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85 Chapter 3: Achieving Competitive Advantage with Information Systems INTERACTIVE SESSION: TECHNOLOGY Auto Makers Become Software Companies minimize highway congestion. The system would also As the smartphone market continues to expand, require an industry standard, which does not exist another industry has begun getting "smarter" with as of yet. Ford has doubled its investment in vehicle- Software and apps: the automobile industry. Ford, to-vehicle communication technologies and BMW BMW. and other automobile companies are enhancing is also continuing to develop ways for vehicles to their vehicles with on-board software that improves the communicate with one another on the road to avoid customer experience, and the auto industry is working on technology that will allow cars to be managed via collisions. With the inclusion of software in their cars, the cloud. automakers are entering uncharted territory. They Automakers are finding that software is a way of must now devote resources to updating and testing adding more "value" and freshness to their products their software, as well as establishing ways to without having to invest so heavily in new vehicle provide the updated software to their customers. Car production. It takes Ford Motor Company, for exam- companies need to coordinate their car development ple, about two and one-half years to plan, design, and build a new car. Design and production, including cycles more closely with their software development cycles. Also, many of the technologies included in metal stamping equipment and assembly line setup. must be finalized long before the car rolls off the automobile software packages raise the same privacy line. But the auto makers can create a new software concerns surrounding location tracking that have interface for a car within months and update it again often plagued smartphone manufacturers and app and again over the life of the car without much lead developers. time. This enables Ford and other auto makers to sig- Ford is grappling with the best way to roll out nificantly improve the driving experience and add software upgrades to its customers. The company new features to cars years after they are built. has been mailing USB sticks to 250,000 customers Ford is perhaps the automaker doing the most whose cars have an advanced touchscreen control to innovate with software and apps. Its MyFord panel running the MyFord Touch interface. The Touch interface is an in-dash touchscreen available stick contains a software upgrade that will improve for select vehicles with controls for navigation. navigation controls, the music and phone features, music, phone integration, and temperature. Ford as well as the ability to control car temperature. The has upgraded this interface and the Sync software upgrade also contains code that will upgrade system behind the interface, adding tablet and smartphone speed and improve the interface based on common integration and better voice response. In 2010 criticisms from Ford owners. Ford added support for the online music streaming Although Ford says it plans to continue issuing service Pandora, which is very popular among software upgrades this way, the company hopes that young potential buyers. This update enables drivers customers will get into the habit of checking the Ford to connect their tablets and smartphones to the Sync Web site for software upgrades on their own. Though system to access music and other apps using voice most car owners are used to the technology in their commands. cars remaining constant throughout the life of the car, Chairman Bill Ford Jr. has championed the use of newer cars are poised to change all of that. software to alleviate urban congestion by investing in Ford has hired "human-machine interface technology that responds to the problems created by engineers," whose job is to analyze how their traffie in the biggest cities. Theoretically, technology customers interact with the software in their cars. might help cars to avoid traffic jams, recommend Often, these engineers use customer feedback to make routes that drivers feel more comfortable with, reserve changes to the software. Customers complained that parking spaces in advance and possibly to even drive too much information was available on each screen themselves. To manage vehicles in this way, cars need to be of the interface, so Ford moved the most commonly connected to some kind of central system, which would used features to more prominent positions on screen coordinate with public transit and other transportation and increased their font size, relegating the rest to methods, and to do this, cars need to be equipped submenus. Feedback has been positive. Ford has also with software that can monitor and enhance vehicle asked dealers to dedicate more time and personnel to function at the most basic levels. The eventual system hands-on technology training to help customers master its interface. would require that cars feed increasing amounts of information to systems whose purpose would be to GM. Daimler, and other companies are all developing new features for their cars that operate aus der represents a coprnight violation raccontots som od 1930 fathed on 12312025. Use yond the autho ubscription de 86 Part 1: Information Systems in the Digital Age online in the cloud. Users will be able to remotely track their cars (you'll never forget where you parked again and diagnose problems with the car, such as low tire pressure or the need for an oil change. Corporations will be able to track employee use of company cars by interpreting car sensors and engine readouts. Manufacturers will be able to aggregate and analyze the data from customers' cars to identify quality problems and, if necessary, quickly issue recalls. Just as with apps, the possibilities are limited only by the imagination of automakers. GM will allow its app developers to access its computer systems to improve app function, which raises a familiar set of privacy concerns. Auto analysts believe that automakers will make mistakes as they learn how to properly handle sensitive customer data and to provide robust privacy options. On the other hand, automakers are hoping that younger customers who have grown up using Facebook are less likely to care about privacy, and features that collect highly targeted information about a car's location and driving habits. BMW is also investing a whopping $100 million in mobile apps, hoping to market them to their customers as "premium services." Some analysts are skeptical of the decision to invest that much money. but BMW believes that mobile apps will become an increasingly attractive selling point for customers of its BMWi electric and hybrid cars. Although the future of cars sharing information with other nearby cars is still years away, automakers are excited by the possibilities afforded by smart software and apps. Sources: Jaclyn Trop. Tired of Silicon Valley? Try Motor City." The New York Tunes, July 1, 2017: lan Scherr and Mike Rawisey. "Drive into the Future." The Wall Street Journal. March 11. 2017: Michelle Marsta. "Ford Gogle Facebook Team Up to Reconsider Mobility. Weck, March 28, 2013. Ian Sherr "Cars Pump Up IQ To Get Edge." The Wall Street Journal January 13, 2012: Chris Murphy, 4 Way Ford Is Exploring Next Gen Car Tech Information Weck. July 27, 2012: Mike Ramsey. "Avoiding Gridlock with Smart Autos," The Wall Street Journal. February 27, 2012. Joseph B. White, New Driver's Ed: Tutors to Decode High Tech Dashboards." The Wall Street Journal. May 8. 2012: and Chris Murphy, "Ford is Now a Software Company Information Week. November 28, 2011: and "Why BMW Suddenly Loves Mobile Apps." Information Week. March 2. 2011 CASE STUDY QUESTIONS 1. How is software adding value to automakers' products? 2. How are the automakers benefiting from software-enhanced cars? How are customers benefiting? 3. What value chain activities are involved in enhancing cars with software? 4. How much of a competitive advantage is software providing for automakers? Explain your answer. Extending the Value Chain: The Value Web Figure 3.2 shows that a firm's value chain is linked to the value chains of its suppliers, distributors, and customers. After all, the performance of most firms depends not only on what goes on inside a firm but also on how well the firm coordinates with direct and indirect suppliers, delivery firms (logistics partners, such as FedEx or UPS), and, of course, customers. How can information systems be used to achieve strategic advantage at the industry level? By working with other firms, industry participants can use information technology to develop industry-wide standards for exchanging information or business transactions electronically, which force all market participants to subscribe to similar standards. Such efforts increase efficiency, making product substitution less likely and perhaps raising entry costs--thus discouraging new entrants. Also, industry members can build industry-wide, IT-supported consortia, symposia, and communications networks to coordinate activities concerning government agencies, foreign competition, and competing industries. Looking at the industry value chain encourages you to think about how to use information systems to link up more efficiently with your suppliers, strategic partners, and customers. Strategic advantage derives from your ability to relate your value chain to the value chains of other partners in the process. For instance, if you are Amazon.com, you would want to build systems that Make it easy for suppliers to display goods and open stores on the Amazon site Make it easy for customers to pay for rends
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QN 1. How is software adding value to automakers’ products?
Through the inbuilt software, customers' experience is enhanced and also cars are able to be
auto-managed through the cloud. For instance, it takes Ford Motor Company two and a half
years to plan, design and build a new car when not using any inbuilt software. Besides, the
design and production process, inclusive of metal stamping equipment and assembly line setup,
must be finished long before the car is ready to be sold. However, with the aid of the software,
updating a car, again and again, becomes an easy task to the automakers.
QN 2. How are the aut...


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