideas like that, but they are too conservative and risk averse for that I think.
Finally, this book needs a better editor in the next edition. The spelling, grammar and wrong word errors are getting annoying and distract from the point the authors are trying to make.
Monday, November 12, 2007
Ch8
I wrote this and the chapter 7 comments two weeks ago, but only now got around to posting them now. Sorry it took so long.
It took awhile for this chapter to get to the point. The chapter mentions mass customization. This is also known as the long the long-tail, one of the other books on the reading list. Soon, people will be able to customize everything they buy. This has a large part to do with the internet. People can already go on-line and customize their laptops, cars and clothing. As technology advances, everything will be customizable.
Japan was reverse engineering products before WW2. They did so combining the best elements of German, English, and American engineering. I would also like to hear the Japanese side of the story, as I feel like there is more to the story. It seems very one sided the way the authors tell it.
It seemed odd that Amazon would share their source code. In our law class, we learned that Amazon sued Barnes & Noble for copying the one click shopping. Maybe the sharing is a new development.
The book mentions how Magna makes parts for each auto manufacturer. Magna recently announced that since they make all the parts for a car, they are now making their own car.
The modern supply chain started in the early 1970’s when a typewriter firm found it was cheaper to build in Singapore, import the products, and pay the tariffs, than to build the typewriters in Texas. Just thought I would add that as a bit of trivia.
It took awhile for this chapter to get to the point. The chapter mentions mass customization. This is also known as the long the long-tail, one of the other books on the reading list. Soon, people will be able to customize everything they buy. This has a large part to do with the internet. People can already go on-line and customize their laptops, cars and clothing. As technology advances, everything will be customizable.
Japan was reverse engineering products before WW2. They did so combining the best elements of German, English, and American engineering. I would also like to hear the Japanese side of the story, as I feel like there is more to the story. It seems very one sided the way the authors tell it.
It seemed odd that Amazon would share their source code. In our law class, we learned that Amazon sued Barnes & Noble for copying the one click shopping. Maybe the sharing is a new development.
The book mentions how Magna makes parts for each auto manufacturer. Magna recently announced that since they make all the parts for a car, they are now making their own car.
The modern supply chain started in the early 1970’s when a typewriter firm found it was cheaper to build in Singapore, import the products, and pay the tariffs, than to build the typewriters in Texas. Just thought I would add that as a bit of trivia.
Ch. 7
I am starting to wonder if the authors had enough material for a book with their ideas. I say this as each chapter seems more drawn out and repetitive. This book should have been shorter.
With regards to the chapter, e-bay already operates as an alternative sales channel. Many firms use e-bay to sell excess inventory. They no longer need a fire sale. Instead, just post the items on e-bay and sell to the world.
Videogames are a great example of mash-ups. Many users will go into the source code of games and modify it or “mod” it to create new games. The most famous example is counter-strike, a mod of Half-Life. This mod was so successful that the creators of Half-Life bought the mod and sold it.
CNN has user generated content. Users can send photos or videos from their cell phones to the network and get credited for it. This allows for instant news.
Amazon prices change every time someone searches for something. If there are a lot of searches for an item, the price goes up. They have been sued for this several times and lost, but the practice continues.
Opening up the code does not work for all companies. Google is extremely proprietary of its code for searches. Giving that up will lose the company’s competitive advantage. The authors talk as if this is the only way, but it depends on the firm’s strategy. It should be done only if it is in line with the firm’s goals.
With regards to the chapter, e-bay already operates as an alternative sales channel. Many firms use e-bay to sell excess inventory. They no longer need a fire sale. Instead, just post the items on e-bay and sell to the world.
Videogames are a great example of mash-ups. Many users will go into the source code of games and modify it or “mod” it to create new games. The most famous example is counter-strike, a mod of Half-Life. This mod was so successful that the creators of Half-Life bought the mod and sold it.
CNN has user generated content. Users can send photos or videos from their cell phones to the network and get credited for it. This allows for instant news.
Amazon prices change every time someone searches for something. If there are a lot of searches for an item, the price goes up. They have been sued for this several times and lost, but the practice continues.
Opening up the code does not work for all companies. Google is extremely proprietary of its code for searches. Giving that up will lose the company’s competitive advantage. The authors talk as if this is the only way, but it depends on the firm’s strategy. It should be done only if it is in line with the firm’s goals.
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