The Good, Bad and Ugly of the IoT
The Internet of Things, shortened as IoT, could possibly be the mascot of the appropriately named Industry 4.0. However, according to high-profile technologists such as Don DeLoach, it could be a double-edged sword.
On serious reflection, the first revolution is a slovenly edition of the current revolution. The Industry 4.0 is a blessing and disaster in equal measure.
The Good
For starters, the IoT is a technological development proposed by the Internet of Things Institute (IoTI). It will enhance our daily activities with Internet connection, facilitating data communications.
First, the Internet of Things bodes well for the latter-day global challenges. How? This includes global warming and strained resources? Over the next two decades, it’s predicted that the global population will increase by 2 billion people. To feed the extra mouths, the farm output has the ability to increase thanks to innovation enabled by the IoT. What’s more, farmers will cash in on better agricultural prospects.
Second, IoT oriented technology has the power to improve global security, enhance healthcare services, and boost the global bread baskets. The Internet of Things has brought about advanced security systems. For instance, the gunfire locator; by using sensors such as acoustic and optical and via geographic information system, this can pinpoint the location of a gunfire incident. These security apparatus can be applied in urban centers to help standby security personnel act and react to such gunfire.
Third, improving care services; the technology breakthrough facilitated by the IoT can be handy in overseeing the welfare of old people and enable medical professionals to get in touch with and distantly liaise with the sick.
FYI, the IoT sector is still in its formative stage. However, it will develop like the way the introduction of smartphones in the market has seen an influx of apps.
The Bad and the Ugly
The Internet of Things Institute has a flip side. The first one is cyber insecurity. There are cyber attacks taking advantage of the loopholes in the IoT. For example, unauthorized people with ill-will can ably get access to government communication platforms and spread propaganda.
Second, a hacker can get unauthorized access to a warehouse containing explosive materials and program them to explode simultaneously. DeLoach opines that this can be catastrophic, especially if terrorists take advantage of the complexity of the Internet of Things.
Third is vulnerability; over the past few years, for example, organizations in the Internet of Things sector confident of their hitherto secure innovations have dared hackers to hack into their systems; the easiness with which the hackers did it questions the security of the systems.
Fourth, lack of privacy; the great quantity of data gathered through the Internet of Things innovations can easily lead to privacy intrusion. Fifth, there is the possibility of business rivalry among the companies providing IoT related services. Lastly, social media platforms can take advantage of the IoT to ignite uprisings.
To sum it up, there’s great unexploited potential in the IoT but stakeholders can be doomed and damned.
Workplace Safety: Cutting Down Catastrophe
In as much as the business gurus might have convinced us of the benefits of tackling our working life with a battlefield mindset, it still stands to reason that nobody would consider a cracked spine ‘all in a day’s work’, nor should they ever. Today’s litigious society has made the aftermath cost (medical bills, court fees, and general disruption) of preventable workplace accidents almost negligible when viewed in comparison with the cost of investing in preventative measures. Here are some tried and true suggestions you would always do well to implement.
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Knowing is half the battle
Workplace safety training and education should be a cornerstone of every organizational personnel doctrine. A well-formulated safety manual should read like a do-it-yourself guide; simple, straightforward, and explicitly clear, not leaving any room for personal interpretation. Training exercises should be undertaken regularly just to ensure everyone on the team understands and internalizes the instructions therein.
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No autopilot
In a good number of court disputes resulting from workplace incidences and accidents, the classic defense on the employer’s part has been to attribute the accident to the employee’s absent-mindedness, or general lack of awareness. As flimsy a defense as it may seem, being inherently difficult to prove one way or another, it raises a pertinent and valid aspect of workplace safety – the employee’s presence of mind.
Depending on the industry and workplace settings, various methods have been employed in efforts to aid employees in maintaining high levels of awareness and engagement as they go about their tasks; shorter but more frequent breaks; rotation of duties to forestall repetition-induced fatigue; standing workstations; background music and various other measures. The goal simply is to have workers’ minds constantly and consistently present and alert.
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Talk it out
A healthy communication culture is the hallmark of every successful organizational setup. Safety-wise, this comes into play in a big way. Whenever someone spots a colleague infringing upon one of the safety directives, it should be automatically communicated to them in a manner that would contribute to the overall safety of everyone involved, regardless of the respective positions of the parties involved.
A workplace safety culture should treat the entire organization as one body – injury to the most minor of functionaries will interfere with the operations of the entire body, and may be severe enough to destroy the entire organism.
Workplace safety is a perennially sore topic in the world of business. The demoralizing effects of injuries befalling colleagues in the workforce have long been acknowledged and this makes investments of time and resources in their prevention infinitely worthwhile. It’s just good business.
All Together Now: The 3-Screens Strategy in Marketing
If you find yourself, on occasion, having your smartphone in hand, your laptop computer running before you, while your Television screen works a few feet away, then congratulations – you’re officially a three-screener! It may seem a rather dubious distinction but have no fear, there’s nothing negative to it, especially from a business point of view.
The multi-screen generation
Adults of ages ranging between 18 and 64, who regularly make use of a TV, smartphone, and computer and who also use their computer, smartphone, or gaming console to access the Internet 2-3 times a week are considered to make up the multi-screen generation. It’s reliably estimated that 33 million Americans with access to the Internet fall into this category.
This segment of the population is more often than not better educated and has a higher rate of employment than the rest of the general public falling within the same age range. More to the point, they have the disposable income to acquire these gadgets and the know how to have them all running in sync. They spend 54 hours a week on average doing something or other on media devices.
In marketing terms, this demographic has the label Multi-Screen Consumers, and it should be clear by now why they represent such a high-value target demographic.
The three-screen marketing strategy
Due to the fact that this group is more sophisticated and affluent, your marketing strategies need to mirror this reality and match up to their expectations. The Three-Screen Strategy is tailor-made for their particular quirks.
Constant and seamless customer intimacy is the overriding aim of this method. The kind of thing potential consumers might not know they need – until they have it – will successfully draw them towards your service without putting them off your offers considering them intrusions; product details showing up on your phone with a tap of the advert displayed on the TV; in-car consoles that alert you when you’re driving by an outlet selling collectible CDs of the artist at the top of your most played list, and the like.
Convergent media
The convenience of converging media presents a unique opportunity that may only be taken advantage of by those who figure out ways to make their products and services relevant and accessible across the various available platforms.
It isn’t an easy undertaking by any stretch of the imagination because this tech-savvy group knows all the tricks, and is thus less likely to fall for the traditional click-bait and pop-up traps that have worked over the years. You’ll have to really work for it, but it’s oh so worth it.
Succession Planning to Build a Lasting Business
Human nature is such that when we experience something good, we forget there’s a possibility of something bad happening. For example, when we’re in the perfect relationship, we don’t think of or plan for a break up. Similarly, when it comes to a business, people are so busy trying to make it successful, they don’t plan for a day when they won’t be around to run it anymore. Even if it seems unnecessary and retirement is a long way away, it is important to map out a business succession plan. There are many unexpected scenarios like divorce, disability and death that require a company to have a succession plan in place.
Before developing a business succession plan, be sure to consider the following:
Choosing a successor
Those who run a family business actually have a more complicated decision to make than many think. If the owner has more than one child who wants the role, emotions and ego can be at stake. If the owner has children who don’t want anything to do with his or her company, he needs to identify someone in the company to carry the business forward. Regardless of what the case is, there are steps in place to selecting a successor.
1.) Evaluate each potential successor’s strengths and weaknesses to assess if they are fit to fill your shoes.
2.) Make a plan for those who will eventually take over leadership and ensure they are experienced enough to succeed. In a family business, there will also be estate and inheritance tax issues to be resolved.
3.) If selling to a business partner, be sure to have a buy-sell agreement to create the financial structure for your exit.
Business valuation
If your company is privately held, a valuation should be conducted through certified appraisal or by an arbitrary agreement between partners as to how the business will be valued.
Business transfer methods
Cross-purchase agreements and entity-purchase agreements are the two most common ways of transferring business ownership.
1.) Cross-purchase agreement – Every partner in the company buys and owns a life insurance policy on other partners. Also, each partner is named as both owner and beneficiary on the same policy. If one partner dies, the policies are paid out to the remaining partners. The proceeds are then used to purchase the dead partner’s shares in the business at a formerly agreed-upon price.
2.) Entity-purchase agreement – The business purchases a life insurance policy on each partner and is named the owner and beneficiary for each policy. In case a partner dies, the business uses the proceeds to purchase the decedent’s shares. With this arrangement, the cost of the policies are usually deductible.
Self-Driving Cars: Save the Passenger and Run Over the Pedestrian?
The looming entry of emerging technologies like self-driving cars in the automotive industry will most likely reduce road fatalities but also poses a difficult moral dilemma. If your car has to make a choice, will it hit pedestrians on the road or veer off the road and put your life in danger?
The big challenge
An autonomous driving system requires programmers to develop an algorithm to make crucial decisions and funny enough, these will be based on ethics rather than on technology. According to a study, whose findings were released and published in the journal Science last week, figuring out how to build ethical self-driven cars is one of the biggest challenge in Artificial Intelligence.
Not all crashes can be avoided
With autonomous vehicles, you can expect a reduction in air pollution plus a host of other social benefits. In fact, the study was keen to point out that adoption of these cars will eliminate up to 89% of traffic accidents witnessed today. However, not all can be avoided. For instance, the autonomous vehicle (hereby abbreviated as an AV) may avoid hitting several pedestrians by swerving and hitting a passerby or it may be faced with the tough choice of sacrificing its own passenger in order to save the lives of many.
What’s your take?
When a number of people were asked about what they thought about AVs and the ethical decisions they had to make, they (people) responded in different ways. 3 in every 4 people said it would be more ethical for the car to sacrifice its passenger rather than hit 10 pedestrians. 19% said they would buy a self-driven car if it meant that a loved one might be sacrificed for the ‘greater good’. What’s your take on this? Do you think that regulation of the automotive industry with emphasis on autonomous vehicles will be the solution?
How to Spot Technology Trends
The article explains how to determine the technologies that will be popularly used in the future. Right technology forecast is achieved based on analysis of important technology factors. These factors include qualitative and quantitative data, adoption level, and technology type.
Qualitative and quantitative data
Quantitative information forecasts the level of technology based on statistical analysis. The increase in the sales volume of a technology product or service implies that the demand for the product is increasing. However, an increase in sales may indicate diminishing returns. It is thus necessary to determine the areas of technology improvements that customers prefer. Qualitative information is required to determine the future market conditions carefully. Diminishing return is shown statistically using the S-curve graph. The curve is understood by analyzing three issues. These issues are technology improvement that is not clearly understood, technology that is better understood hence performance easily improves, and technology at the limit where investments generate fewer performance returns.
Adoption level
Technology that is adopted quickly is desirable to investors. However, these technologies have a tendency of expiring or reaching their limits quickly. The quick take off of the technology is mainly because of the huge marketing budget that is financed by venture capitalists. Technologies with fast adoption rates are unsustainable and, therefore, generate minimal long-term returns. The adoption rate is influenced by the level of quantitative and qualitative information. Technology adoption is also influenced by trust. Old technology is preferred because it has been tried. The new technology generates resistance because it involves changes.
Technology type
Closed source technology is favored more than open source technology because it is expertly controlled and promoted. The technology also attracts huge investments for people or organizations that have an interest in its management. Open source technologies are affordable and easily adopted by organizations. However, open technologies are not centrally managed, and this results in fragmentation and incompatibility of information. There is no incentive for investments because of the fragmentation. Hybrid technology is the best option because it combines both closed and open source technologies. Android is a type of hybrid technology because it has intellectual property and allows free usage.
A Stitch in Time: The Implementation of Andon
Andon, adopted from the Japanese, is used in the manufacturing industry to refer to a communication system that makes use of visual and/or audio cues to notify all people of interruptions, abnormalities or general problems requiring attention in the manufacture processes.
Within the Lean and Six Sigma context, it has an evolved connotation. Here, it is manifested as a Help chain, efficiently ensuring the stability of your organizational processes by channeling assistance and support to problem areas effectively and in good time. This gives supervisory roles increased freedom to concentrate their energies on problem-solving rather than monitoring activities. Doubtless, it’s a valuable system to have in place, whatever the field of operation.
These are the essential steps and focus points towards building up an effective Andon system of your own:
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Consensus
All involved must have a basic understanding and agreement on what exactly would constitute a problem or aberration requiring attention. For example, should a colleague believe a report is in good time if completed two days before it’s due while you think it should be ready one week beforehand, the resultant conflict effectively renders Andon pointless.
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Well-defined parameters
Help chain triggering parameters refer to established milestones and reference points embedded into the very tasks or project processes allowing for the ready identification of obstacles and hold-ups. These mechanisms may be as simple as setting a time limit to how long inter-office e-mails are allowed to go unanswered.
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Universally understood signaling
Good Andon systems allow for the communication of a problem’s severity, thus determining efficiently the response levels called for. In office environments, e-mail notifications and daily group meetings are effective ways of keeping track of all the various functions in action.
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First responders
Rather than have every issue automatically sent up the chain of command, your system should allow for a worker’s discretion such as in instances whereby a colleague has handled an issue similar in nature to the one in question. This fosters cohesiveness among peers while allowing the higher-ups to focus on new problems.
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Clarity in response
The nature of the response that your Andon triggers should be consistent and predictable in order to eliminate any possible anxieties workers may experience regarding their workplace comfort and job security. Remember, the objective is to smooth out your operations, not to seek out candidates for punishment. Making this clear to all staff will make it possible to implement Andon with maximum benefit.
How Amazon Tricks You into Buying
Amazon is one of the most popular and successful online retailers in the world. It has always been the first choice for many looking for particular products. The question thus becomes, how has Amazon been able to maintain being in the top spot despite the emergence of other similar online retailers? The answer is pretty simple. It is all about using strategies that involve various marketing tactics meant to attract a huge number of customers. They are as follows.
Price Comparison
This is a marketing tactic Amazon uses whereby the prices of the most popular products are low and the prices of the less popular products are high. If for instance a flat screen digital television costs $350, Amazon would consistently price them under the competition and the television could cost as low as $250 which is well below other competitive retailers. What the buyer does not realize is the prices for the accessories that come with the television like cables which are less popular go up and a shopper might end up paying more than the initial price of $350.
Free Shipping Offers
If you think free shipping is actually free on Amazon, then you are in for a surprise. Amazon Prime Membership costs $99 annually and it guarantees a two day free shipping and two hour delivery in certain areas. Amazon needs to recover that lost cost and they do so for instance by getting customers to increase the number of items in their shopping carts. Customers are also persuaded to pay extra for the Prime Membership in order to get better “benefits”.
Kindle Promotions
Amazon Kindle customers spend more money in comparison with non-Kindle owners. They also buy expensive items in addition to being frequent shoppers. The amount spend for Kindle owners per year is $1450 compared to $725 from non-Kindle owners.
To conclude, these are the tricks that have made Amazon become a multi-million empire. It is also convenient and reliable hence customers feel more at ease shopping from this website.