Monday, May 12, 2008
Chapter 11
Social Networks – an area online where people who share common ties can interact with one another
1. A group of people
2. Shared social interaction
3. Common ties among members
4. A shared area for some period of time
General Communities – Wide range of topical discussion groups
Practice networks – Discussion groups for help or information in every practice
Interest-based communities – Shared interest grouped based networks
Affinity communities – Group identification networks including, Religion, ethnicity, gender, or political beliefs
Sponsored communities – government sites, branded product sites and many more
DIFFERENT TYPES OF AUCTIONS
English auction – single item is up from a single seller
Traditional Dutch auction – sellers with many identical items sold in lots, as time goes on the price falls
Internet Dutch Auctions – sellers list a minimum price or starting bid
Name your own price or reverse auctions – buyers specify the price they are willing to pay for an item
Benefits of Auctions
1. Liquidity – global marketplace
2. Price discovery – competitively priced based
3. Price transparency – everyone can see the asking and buying price
4. Market efficiency – Offered wide range of selected goods
5. Lower transaction costs – reduced cost of selling and purchasing goods
6. Consumer aggregation – motivated buyers amassed in one marketplace
7. Network effects – both user and seller benefit
8. Market-maker benefits – no inventory caring cost
Cost of auctions
1. Delayed consumption
2. Monitoring cost
3. Equipment cost
4. Trust risk
5. Fulfillment cost
6. Rating system
7. Watch list
8. Proxy bidding
Rob Hamlin
Rob Hamlin
Rob Hamlin is a Taylor grad who majored in Computer Science. He has worked around the world on computer systems and administration databases. During his junior year he had the opportunity to go to Germany and work at a system firm called Bell Labs, where his trainer as a system administrator left after one week. After four stressful months of trying to get the system operational, Rob fell on his knees and prayed that God would show him how to fix it. During Rob’s prayer time, God showed him tables and queries that needed to be built for the database. This is one example of how God has impacted Rob’s life. Later he worked with Operation Mobilization and eventually came to Treehouse Foods, where he is currently the CIO.
Rob’s seminar revolved around the concept of guiding principles. He described guiding principles as a theoretical concept that achieves efficiency, consumer focus, and product innovation. In general terms, the principles are a series of statements that give the company context and guidance for future development.
For efficiency, guiding principles allow everyone in the corporation to work for a single purpose. Having everyone focused on the same problem and solution reduces complexity and generates group activities. This will optimize the efficiency of the company. For consumer focus, guiding principles will help the sales and operation planning. As a corporation the second goal, after making profit, is to satisfy and retain customers. This will help the company to focuses on the consumer needs and how to market sales appropriately. For product innovation, guiding principles increases creativity and originality for products. They will also help in avoiding costly customizations. This will help reduce recalls and failed products.
The guiding principles concept is a powerful tool that can be used in almost any situation. In anything involving one or more persons it is important to have everyone working for a single purpose in order to increase their performance.