Assignment 10

Steve Jobs inspired me in many different ways. One way is that even though he realized college was not for him, he still went to classes that interested him. He was eager to learn and determined not to let anything stop him. Another reason is that when he was fired from his job, he was understandably mad, but he took that has another learning lesson and improved himself. He became CEO of Apple because he did not give up and was eager to learn. More importantly he was not afraid to fail at anything he did, which is something everybody needs to live, but very few people do. People who are not afraid to fail usually turn out to be really successful people or businessman.

Assignment 9

How can knowledge management support design-driven innovation?

Knowledge management is a huge part of design-driven innovation. Knowing how consumers act will help companies build products designed for them thus making the company more profitable. As stated in the article many of the most successful brands create breakthrough ideas inspired by a deep understanding of consumers' lives and use the principles of design to innovate and build value. This is where knowledge management comes in it can help companies have a greater understanding of certain process and how they can be performed better.

Assignment 8

Liver cell dysplasia (LCD) is considered a lesion, whose characterization and differentiation from hepatocellular carcinoma and from the reactive changes seen in cirrhosis has been controversial. We studied 12 cases of LCD (large cell type) with image analysis techniques (IA) and compared the findings with those of HCC, and a spectrum of non-neoplastic hepatic lesions including normal liver and cirrhosis. A minimum of 200 Feulgen-stained nuclei were measured from each lesion with the CAS 200 image analysis system. The data were collected with the aid of CellSheet software. Thirty-four variables were measured, including geometric, textural, and photometric nuclear features and DNA ploidy. The data were analyzed with multivariate statistics and a backpropagation neural network (NN). Stepwise statistical analysis selected 22 variables that were statistically significant in the three groups with P values <.05. Various NN architectures were developed using these variables. The best NN architecture included a sigmoidal transfer function, 14 input, 16 hidden, and 3 output neurons. It trained to completion after 8,887 runs using 90% of the lesions. This NN yielded a 100% cross-validation rate for unknown cases. These data support the concept of LCD (large cell type) as a lesion that can be objectively distinguished from HCC and non-neoplastic liver.

Assignment 7

In chapter 9: Relationship Tech, Mr.Kelly makes some pretty good points in relation to knowledge management. The idea that a conversation is a model for understanding what is going on in a network economy. The more interactions, the more important learning becomes, the more essential relationships become, the more trust becomes a factor. This has to do with knowledge management in the sense that technology is becoming a bigger part of our lives and we will have grow and trust the technology. If people want to be successful in the business world.

The technologies of relationships will not ease this fear or pain. They can strengthen and diversify relationships and trust, but not make them automatic, easy, or instant. At the forefront in the chore to cultivate trust—as a business imperative—stands the rugged hurdle of privacy. Privacy is a big issue because most people worry about their computer being hacked and personal information stolen. And if people are going to trust technology to handle just about everything in the near future; they have to have the trust and feeling that none of their information will be stolen.

Assignment 6

Thomas L. Friedman makes some really good points on how the world is getting flatter technology wise. He pointed how companies are getting better and better at providing their services or processes. He pointed out how in 1995 with the launch of netscape that countries like China and Russia were suddenly neighbors. This is a great example of how the world is getting flatter and flatter technology wise. Companies are getting so good at finding new and better ways of doing things that soon it will be amazing as to what they will be able to do and offer.

Blog 5

The speech made some really good points. I really liked the point of moving into phase II for the Internet. The speaker made some points on how in you need a product or service then it should be there instantly. The example he used had to do with tax service, if somebody needs help with their taxes then they go online and there is always someone to help them. And they would be charged for the time used instead a lot of unnecessary services. Also collaboration was a interesting point on how the network would bring the content to the user instead of the user finding the content.

Assignment 4

Nucor Steel is a great example of how to use knowledge management and be very good at doing it. Nucor made sure whenever they built new plants; they were built in rural areas with an abundance of hard-working and mechanically inclined people. The company became a leading employer in those locations and offered a top-of-the-line compensation package. That type of approach created a hunger for a new knowledge through a high-powered incentive system for every employee. There was no limit as to where how high the bonus could be. Some payouts in the 1990s for production employees averaged 80% to 150% of base wage.

Whenever employees are encouraged to experiment there is always a chance of failure. Nucor understood that if they did not tolerate failure it would severely inhibit experimentation, whereas a company that experiences in nothing but failures will not survive. Because Nucor's social ecology drove every employee to search for better and more efficient ways to make steel and steel-related products, its operating personnel had a deeper mastery of the industry's manufacturing processes than personnel at other steel companies.

Nucor also had great policies about making sure that their employees did not leave and take their knowledge elsewhere.  When hit by a recession, the company reduced the workweek rather than the workforce. Employees regarded a reduced workweek and the corresponding lower wages as a relatively attractive option when compared with the prospect of being laid off in a rural area where Nucor was the leading employer. Any reduction in worker's compensation was accompanied by a greater reduction in managers' compensation and a still greater cut in the CEO's pay. Nucor enjoyed the lowest turnover rate of any company in its industry.