Submit your suggestions for exam questions below. As a minimum class participation requirement, everyone must submit 4 unique questions (with answers) by the end of the semester. You can submit more if you'd like. You should submit questions throughout the semester, both before the mid-term and well before the final, NOT at the last minute (since questions must be unique, that's an incentive to add your questions throughout the course). Please post your questions below AND add them in a "Submitted Questions" section at the bottom of your wiki (this will make it easy to grade your submissions). While I won't guarantee that I'll use these questions, when preparing past exams I have regularly and significantly drawn from student suggested questions (sometimes tweaking the question in one way or another). Questions on exams are mostly short answer (several bullet points or in 3 or fewer sentences), but fill-in-the-blank, multiple-choice, or True/False (with a description of why one or the other is true) are also used. I rarely include essays, preferring to ask a large number and very comprehensive set of questions. This both rewards students with the broadest knowledge, and helps protect students who miss a concept here or there from suffering a huge point drop. Questions will test knowledge of cases, concepts, theory, terms, and technologies, and there must be a 'right' answer to a question. Don't submit four softball questions - I won't use them. This is a core course at one of the most competitive business schools in the country and the exams will reflect this. Past students will say that MI021 exams are rigorous, very comprehensive, and fair. Exams will draw heavily from lectures, but readings, assignments, and guest speakers are also fair game. I won't require you to know minor numerical details (e.g. a stock price, revenue figures, specific market share, profit margins, etc.). Use our class discussions, notes, material highlighted on the blackboard, and reading questions as a guideline for "What's really important". Questions that integrate concepts are particularly highly valued. Also note: I won't correct a posted answer that is not correct. If you see a question that needs to be corrected make the change yourself. This is your wiki!
To submit a question, just find the topic heading below & submit a question editing this page using the format below (Q:, A:, and your name linked to your wiki page). Indent your questions, answer, and your 'submitted by' line, & make sure there's a space between the start of your question and any other question or Topic heading. Here's a correctly formatted example of a (very simple) question submitted under the Moore's Law topic:
Q: What is Moore's Law?
A: Chip performance per dollar doubles every 18 months.
submitted by John Gallaugher
Important! It's highly recommended that you compose your question in Word, first, copy your question, then within the wiki, quickly press the "Edit" button, find the location for your question, paste in your question, format it, and press the green "Save" button. Remember, if you start editing a page and someone saves a change before you 'save', your work won't be saved.
Please suggest a question here for this topic.
Q: Which country will be the largest English speaking country within the next few years?
A: China
submitted by Ryan Mullaney
Q:What does the acronym BRIC stand for?
A: Brazil, Russia, India and China.
submitted by Andrew Brown
Q: Which firm is the NO.1 DVD seller in the world?
A: CyberHome, an electronic manufacturer in USA.
submitted by Jing Ting Wang
Q: What percent of 2006 college graduates in India spoke English?
A: 100% of graduates.
submitted by John Kelly
Q: How many employees have only been with their firm for under a year?
A: One in four.
submitted by Anthony Giannobile
Q: It is estimated that todays learner will have how many jobs?
A: 10-14
submitted by Joseph Petrone
Q: What year did the internet start being used by the general public?
A: 1995
submitted by Joseph Petrone
Q: How much faster is the birth rate in Indian than the US? China?
A: 5 times faster than the US, 4/5 times faster than China.
Submitted by Joseph Petrone
Q: What are the four forces that shape the world today?
A: contract manufacturing, deregulation, globalization, and tech
submitted by [Doug Deerin
Q: Which country had the most college graduates in 2006?
A: China (3.3 million)
submitted by Camila Mendez
Q: What is the number of internet devices in 2006?
A: 600,000,000
submitted by Camila Mendez
Q: Which form of technology reached a market audience of 50 million in only four years?
A: The computer
submitted by Camila Mendez
Q: What challenges does Zara face by isolating their manufacturing to La Coruña, Spain?
A: There are many negative aspects of their location with the terrorist group ETA located in northern Spain, if any natural disasters occur in that area they will have massive losses because they have no other plants to produce their products, and thirdly Spain is a relatively high cost country to produce goods due to the high value of the Euro.
submitted by Dan Johnson
Q: What's Zara's foremost method for building its brand?
A: Zara builds its brand mostly through customer experience in the store
submitted by Benjamin Silbert
Q: How does Zara avoid inventory (aka death)?
A: Zara stores collect data on what is selling and what customers want to see on the shelves for each store and react accordingly. The use of technology (PDAs and the POS system) allows Zara products to reflect customer demand and avoids guessing.
submitted by Ashley Minogue
Q: What business risk would prevent rivals such as Gap or Old Navy from competing with Zara?
A: In order to offer the same services as a start-up company with a slightly different customer base, such as Zara, a rival company may be forced to straddle the market in order to appeal to both its current consumers and those of Zara. This is considered a hazardous move from a business standpoint, as the company risks alienating its original consumer base in favor of a new group that may not actually catch on.
submitted by Courtney Finkel
Q: What is vertical integration?
A: When one firm owns several layers in its value chain.
submitted by Paul Cubelli
Q: What Does POS stand for? and what is its purpose?
A: Point of Sale system. It allows managers to send updates along with hard data from a cash register so as to provide information on what customers want to see more of. A company that utilizes this technology is Zara. They are able track what customers are buying and the information gets recorded at "The Cube"
submitted By Robert Alario
Q: What are the differences, if any, between IT (info tech) and IS (info system)?
A: IT deals with hardware and software. IS deals with hardware, software, data, people, and procedure.
submitted by Ashley Diaz
Q: What is vertical integration?
A: When a firm owns several layers of it's operations, including the value chain.
submitted by Ryan Mullaney
Q: What are the advantages of limited production run?
A: It gives the impression of exclusivity in its offerings, encourages customers to immediately buy the product at full price, makes customers feel inclined to visit the store more often, and lastly, reduces the risk of making a mistake.
submitted by Victoria Li
Q: What are the layers in a value chain?
A: Inbound logistics, Operations, Outbound Logistics, Marketing & Sales, and Service
submitted by Victoria Li
Q. What is an advantage to vertical integration?
A. With vertical integration, a firm controls many steps to a process and is therefore able to get their product out into the market faster.
submitted by Victoria von Rinteln
Q: What are some challenges to Zara's model?
A: 1. They suffer from "operations limitations" because they are only centered in spain. 2. Financial limitations due to the strength of the Euro. 3. Transportation costs especially with increasing gas prices 4. Large amounts of their profits come from Spain (37.5%).
submitted by Robert Alario
Q: How can Zara sell 85% of their merchandise at full price when competitors have an average of only 50% full price and 20% of inventory written off?
A: Due to Zara’s limited production runs, twice a week delivery, and PDA devices, the store almost never has any inventory and therefore only holds two semi-annual sales. Customers appreciate the unique styles and know they will sell out before the sale.
submitted by Megan O’Connor
Q: What does the abbreviation PDA stand for and what did Zara use this product for?
A: The term PDA stands for “personal digital assistants” and they were used to find out what customers wanted to see on the Zara’s shelves that weren’t already there.
submitted by Stephanie Wirth
Q: Why is Zara's method of vertical integration successful unlike a company like Dell who is currently struggling and forced to outsource?
A: Dell's technology is much easier to copy. Other companies can now do the same thing. For a company like Gap, however, to switch to a system like Zara's would take a massive amount of time and they would need to pour a large sum of money into technology and training. It is a big transition to make.
submitted by Anthony Giannobile
Q: What is ROI?
A: Return on investment; what you get for your money and how long it takes to receive payback.
submitted by Minna Ha
Q: Using vocabulary from class what does Zara have, that helps them succeed, that Gap doesn’t?
A: Limited Runs, Vertical Integration, PDAs, Brand, IS.
submitted by Anna Littman-Quinn
Q: How are designers key to Zara's large selection and profitability?
A: Zara hires young relatively inexperienced designers that earn lower wages than big name designers. There are several of these young designers that work together, producing thousands of articles of clothing.
submitted by Carlos Kramer
Q: Why is Zara uninterested in establishing an online store?
A: Localized stores tailor their inventory to the customers within the area; the population served by an online store would be too large to sample to find specific styles that are favored by customers. Also, with a localized program, consumers are encouraged to visit the store more often to shop for new releases; this higher turnover rate means that inventory doesn't have to be put on sale. An online store would not guarantee such a situation quite as securely. Price regulation would also be an issue, as Zara caters to many different regions with different economies.
submitted by Courtney Finkel
Q: What is the difference between IS and IT?
A: IT consists of only hardware and software where IS is hardware, software, data, people, and procedures.
submitted by Kevin Scott
Q: How many times does the average Zara customer visit the store per year, compared with its competitors?
A: The average Zara customer visits the store seventeen times per year, while only making 3 annual visits to competitors.
submitted by Luann Silva
Q: What non profit organization was started by Reebok? What does this organization do?
A: The Fair Factories Clearinghouse. This non profit organization, managed by former lawyers from Amnesty International, provides systems where apparel and other industries can share audit information on contract manufacturers.
submitted by John Kelly
Q: Why did Prada's attempt at using technology in its Manhattan store ultimately fail?
A: Prada used only IT (hardware and software) and ignored the use of IS (hardware, software, data, people, and procedures).
submitted by Adam Marchany
Q: What is the formula for a company’s net income?
A: Profit = Revenues (Sales) – Expenses
submitted by Kathie Chang
Q: How much faster is Zara in getting items from design to shelves over GAP?
A: Twelve times faster.
submitted by Neil Boston
Q: How many times a year does the average Zara customer visit a store?
A: 17 times a year
Submitted by: Jameson White
Q: Why have companies begun outsourcing their factories to other countries?
A: Companies have cheaper labor costs if they outsource their factories to other countries, such as Vietnam.
Submitted by: Victoria von Rinteln
Q: It is often argued whether it is better to move first, or learn from other firm’s successes and failures before entering the market. What must a firm do to be successful moving first?
A: Moving first pays off when a firm uses strategic positioning to create differences that are not easily matched. The lead time must be used to create the resources which sustain a competitive advantage.
submitted by Hampton Hughes
Q: What must established firms do to make sure that no late movers gain a competitive advantage and gain ground in a market?
A: The incumbent must monitor their competitive landscape, recognize new rivals, and react to challenging offers.
submitted by Hampton Hughes
Q: What is Net 3-4 and why does Fresh Select do this?
A: It means that they pay all debts in 3-4 days rather than the average of 35. They do this because they deal with farmers, fishermen, and others who can't necessarily wait 35 days to receive pay.
submitted by Adam Duff
Q: What are the seven pieces of an imitation resistant value chain?
A: Brand, data, network effects, data, distribution channels, alliances, and to a degree patents.
submitted by Adam Duff
Q: How has the internet affected the bargaining powers of consumers and suppliers?
A: The bargaining power of consumers has increased while the bargaining power of suppliers has decreased.
submitted by Thomas Kolman
Q: From a consumer's point of view, what it is the main positive of hypercompetition?
A: The falling of prices.
submitted by Benjamin Silbert
Q: What are the four critical characteristics a firm must control to maintain sustainable competitive advantage?
A: Valuable, rare, imperfectly imitable, and non-substitutable.
submitted by Ricky Poon
Q: Why is it negative to have your product or service become a commodity?
A: It is negative because consumers buying commodities are only looking for price differences.
submitted by Ricky Poon
Q: What is the definition of a commodity and a differentiated product?
A: Commodities are products or services that are nearly identically and offered from multiple vendors. While a differentiated product is a product or service that differs from its rivals, such as through packaging or advertising.
submitted by Yat Hang Yu
Q: What are Michael Porter's five forces of industry competitive advantage?
A: 1) the intensity of rivalry among existing competitors 2) the threat of new entrants 3) the threat of substitute goods or services 4) the bargaining power of buyers 5) the bargaining power of suppliers
submitted by Ricky Czachor
Q: What are the 5 most important factors for a successful product or service?
A: Secrecy, lead time, sales skills, manufacturing, and patents.
submitted by Minna Ha
Q: According to Michael Porter, what are the etwo concepts for how firms combine technology and srategy and "win"?
A: Firms suffer aggressive competition because they have defined themselves according to operational effectiveness instead of strategic positioning. > Secondly is the fast-follwower problem.
Submitted by Eddie Crane
Q: True or False: Strategic positioning is performing the same tasks better than your rivals.
A: False. This is the definition for operational effectiveness.
submitted by Ashley Minogue
Q: What is viral marketing?
A: Viral marketing is the use of consumers to promote a product or service.
submitted by Ashley Diaz
Q: What are the benefits of economies of scale? Give an example of a firm with economies of scale over another.
A: The benefits of economies of scale include scalability and dramatic improvements in profit margins. Blue Nile has economies of scale over Zales.
submitted by Ashley Diaz
Q: What are the primary and secondary components of the value chain?
A: Primary Components: Inbound logistics, operations, outbound logistics, marketing and sales, and support. Secondary Components: Firm infrastructure, human resource management, technology/ research & development, and procurement.
submitted by Megan O'Connor
Q: Explain the idea of forcing competitors to straddle the market.
A: When a company gains a lot of profit with a different market, competitors will sometimes try to straddle the market,by attempting to not only excel in their original markets but trying to compete with this new and different market as well. This becomes a disadvantage because competitors will be unable to put all their time and money into just one market, and thus, will not be able to gain full advantages of either market.
submitted by Victoria Li
Q. Why did Dell eventually become replaceable?
A. Competitors eventually caught up with Dell’s technology, they began to imitate Dell’s techniques, the market prices shrank, and customer tastes changed.
submitted by Victoria von Rinteln
Q. What are the two ways to be able to compete against competitors?
A. Operational effectiveness – performing better than rivals, and strategic positioning – performing different tasks or performing the same tasks in a different way than your rivals.
submitted by Victoria von Rinteln
Q: What is a value chain?
A: A value chain is a set of interrelated activities that bring a product or a service to the market.
submitted by John Gallotta
Q: What role does supply chain management (SCM) software play in the value chain?
A: It links inbound and outbound logistics with operations.
submitted by Carl Conti
Q: True or False: Information asymmetry benefits from the internet, and thus, price transparency decreases.
A: False. Information asymmetry occurs when one partner has an advantage over another. The internet limits this and increases price transparency.
submitted by John Gallotta
Q: What is the fast follower problem?
A: This problem refers to when savvy rivals watch a pioneer’s efforts, learn from their successes and missteps, then enter the market quickly with a comparable or superior product at a lower cost.
submitted by Megan O’Connor
Q: Why would a firm choose to use software like enterprise resource planning software or ERP when they are available to everyone and therefore would not yield competitive advantage?
A: A firm such as Apple would choose to purchase ERP because their competitive advantage lies in the design and uniqueness of apple products rather than in strategic positioning.
submitted by Megan O’Connor
Q: What is brand? How does a company acquire a strong brand? What benefit does this give a company?
A: Brand is the symbolic embodiment of all the information connected with a product or service. Brand is acquired through customer experience and advertising. A strong brand proxies quality, inspires trust and lowers search costs. Therefore it is a powerful resource for competitive advantage.
submitted by Bridget O'Brien
Q: What are some key resources for competitive advantage?
A: Imitation (resistant value chain organization), brand, scale, network effects, data, distribution channels, alliances, patents.
submitted by Anna Littman-Quinn
Q: What are the sources of switching costs?
A: Learning costs, information and data, financial commitments, contractual commitments, search costs, and loyalty programs.
submitted by Rebecca Sung
Q: What must a late-entering rival do to win over the customers of an incumbent?
A: The late-entering rival must provide a good/service that has a value greater the value of the good/service of the incumbent plus any customer switching costs.
submitted by Rebecca Sung
Q: Are software patents an effective way to keep competitors from copying a firm's product? Why or why not?
A: Software patents are not an effective way to keep competitors from copying a firm's product since coders at competing firms can simply write substitute algorithms that are not exactly the same, but accomplish similar tasks.
submitted by Jeff White
Q: Which firm has adopted an SCM (Supply Chain Management) software package instead of writing one's own?
A: Apple Inc.
submitted by Jing Ting Wang
Q: Why can eBay raise auctioning fees without losing sellers?
A: eBay can raise auctioning fees because it has market dominance which means that sellers who leave its side lose their pricing power.
submitted by Luann Silva
Q: What is meant by the phrase "imitation resistant value chain" and can you give a company who has one and why it is imitation resistant?
A: The phrase "imitation resistant value chain" refers to a way of doing business that others will struggle to replicate. Netflix has a fairly imitation-resistant value chain as they have customer data which other companies don't have. Therefore other companies can have the same system, but they can't replicate the accuracy of Netflix's system without the data.
submitted by Yat Hang Yu
Q: Firms that have patents enjoy invulnerability from all imitators?
A: No, patents can prevent competitors from exploiting identical technology, but too often innovations can be mimicked. Thus, patents do not guarantee that a firm can enjoy sole rights on profiting from a certain innovation. "Secrecy, lead time, sales skills, and manufacturing all ranked higher" according to Wes Cohen.
submitted by Chris Guzman
Q:Is Brand built primarily through advertisement?
A: No, advertisement can be a means to gain awareness, but Brand can be built only through successful customer experience.
submitted by Chris Guzman
Q: What is sustainable competitive advantage?
A: Financial performance that consistently outperforms their industry peers.
submitted by Jen Cariello
Q: What is price transparency and what does it counteract?
A: It is when buyers can see and compare prices and it counteracts information asymmetry.
submitted by Jen Cariello
Q: Why can’t traditional grocers copy FreshDirect’s delivery model?
A: Because then the grocer would be straddling two markets: low margin storefront and high margin delivery.
submitted by Gina Perri
Q: Explain two ways that the Fresh Direct model cuts costs that plague traditional grocers?
A: They cut labor costs because they don’t need any in-store employees, and they don’t lose any money through shoplifting.
submitted by Morty Sjoquist
Q: Identify three software tools that help improve the speed and quality of execution of a company’s value chain.
A: Supply Chain Management (SCM), Customer Relationship Management (CRM), and Enterprise Resource Planning Software (ERP).
submitted by Morty Sjoquist
Q: What is the particular danger technology companies face in operational effectiveness? Why?
A: Sameness, because technology is easily acquired especially with the fast follower problem.
submitted by Kathie Chang
Q: What does a product or service need to be/have in order to be eligible for a patent?
A: It has to be novel, useful, and non-obvious
submitted by Ron Radu
Q: What effect did Blue Nile have on price transparency and information asymmetry? With these changes, did Blue Nile increase bargaining power of the buyer or seller?
A: Blue Nile increased price transparency and decreased information asymmetry by making prices readily available to all consumers. This increased the bargaining power of the buyer.
submitted by John Lowell
Q: What are the two biggest reasons Tivo was not able to a sustainable competitive advantage over its competitors?
A: Technology was copied (not imperfectly imitable) and Tivo did not have access to key distribution channel.
submitted by John Lowell
Q: Who is benefitted by the price transparency of the internet?
A: In a commodity market, consumers gain bargaining power through price transparency as they can hunt for the lowest price across the web. In a differentiated market with unique products, the seller gains bargaining power because they have the ability to market to a larger crowd.
submitted by Gregory Zuboff
Q: What are the two critical points a company must understand before it can obtain a competitive advantage?
A:Operational effectiveness and strategic positioning.
submitted by Mike Love
Q: What two things crushed the telecom industry?
A: Glut (too much) and DWDM (Dense Wave Division Multipleting)
submitted by Cristi Perez de la Mesa
Q: What are three things that are more important than patents?
A: Secrecy, lead-time, and sales skills
submitted by Cristi Perez de la Mesa
Q: Why is viral marketing so beneficial to the firm?
A: The firm gets to save on traditional advertisement and instead gets users to obtain customers through word of mouth.
submitted by Carlos Kramer
Q: What is an advantage Blue Nile has over Zales?
A: They have a larger scale of their company which gives them more coverage. They can reach more consumers than the limited number of Zales' stores.
Submitted by Michaela Koscher
Q: What attributes does NetFlix have that make it difficult for Blockbuster to compete with them?
A: NetFlix has data-switching costs, long tail (wide variety/scale/selection), economies of scale, distribution centers, customers, and brand.
submitted by Ashley Diaz
Q: Why does the Long Tail work for Netflix?
A: The Long Tail works because the cost of production and distribution are low enough that the company can offer an wide variety of movies and shows. The cost to stock and ship a less popular DVD is the same as shipping out recent DVD.
submitted by Victoria Li
Q: What is collaborative filtering?
A: Software that uses data and customer feed back to personalize a custom’s experience.
submitted by Craig Tessiatore
Q: What is meant when a Film Studio releases a video using a system called 'windowing'?
A: The term 'windowing' refers to the idea that the content of the studio is available to a given distribution channel for a specified time period, usually under different revenue models.
submitted by John Gallotta
Q: What does Negroponte mean when he refers to a shift from atoms to bits?
A: Negroponte is referring to the change in the way in which many consumer products are being bought. Previously, people were buying physical atoms; CDs, DVDs, books, etc. Now, consumers are purchasing digital files that were created using software of the same music, movies, and books that they would have bought physically in the past.
submitted by Brian Myers
Q: What is a churn rate and how is Netflix's churn rate key to its success?
A: A churn rate is a marketing term used to refer to the rate at which customers leave a product or service. Netflix provides its customers with phenominal satisfaction and hence had a rate of less than 4% when rivals walmart and blockbuster tried to copy their model. This low churn rate is key for profitability because it costs more to acquire a customer than to keep one.
submitted by Dan Johnson
Q: How did Netflix build it's brand?
A: Through great customer experience.
submitted by Ryan Mullaney
Q: Why did Netflix founder and CEO Reed Hastings tell Fortune Magazine that is he could change one strategic decision, it would have been to delay the firm's initial public stock offering?
A: If Netflix had stayed private for another two to four years not as many people would have understood how big a business it could be. Once they revealed their profits public other businesses wanted in on Netflix's money making idea.
submitted by Stephanie Wirth
Q: Why is providing a great customer experience so important for a firm like Netflix?
A: Customer experience is important for any online firm because if customers have a bad experience, they can simple click over to a rival's website; Netflix's website acts as its only virtual storefront, so if customers have bad experiences, they may never return.
submitted by Sam Hodes
Q: How does Netflix use scale to their advantage?
A: (1)They have distribution centers all over the US to make shipping easier and less expensive. (2) They have more customers, and because they have more customers than competitors, more customers continue to join. (3) They have a greater selection of titles.
submitted by Sarah Wickman
Q: What two major companies tried, but were unable to compete with Netflix in the online DVD rental business? And why so?
A: Blockbuster and Walmart. They were unable to compete becuase Netflix forced them to straddle both the traditional video rental market adn online sales. Also, Netflix had high switching costs and developed a strong brand. The average customer had already submitted too much data, most peole had already rated two hundred movies and Netflix also offers Cinematch which suggets movies a customer may like based off of their previous rentals. Netflix's product was differentiated.
submitted by Robert Alario
Q: What is a major problem that Netflix faces?
A: Being capeable to stream their videos to televisions instead of just to laptops. It is only a matter of time before DVD's become obsolete so Netflix must act fast or they will be left behind.
submitted by Robert Alario
Q: What does the phrase "The Long Tail" refer to?
A: A phenomenon in which a business can profitably offer a great selection of less popular products.
submitted by Paul Veiga
Q: What marketing technique did Netflix use to promote its firm?
A: Viral Marketing
submitted by Dan Johnson
Q: What does it mean for a firm to enjoy scale economies?
A: Scale economies occurs when the firm is able to leverage the cost of an investment across increasing units of production.
submitted by Paul Veiga
Q: Why is "brand" a key to Netflix's success?
A: Costumers trust the company and are therefore unlikely to switch to another company that they know little about. Netflix is constantly pleasing its customers so they have become a reliable name.
submitted by Anthony Giannobile
Q: What are the benefits of building scale?
A:1. Bargaining power with suppliers or buyers 2. Barrier to other competitors 3. Create a switching cost 4. Data
submitted by Christina Kong
Q: The biggest inefficieny in the movie industry is 'audience finding' or matching content with customers. How does Netflix get around this problem?
A: Netflix avoids this by leveraging one of the most sophisticated recommendation systems, in the industry, Cinematch.
submitted by Luann Silva
Q: What is the key difference between advertising and brand-building?
A: Advertising only builds awareness but brands are built through customer experience.
submitted by Yat Hang Yu
Q: What are some potential problems that Netflix will face in the coming years?
A: Netflix's future remains questionable as they may be forced to straddle the Blu-ray and DVD. Also the limited streaming (only 10 000 videos available online) could minimize their advantages from the Long Tail effect. With regards to the new idea of streaming to the TV, Netflix is going to face several large competitors, such as Amazon and Tivo, Apple and Apple TV, and Cable companies with OnDemand.
submitted by Yat Hang Yu
Q: What are three positive things that having an established brand can do for a business?
A:It will lower search costs, provide reliability and trust for customers, and lead to viral marketing (spreading your brand name by word of mouth).
submitted by Kevin Guckian
Q:What is the name of the software that can monitor trends and use this data to make suggestions to other individuals with similar interests?
A: Collaborative Filtering
submitted by Chris Guzman
Q: What are the advantages of crowd sourcing? Give one example of crowd sourcing.
A: Crowd sourcing can be advantageous because it allows firms to save money on improving a product or service by outsourcing this task to a large and undefined population. One example of crowd sourcing would be the NetFlix Prize.
submitted by Adam Marchany
Q: How did Netflix employ crowd sourcing to there advantage?
A: They offer a competition to discover an algorithm for more accurate movie suggestions for consumers.
submitted by Mike Love
Q: What type of filtering is used by Netflix's Cinematch?
A: Netflix's Cinematch uses collaborative filtering.
Submitted By: Christie Mealo
Q: How does the economics of Moore’s law open up new markets?
A: Firms are continually finding new uses for chips as they become cheaper, and more price elastic.
submitted by Hampton Hughes
Q: How did United Airlines take advantage of supercomputing?
A: They were able to examine over 350,000 (oppose to 3,000 with their old tech.) flight path combinations for its scheduling systems. They saved an estimated 50 million dollars.
submitted by Hampton Hughes
Q: What is Moore's Law?
A: Chip performance per dollar doubles every 18 months.
submitted by John Gallaugher
Q: True or False: Technology products have low price elasticity.
A: False: Technology products have high price elasticity because consumers buy more products as they become cheaper.
submitted by: Brian Myers
Q: What are challenges of the Moore's Law?
A: 1)Size 2)Heat 3)Power.
submitted by Jing Ting Wang
Q: Approximately what percent of the world's power is used for computing?
A: 4-5% of the world's energy is spent powering computer systems.
submitted by: Courtney Finkel
Q: What are the three (3) interrelated forces that threaten to slow down Moore's Law?
A: Size, heat, and power.
submitted by Alex Scull
Q: Which wave of computing are we currently experiencing? Explain that wave.
A: Wave Five. In this wave, computers have become extremely fast and inexpensive.
submitted by Ryan Tierney
Q: What does price elastic mean?
A: Consumers buy more products as they become cheaper.
submitted by Sarah Canerday
Q: What is Grid Computing?
A: When firms place special software on its existing PCs or servers that enables these computers to work together on a common problem.
submitted by Vincent DeSanctis
Q: How has grid computing helped the bio-tech industry?
A: In terms of genetics, grid computing has allowed research facilities to increase the rate of genetic analysis from one every six weeks to thousands per year. Additionally, grid computing has allowed the bio-tech industry to more quickly discover, market, and patent innovations and inventions that are critical to the field.
submitted by Courtney Finkel
Q: True or False: The Hard-drive is the brain of a computing device.
A: False: The Microprocessor is the brain of a computing device.
submitted by Vincent DeSanctis
Q: What is a dark side of Moore’s Law?
A: A dark side is the rapid growth of electronic waste.
submitted by Ashley Minogue
Q: What does RAM stand for?
A: RAM stands for Random Access Memory.
submitted by Caitlin Fentzlaff
Q: How many bits form a byte? How many bytes form a kilobyte?
A: There are eight bits in a byte. There are one thousand bytes in a kilobyte.
submitted by Caitlin Fentzlaff
Q: What does OLP stand for, and what is the program's mission?
A: OLPC stands for One Laptop Per Child, and it aims to create a practical $100 laptop to distribute to the world's poorest children for educational purposes.
submitted by Caitlin Fentzlaff
Q: What is quantum computing and how does it influence data storage?
A: Quantum computing involves leveraging the principles of quantum physics to employ qubits that can be both 'one' and 'zero' at the same time. If you add a bit to a quantum computer, its capacity increases exponentially.
submitted by Caitlin Fentzlaff
Q: Where does a majority of the United States' e-waste go?
A: Eighty percent of the e-waste in the US is exported to other countries such as China and Nigeria.
submitted by Paul Cubelli
Q: How does Moore's Law relate to the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) program?
A: OLPC is facilitated by Moore's law by making these laptops affordable on such a grand scale. In 18 months a chip of the same performance will be worth half of what it was. Eventually, prices may get so low that Negroponte's idea may become a reality and all these laptops will be affordable.
submitted by Carlos Kramer
Q: What is multi-core technology, and how is it beneficial?
A: This involves putting two or more lower power chips on the same piece of silicon. More often than not, multi-core chips will out perform a single speedy chip, while running cooler and drawing less power.
submitted by Ricky Czachor
Q: In another effort to sustain Moore's Law, stacked or three-dimensional semiconductors are being put into commercial use. What are these three-dimensional semiconductors?
A: In this approach, engineers slice a flat chip into pieces, then reconnect the pieces vertically. These chips are both faster and cooler since electrons travel shorter distances. What was once an end-to end trip on a conventional chip might just be a tiny movement up or down on a stacked chip.
submitted by Ricky Czachor
Q: Google's Chief Technology Officer has said that the firm spends more to power its servers than the cost of the servers themselves. How much of the world's power do computers draw?
A: Four to Five percent.
submitted by Vish Patel
Q: In designing to move away from electricity over silicon, one option has been optical computing. What is it? And what are the benefits?
A: Optical computing is where signals are sent via light rather than electricity. This promises to be faster than conventional chips.
submitted by Vish Patel
Q: What "is the single most transformative technology for world economic development" and why?
A: The cell phone because it connects people with the outside world. It can connect sellers in an isolated area with potential buyers or allow a mother to know if there is a doctor for her son in a neighboring village. Studies show that for every 10 mobile phones per 100 people, a country's GDP bumps up 0.5%.
submitted by John Kelly
Q: Where do Microsoft, Yahoo, and Google build their massive data centers? Why do they build them there?
A: The Pacific Northwest. They build them there due to the access to cheap hydroelectric power.
submitted by John Kelly
Q: What is a supercomputer? Name the world's most well-known supercomputer.
A: Computers that are among the fastest of any in the world performing tasks such as simulating the explosions of nuclear devices or analyzing large-scale weather and climate phenomena. Supercomputers are built using hundreds of microprocessors all programmed to work together. The most well known supercomputer is IBM's Deep Blue.
submitted by John Kelly
Q: What is the difference between massively parallel supercomputers and grid computing?
A: Massively parallel supercomputers have several chips in one computer and grid computing uses existing computers to work together on a single task.
submitted by John Gallotta
Q: What are the challenges of Moore's Law?
A: Size, heat, and power. Size it is getting so small that there is a limit. Heat - as chips get smaller it gets more compact and it will start to heat up. Power - as chips get smaller and create heat, there needs to be more power such as having a fan to cool it down.
submitted by Christina Kong
Q: What is a multicore processor? What are the advantages and disavantages?
A: Multicore is putting two or more cores on a single chip. The advantage is that tasks can be divided up to be more efficient. The disadvantage is that it doesnt work for linear tasks.
submitted by Christina Kong
THIS QUESTION IS VERY SIMILAR TO THAT OF Ricky Czachor!
Q: What is price elasticity and how price elastic are tech products?
A: Price elasticity is the effect a change in price has on the sensitivity of the buyers in that product's market. Tech prodcuts are high elastic meaning that a change in price, an increase for example, means that the consumers won't demand that product as much as they did before the price increase.
submitted by Kevin Clancy
Q: What is the difference between RAM and Flash Memory?
A: Flash Memory can hold data without power unlike RAM, and Flash Memory is slower than RAM.
submitted by Melissa Hartge
Q: What are the five waves of computing?
A: First wave - mainframes; second wave - minicomputers; third wave - personal computers; fourth wave - internet computing; fifth wave - ubiquitous computing
submitted by Sharon Yeung
Q: What are the challenges to multi-core processors?
A: Multi-core processors require rewritten software that can distribute sections of a task to different cores. It is difficult to leverage multi-core processors to solve linear tasks.
submitted by Chris Guzman
Q: What three factors are responsible for the convergence of the Moore's Law curve?
A: The size of the chips, heat between sections and the power required to enable activity are all limits to the advancement of Moore's Law.
submitted by Chris Guzman
Q: Due to fifth generation of computing, ubiquitous computing, which company now sells more cameras than any other firm?
A: Nokia
submitted by Steve Barreira
Q: What do multi-core, massively parallel, and grid computing all have in common?
A: Each attempt to lash together multiple computing devices so that they can work together to solve problems.
submitted by Kathie Chang
Q: What does it mean for a piece of equipment to be in “solid state?” Please give an example.
A: Solid state means to have no moving parts. A common example would be a cell phone.
submitted by John Lowell
Q: Why is Moore's Law so important for manager's to understand?
A: It allows managers to realize that technological expansion that is currently too expensive will be cheaper in the near future
submitted by Mike Love
Q: Is flash memory volatile or non-volatile memory?
A: Flash memory is non-volatile memory.
Submitted by: Christie Mealo
Q: What are network effects?
A: When the value of a product/service increases as more people use it.
submitted by Benjamin Silbert
Q: How do network effects give Netflix competitive advantage?
A: As more people use Netflix, more data becomes entered into their system, and Cinematch, Netflix's collaborative filtering technology, becomes more effective.
submitted by Benjamin Silbert
Q: What are complementary benefits?
A: Complementary benefits are those products or services that add additional value to the network, such as "how-to" books, software add-ons, and even labor.
submitted by Jon Kazanovicz
Q: What is technological leap-frogging?
A: Technological leap-frogging is when a firm tries to compete by offering a superior generation of technology.
submitted by Jon Kazanovicz
Q: What do networks with greater numbers of users suggest?
A: A stronger staying power.
submitted by Michael Travaglin
Q: How can switching costs strengthen the value of network effects as a strategic asset?
A: The higher the value of the user's overall investment, the more they are likely to consider the staying power of any offering before choosing to adopt it. Also, the more a user has invested in a product, the less likely they are to leave.
submitted by Michael Travaglini
Q: Why would a firm pre-announce their efforts?
A: Large firms that find new markets attractive but don't yet have products ready for delivery might pre-announce efforts in order to cause potential adapters to sit on the fence, delaying a purchasing decision until the new effort rolls out.
submitted by Michael Travaglini
Q: What are platforms and how does a firm utilize one?
A: Platforms are products and services that encourage others to offer complementary goods. Allowing other firms to contribute to your platform can be a brilliant strategy because those firms will spend their time and money to enhance your offerings.
submitted by Michael Travaglini
Q: What is staying power?
A: Staying power is the long-term viability of a product or service and is particularly important for consumers of technology products.
submitted by Vincent DeSanctis
Q: What are the three value-adding sources that work together so that they can reinforce each other in a way that makes the network effect even stronger?
A: Exchange, staying power, and complementary benefits.
submitted by Vincent DeSanctis
Q: What was the equation introduced by Bob Metcalfe to find the value of a network?
A: The value of a network equals its number of users squared.
submitted by Ryan Tierney
Q: Why did the PlayStation 2 (PS2) have an advantage over the technically superior Xbox?
A: Because PS2 was introduced 18-months earlier than Xbox. This time period was enough to create a large network of PS2 users and, thus, more games were designed for PS2.
submitted by Ryan Tierney
Q: Why do users crave network effects?
A: Users desire network effects because of exchange opportunities, stability, and extrinsic benefits.
Submitted by Eddie Crane
Q: When is radical innovation necessary when delaing with network effects?
A: Radical innovation is necessary if an incompatible technology is to overthrow an established standard.
Submitted by Eddie Crane
Q: Other than the physical wires or wireless systems that that connect electronics, what can a network refer to?
A: A common user base that is able to communicate and share with one another.
submitted by Ryan Noon
Q: What is the term for when increasing numbers of users lower the value of a product or service?
A: Congestion effects.
submitted by Ryan Noon
Q: What is the Osborne Effect?
A: The Osborne Effect is the idea that if a firm announces the production of a new product too early, sales of its current product may decrease.
submitted by Carlos Kramer
Q: What does it mean to be backward compatible?
A: It means that a companies new products are compatible and can be used together with its older modeled products. If new products aren't backward compatible that company loses all advantages from switching costs because the consumer has no connection between the companies new and old technology. (Example: If old Xbox games didn't work on Xbox360 there is little incentive not to switch to PS3 for better graphics)
submitted by Kevin Scott
Q: What is a cross-side exchange benefit?
A: It is where in a two-sided market, an increase in the number of users on one side of the market creates a rise in the other side. (Example: an increase in Wii owners would attract more software developers who would write more games for Wii; thus, attracting more Wii users.)
submitted by Rebecca Sung
Q: Who are the corporate users of electronic social networking?
A: Goldman-Sachs, Delloite Consulting, IBM, and Reuters
Submitted by Eddie Crane
Q: What is envelopment?
A: Envelopment is where a firm makes an existing market a subset of its product offering. For example, Apple used this strategy with the iPhone which is a device that has an iPod built into it along with Wi-Fi, browsing, and email capabilities and an application platform (a scale down version of the Mac's OS X operating system).
submitted by Rebecca Sung
Q: In the world of network effects, why is moving early important?
A: Because it gives a firm extra time to attract a following of dedicated customers.
submitted by Sam Hodes
Q: How can viral marketing help to strengthen network effects?
A: Rather than spending money on advertising, a firm can leverage its customers to help promote its product or service, helping to attract more users.
submitted by Sam Hodes
Q: What does it mean when a market "converges"?
A: When a market converges, it means that the market has expanded and put rivals who previously did not compete on a collision course
submitted by Jon Kazanovicz
Q What two other names does Network Effects have?
A: Metcalfe's Law and Network Externalities
submitted by Sarah Canerday
Q: What factors can halt the availability of an effort?
A: A firm can go bankrupt, fail to attract a critical mass of user support, a rival may successfully invade its market and draw away current customers.
submitted by Sarah Canerday
Q: Starting a network effect can be tough - there's little incentive to join a network if there's no one in the system to communicate with. What is the risky strategy firms may offer thinking network effects may kick in later?