5. Improvements in technology that reduce production costs cause the _____ curve to shift to the _____, indicating a(n) _____ in the amount _____ at each price point.

6. Assume a farmer’s land is equally productive in growing corn or potatoes and is currently producing both. If the price of corn increases but the price of potatoes does not change, the farm’s supply curve for potatoes will:

7. An increase in government subsidies for an industry, which reduces production cost, causes the market equilibrium price to _____ and the market equilibrium quantity to _____.

True/False Questions

After watching the Markets video lecture, consider the question(s) below. Then “submit” your response.

1. An increase in consumer preference for a good shifts the demand curve to the left.

2. As income increases, the demand curve for an inferior good shifts to the left.

3. If the price of a resource required to produce a good increases, the supply curve will shift to the right, indicating that producers are inclined to produce more of the good at each price point.

nalyze the different technology applications in purchasing and determine which is the most valuable to the greatest number of users. Explain your rationale. Anticipate what technologies will appear in the next ten (10) years and the impact they will have on the purchasing function. Provide (theoretical) examples to support your response.

Project Communication Management is of utmost importance in the modern age with an array of technology tools available for use in projects. You may have had several experiences of projects suffering due to poor communication and documentation. Evaluate the importance of a good document management system for a project and explain 5 key strategies you would have as a project engineer to better control project documentation and communication.

The question that I am using in the signature assignment is how bad technology is for the workplace.

Completing an initial draft of the Signature Assignment requires that students identify which of their proposed solutions is most deserving of adoption. Students should provide an account of this decision and, then, move immediately on to the task of envisioning and describing the process of implementing their proposed solution. What would "taking action" on this proposed solution look like? As was the case in previous steps of the problem-solving process, it is important that students think and analyze in interdisciplinary ways. What does the accumulated knowledge in your academic discipline do to inform the subject of implementation? What is known in other fields that ought to be carefully examined? Finally, what might be the indictors of success in solving the problem? (20 points possible)

Technology is taking much of the fun out of finding a place to park the car. Now, in cities from New York to Seattle, the door is open to a host of wireless technologies seeking to improve the parking meter even further. Chicago and Sacramento, CA, among others are equipping enforcement vehicles with infrared cameras capable of scanning license plates even at 30 miles an hour. Using a global positioning system, the cameras can tell which individual cars have parked too long in a two-hour parking zone. At a cost of $75,000 a camera, the system is an expensive upgrade of the old method of chalking tires and then coming back two hours later to see if the car has moved.

Parking czars in municipalities across the country are starting to realize parking meters' original goals: generating revenue and creating a continuous turnover of parking spaces on city streets. Clearly, their main questions are "Would there be enough new revenue from installing the expensive parking monitoring devices?" and "How many devices should be installed to maximize the revenue streams?" From the device manufacturing's point of view, the question is "Would there be enough demand for their products to justify the investment required in new facilities and marketing?" If the manufacturing decides to go ahead and market the products, but the actual demand is far less than its forecast or the adoption of the technology is too low, what would be the potential financial risk?

Comment on the interrelationship between external forces such as globalization, economics, technology, and the environment, and internal influences on business and society including governance and corporate citizenship (CSR), consumer protection, employee rights and responsibilities, and workplace diversity. Remember to support your argument with multiple examples such as sample journal entries, and readings. . Please provide refernces as well

1. There are two options, start with technology and look for a business application or start with a business problem and look for a solution. Please explain how each strategy is superior and where weaknesses in either approach may lie. How would you address these weaknesses?

2. Why or why not should a firm adopt a copycat strategy with emerging technologies?

The need to build a new infrastructure to utilize digital technology is constantly increasing, but it is difficult to secure new infrastructure by increasing the number of system resources required indefinitely. If the cost of IT infrastructure is calculated by adding up (1 )fixed and (2) operational costs, what difference will each cost show before and after the introduction of the cloud?

DOMINO’S SIZZLES WITH PIZZA TRACKER

When it comes to pizza, everyone has an opinion. Some of us think that our current pizza is just fine the way it is. Others have a favorite pizza joint that makes it like no one else. And many pizza lovers in America agreed up until recently that Domino’s home-delivered pizza was among the worst. The home-delivery market for pizza chains in the United States is approximately $15 billion per year.

Domino’s, which owns the largest home-delivery market share of any U.S. pizza chain, is finding ways to innovate by overhauling its in-store transaction processing systems and by providing other useful services to customers, such as its Pizza Tracker. And more important, Domino’s is trying very hard to overcome its reputation for poor quality by radically improving ingredients and freshness. Critics believe the company significantly improved the quality of its

pizza and customer service in 2010.

Domino’s was founded in 1960 by Tom Monaghan and his brother James when they purchased a single pizza store in Ypsilanti, Michigan. The company slowly began to grow, and by 1978, Domino’s had 200 stores. Today, the company is headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and operates almost 9,000 stores located in all 50 U.S. states and across the world in 60 international markets. In 2009, Domino’s had $1.5 billion in sales and earned $80 million in profit.

Domino’s is part of a heated battle among prominent pizza chains, including Pizza Hut, Papa John’s, and Little Caesar. Pizza Hut is the only chain larger than Domino’s in the U.S., but each of the four has significant market share. Domino’s also competes with local pizza stores throughout the U.S. To gain a competitive advantage Domino’s needs to deliver excellent customer service, and most importantly, good pizza. But it also benefits from highly effective

information systems.

Domino’s proprietary point-of-sale system, Pulse, is an important asset in maintaining consistent and efficient management functions in each of its restaurants. A point-of-sale system captures purchase and payment data at a physical location where goods or services are bought and sold using computers, automated cash registers, scanners, or other digital devices.

In 2003, Domino’s implemented Pulse in a large portion of its stores, and those stores reported improved customer service, reduced mistakes, and shorter training times. Since then, Pulse has become a staple of all Domino’s franchises. Some of the functions Pulse performs at Domino’s franchises are taking and customizing orders using a touch-screen interface, maintaining sales figures, and compiling customer information. Domino’s prefers not to disclose the specific dollar amounts that it has saved from Pulse, but it’s clear from industry analysts that

the technology is working to cut costs and increase customer satisfaction.

More recently, Domino’s released a new hardware and software platform called Pulse Evolution, which is now in use in a majority of Domino’s more than 5,000 U.S. branches. Pulse Evolution improves on the older technology in several ways. First, the older software used a ‘thick-client’ model, which required all machines using the software to be fully equipped personal computers running Windows. Pulse Evolution, on the other hand, uses ‘thin-client’ architecture in which networked workstations with little independent processing power collect data and send them over the Internet to powerful Lenovo PCs for processing. These workstations lack hard drives, fans, and other moving parts, making them less expensive and easier to maintain. Also, Pulse Evolution is easier to update and more secure, since there’s only one machine in the store which needs to be updated.

Along with Pulse Evolution, Domino’s rolled out its state-of-the-art online ordering system, which includes Pizza Tracker. The system allows customers to watch a simulated photographic version of their pizza as they customize its size, sauces, and toppings. The image changes with each change a customer makes. Then, once customers place an order, they are able to view its progress online with Pizza Tracker. Pizza Tracker displays a horizontal bar that tracks an order’s progress graphically. As a Domino’s store completes each step of the order fulfillment process, a section of the bar becomes red. Even customers that place their orders via telephone can monitor their progress on the Web using Pizza Tracker at stores using Pulse Evolution. In 2010, Domino’s introduced an online polling system to continuously upload information from local stores.

As with most instances of organizational change of this magnitude, Domino’s experienced some resistance. Domino’s originally wanted its franchises to select Pulse to comply with its requirements for data security, but some franchises have resisted switching to Pulse and sought alternative systems. After Domino’s tried to compel those franchises to use Pulse, the U.S. District Court for Minnesota sided with franchisees who claimed that Domino’s could not force them to use this system. Now, Domino’s continues to make improvements to Pulse in an

effort to make it overwhelmingly appealing to all franchisees.

Pizza Hut and Papa John’s also have online ordering capability, but lack the Pizza Tracker and the simulated pizza features that Domino’s has successfully implemented. Today, online orders account for almost 20 percent of all of Domino’s orders, which is up from less than 15 percent in 2008. But the battle to sell pizza with technology rages on. Pizza Hut customers can now use their iPhones to place orders, and Papa John’s customers can place orders by texting. With many billions of dollars at stake, all the large national pizza chains will be developing innovative new ways of ordering pizza and participating in its creation.

Answer the Following Questions.

1.     What were the objectives of Domino, and which strategies did the company apply?

2.     Briefly define the IT infrastructure and the enterprise systems of Domino, and describe how did these entities help Domino in understanding of customer’s needs?

3.     Identify and briefly discuss the porter forces that were mentioned through the case, and identify the strategic role Pulse will play for Domino to face the competitive forces?

4.     How could you use the four factors of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology to convince the franchises to adopt Pulse?