Question

Read the case below and answer the questions which follow:

Part I: IBM has long been one of IT's leaders and has acquired more than 22.000 patents in the past decade. However, by the 1990s the company had lost its draw for customers and its innovative edge. In 2003 IBM decided to redefine its business model. The company phased out its presence in creating/selling hardware and sold its Personal Computing Division to Lenovo, a computer company in China. If a company wants to stay on top of its market, it must be constantly moving forward and adapting its focus. IBM restructured its business skills, assets, and delivery capabilities to meet the needs of their clients who wanted to blend information technology with business operations. The company set up all architecture and technologies for the On Demand operating environment.

Part ll: In 2005, IBM continued to make On Demand Business more tangible and even more focused on innovation. The company's goal has been execution. As part of IBM's On Demand focus, the company vowed to become more On Demand itself by creating a true global reach and utilizing the talent available worldwide and by giving authority and resources to those working in close contact with its clients. On Demand has allowed IBM to become focused and in sync across the board.

Part IlI: Critics argue that there is nothing new to IT in On Demand, and others clalm development has not gone far enough for On Demand to be truly functional. Regardless, IT companies such as Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, and Oracle (to nam few) are pursuing technology along the same lines. This tells developers and executives at IBM that they are certainly on the right track -setting the pace and in the lead.

1. IBM's shift to a service business, changed the inputs in their transformation process. Which input would be the most important resource in the new model?

a. Materials
b. Energy
c. Labor
d. Ideas

2. Because service to meeting this requirement? organizations require high-touch relationships with customers; which of the following characteristics of the service organization is most important ?

a. Hiring and training
b. Flexible systems
c. Customized services
d. Adjustable capecity

3. Service organizations like IBM can standardize processes they are offering by:

a. Blending the use of technology
b. Designing Gantt Charts
c. Aligning inputs
d. Empowering employees

4. Unlike a service operation, the outputs for manufacturing operations are:

a. Tangible
b. Intangible
c. High-touch
d. Customer driven

5. The services that IBM is providing business clients to help with their technology will require a great deal of transformation process in the conversion step of the:_________

a. Facilties
b. Equipment
c. Knowledge
d. Technology

Answer 1

1. c. Labor

2. a. Hiring and training

3. a. . Blending the use of technology

4. a. Tangible

5. d. Technology

Step-by-step explanation:

1. IBM wants to create a global reach so that it may be able to take advantage of the talent that is available worldwide signifying that is is Labor that is integral to their new business model.

2. If the organisation requires high-touch relationships with customers then good representatives/employees are needed. Proper employees should be hired and trained to ensure that they relate well with customers.

3. By blending the technology they use around the world, they can standardise the way their employees do things using that technology.

4. Manufacturing firms produce actual goods. These goods can be seen, held, felt etc. They are tangible unlike services which do not have the aforementioned characteristics.

5. A great deal of knowledge will be required during the conversion stage of the Transformation process because the client's business will have to be blended with information technology. As every business is different, the customisation will take quite a bit of knowledge to accomplish.