2009年3月22日 星期日

Group Assignment - Post 3

Part 1. Decision Support System

Example 1: Break even Calculator
The following calculates the break-even point for a firm based on some information we provide. A firm's break-even point occurs when at a point where total revenue equals total costs.

Break-even analysis depends on the following variables:

1. Selling Price per Unit: The amount of money charged to the customer for each unit of a product or service.
2. Total Fixed Costs: The sum of all costs required to produce the first unit of a product.
3. Variable Unit Cost: Costs that vary directly with the production of one additional unit.
4. Total Variable Cost The product of expected unit sales and variable unit cost, i.e., expected unit sales times the variable unit cost.
5. Forecasted Net Profit: Total revenue minus total cost. Enter Zero (0) if you wish to find out the number of units that must be sold in order to produce a profit of zero (but will recover all associated costs)

Operational management
- When a firm collected these data, it is easily to show the break-even point of products, it is the point at which your product stops costing you money to produce and sell and starts to generate a profit for the firm.

Middle Management
- It can help the middle management of firm to plan resource allocation, short-range plans and performance of specific departments, task forces, teams, and special project groups.

Senior Management
- It can help to decision affect long-term and strategic goals and the firms objectives.

Example 2: Customer Life time Value Calculator

This value is calculated by estimating the income and costs associated with each customer over the projected length of the customer relationship.

Middle Management - It can know the relationship of customers with a firm.

Part 2. OpenBravo ERP Demo

As per OpenBravo ERP Demo, it can be used to handle each step within the order-to-cash business process below:

- Accept/Enter Order: Sales Management Module
- Order Acknowledgement: Sales Management Module
- Purchase Materials: Production Management Module
- Receive Materials: Production Management Module
- Production: Production Management Module
- Packing: Sales Management Module
- Shipping: Sales Management Module
- Invoicing and Collection: Sales Management Module

Part 3. ERP System

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system is a packaged business software which is used to collect and manage information across different functional areas in an organization. The functional areas of ERP system included manufacturing & production, finance & accounting, sales & marketing, supply chain & inventory and human resources.

The grouping of workers and assets along functional lines appears to be a logical choice to manage taskes as efficiently as possible. The coordination and planniing required in moving goods and services from one function to the next introduces tremendous delays and toher forms of waste.

Group Assignment - Post 4

Below answer is related to UPS's information.
A.
The supply chain is a network of organizations and processes for procuring raw materials, transforming them into products, and distributing the products. It includes upstream supply chain and downstream supply chain. UPS mainly provides downstream supply chain for their clients, which are the organizations and processes responsible for delivering products to customers. The process involves local and overseas, UPS uses its transportation services and on-line systems to let the clients can distribute their goods to destinations on time. Also, UPS has mature monitor system to ensure the process is safety and satisfy the client’s request.

B.
Supply Chain Management Systems are classified as supply chain planning and supply chain execution systems. UPS provides on-line services and on-line tools for its clients through web site, that is, e-SCM. e-SCM is the application of information and communication technologies to form a seamless path for the smooth delivery of goods and products from suppliers, manufacturers, distributors and retailers into the hands of customers. Also, it can directly link up to the client’s web site or company’s system, so the clients can use these functions to proceed their supply chain planning and supply chain execution.

For supply chain planning, besides the clients can understand UPS services through UPS web site, they can set up their own account. Also, they can download various on-line tools to plan their distribution, such as, cost control, service, transportation method and time saving, etc, so the clients can make well planning.

For supply chain execution, the clients can make orders through UPS’s web site. Once the clients have set up their own account, they can check their historical orders and monitor the process of distribution on real-time. For example, if the clients want to change the time or destination after they have ordered, they can make amendment through the web site, also, the clients can track their goods about the goods is arrived or not, or where is the goods now, etc. The clients can monitor what’s going on about the process of distribution.

Furthermore, UPS provides the information of transportation from difference countries and the services of competitors to the clients through its web site. In case the clients change the order time or destination, the clients can check which company’s services is better for them to ensure the goods can arrive on time.

Besides, in order to improve coordination of internal supply chain processes, UPS uses intranet to monitor and maintain their services quality.

2009年3月21日 星期六

Group Assignment: Post # 5

Case 1. Businesses violate privacy:

Copying someone's work has never had any respect. Copyright legal issues are such a concern mainly because of the nature of the environment online, where much of the content provided is for free.

The internet provides such an excellent opportunity for people to cooperate and share information and then allow access to it for free. The problem is that some people believe the word 'free' is a license to obtain content, reproduce it and use it to their own advantage.

But it is false. Just because someone writes or shows content online that may be accessed free of charge does not mean you could take it and pass it off as your own or use it for some commercial purpose. You cannot, for example, take a few paragraphs from an article on a book, website or blog, copy them and then use them on your own website without acknowledging the author or writer or asking permission to republish it.

To avoid privacy violation:

If there is content online or offline that you find interesting or useful and want to use for your business, always check the copyright protection first. Usually, the copyright notice is indicated on the material. If it's not, it's probably copyrighted anyway unless the author, illustrator or owner gives his permission to reprint or reproduce his content. If the use of content is freely allowed and contains information that is not considered unlawful, it's safe to republish it.

Case 2. Businesses violate privacy:

Privacy on the Internet is increasingly under attack, as searches and visits are routinely recorded and combined into personal and behavioral profiles by search engines and other websites. Potential implications of these privacy violations are misused personal data, identity theft, harassment or even criminal usage.

To avoid privacy violation:

To use search engines like "Ixquick" which would delete privacy details like IP-addresses within 48 hours and abolish the use of ID cookies. Ixquick does not share any personal data of its users with third parties. Finally, people could search and get the best results - and full privacy.



Case 3. Businesses violate ethical rights:

Employers may be monitoring or reading employees’ email or conversation without previous consent from employees.

To avoid ethical rights violations:

Employers have to use notification techniques to inform their employees about the forthcoming monitoring, detail which private data would be collected and in which way it will be used.

Reference:
http://www.articlesbase.com/
http://www.ixquick.com/

2009年3月2日 星期一

Group Assignment - Post 1 (Revised)

Refer to Jenny's comment, I just post the revised sections.

For Google: Example 2 – Nokia 5800
If you want to search the information of mobile phone of Nokia 5800, you just type this keyword “Nokia 5800” into the search bar and click search, Google can find out 7,710,000 items, which they are included this keyword in 0.04 seconds only. (see below picture – Google web page)
Afterward, you can search which one is favorable for you and click that link, your selected web site will show in front of you. In this example, I choose the first link of Nokia 5800 from the top, the web page will show it as below picture – Nokia 5800.

Another Example for Facebook: RolexRolex, a famous watch worldwide company, they also put their watch models on Facebook, in order to promote their brand name and products. Furthermore, they post a banner on the top of their promotion’s web page on Facebook and show a slogan of “Everyone deserves a Rolex” to build up their dignity image and remind both of the sender and receiver to be a respectable person if you own one. As a result, they expect that more and more people will hope to own and buy it through this advertisement.