Identify which one of the five alternative system building approaches you believe Coca Cola, applied, and explain why Coca Cola would have selected that alternative. What management, organization and technology issues would Coca Cola have considered before it implemented the online image library and digital archive system?
The five alternative systems that Coke could have considered would include: working on team level, group level, regional level or organizational level. The organizational level system was selected because it allows them to be able to effectively communicate with bottlers about changes that are taking place in the marketplace. The biggest issues that would have to be considered before implementing such a system would include: effectively organizing all the data, ensuring that the system is user friendly and encouraging all to bottlers to work with headquarters on a collaborative effort. ("Innovation and Collaboration at Coca Cola")
Describe the differences between fault tolerant and high availability computing. Describe one business application where Coca Cola might apply a fault tolerant solution and explain why you chose it. Describe another business application where Coca Cola might apply a high availability computing solution and explain why you chose it. Describe two benefits of each system? Describe what security measures Coca Cola must apply when it links a system to the internet and the Wi-Fi mobile system?
A fault tolerant solution is when there are repeating components / systems that are designed to protect: a web site, servers or a company's it system from a catastrophic failure such as a cyber attack. Where, the system can continue to function and counter any kind of possible threats because of the repeating blocks / firewalls. A high availability system is when the it infrastructure will shut down at the onset of such catastrophic failures. Then, it will switch to an alternate system, to allow a company to continue to function. This usually takes place within a minute to two minutes of such instances. ("High Availability Computer Definition") a business application that could require a fault tolerant solution would be: for Office Communications Server Online. This system is a vital component that all the distributors use to communicate with the company; any kind of disruptions in this system would be catastrophic. A business solution that could require a high availability solution would be: SharePoint Online. The reason why this application was chosen is because any kind of disruptions to the system; would be minimal if it is allowed to function from an alternate IP address. The benefits of the fault tolerant system are: it can continue to function and it has multiple back up procedures in place. The advantages of the high availability system are: they can isolate the problem system and they allow an entity to safely operate from an alternate IP address. In the case of Coke, this highlights how the company must have multiple firewalls and security blocks in place, as they are the target for large amounts of cyber attacks. ("Innovation and Collaboration at Coca Cola")
Analyze and describe a DSS application that the Coca Cola executive might implement to supplement decision making in its analysis of relationships with bottlers. Include a detailed description of each of the components of as Decision Support System in the description of your DSS analysis. Describe what type of DSS is required for the application? Also, describe four potential benefits the DSS provides.
The application that managers could implement to improve decision making is by having Microsoft Outlook as part of the internet protocol. This is because, the application can allow them to easily gather and analyze information from different bottlers. Some of the most notable components would include: a customizable...
Together, these different elements would help to improve the decision making process of managers throughout the company. An effective DSS system that would be needed is: one that would have the ability to integrate with other solutions. This is important because it could work as an effective way of collecting all of the data at one central location. The four benefits of using such a system would include: the ability to see when changes are taking place in real time, greater understanding of the markets, improved communication and the ability to respond quickly to the demands of consumers. ("Decision Support System")
Clearly, Coca Cola has undergone a tremendous shift over the last several years, as the company was able to evolve with the changes that have taken place in technology. This is because they were able to refocus their strategies and improve collaboration. However, prior to such initiatives, Coke had become a victim of its own success, where they would become very large and disorganized. This was problematic because the company had relationships with hundreds of bottlers in over 200 countries around the globe. The lack of collaboration and communication meant that many opportunities were missed, as the old proven ways of the past were unsuccessful. As a result, the company would lose market share to competitors, who more effectively responding to the changes in the tastes of consumers. Then, the changes in technology would mean that Coke would have no way of effectively managing and retrieving information, this would slow productivity even more. To regain momentum the company would embark on a bold initiative to improve communication and collaboration at all levels. The results were: improved cooperation at every level of the company and better communication with the various distributors around the world. This is significant because it underscores how improving the way information is collected, can help increase collaboration levels of any organization. Where, this new technology was able to take an old conservative beverage company (Coca Cola) and was able to improve collaboration; to the extent that they are responding to demands from consumers quicker than competitors. To be able to maintain market share requires effectively responding to changes that are occurring in tastes around the globe. The use of the new technology allowed Coke to develop Coke Zero. This was important because it highlighted how the company had changed focused and began using communication / collaboration to improve the overall quality of products that are being sold around the world.
The various problems that were faced by Coca Cola was because of a lack of focus from management, as the company became a victim of its own success. The problems for the company were not caused by one individual or department; instead it was a whole host of issues that contributed to the problem. As a result, Coke would invest in a number of different initiatives to remain competitive, yet the effects were a disorganized mess. To fix this problem the company improved collaboration between the headquarters and distributors, as this system would allow the management to more quickly respond to changes in the tastes of consumers. As a result, this strategy has helped to change the overall focus, where managers are able to effectively identify new trends in the market early.
Bibliography
"Decision Support System." Webopedia. 2010. Web. 10 May 2010.
"Five Competitive Forces." 12 Manage. 2010. Web. 10 May 2010.
"High Availability Computer Definition." Your Dictionary. 2010. Web. 10 May 2010
"Innovation and Collaboration at Coca Cola."
"The Value Chain." Net MBA. 2007. Web. 10 May 2010.
