MEM 6120

Engineering Management II
Assignment 4

CH 12.

1. How are URLs, domain names, and search engines defined? Use examples to explain the

relationship between them. How can one make use of web pages to promote business?

A URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is a uniform resource identifier whose referred

resources can change, that is, the address can point to variable resources over time. They

are formed by a sequence of characters according to a model and standard format that

designates resources in a network, such as the Internet. The URL is a string of characters

with which a unique address is assigned to each of the information resources available on

the Internet. The URL of an information resource is your Internet address, which allows

the web browser to find it and display it properly. Therefore, the URL combines the name

of the computer that provides the information, the directory where it is located, the name

of the file, and the protocol to be used to recover the data so that no information about

said information is lost. for work.

Choosing the right name for a Web page is a process similar to creating a brand. You

must perfectly understand your company, project or idea. The definition for an Internet

domain is an identification network associated with a group of devices or equipment

connected to the Internet network, on the other hand the domain name will be the brand

with which you represent yourself in the network. For the election of a domain name

must meet the following elements:

- Short: If possible one word, two or three at the most.

- Easy to remember.

- Related to the content of the Web: it is obvious, but sometimes a name can get attention

and then have nothing to do with the Web. The idea is that it relates as much as possible

to the site.

- Keywords that refer to the content: at least, that contains one, the most important.

The domain name can become an ally when it comes to placing your Web portal in the

top positions of the search engines.

The algorithms of the search engines consider (in addition to other factors) the name to

place a certain page in the ranking of the results. A search engine or search engine is, in

general terms, a system in charge of searching files stored on web servers.

To find such files, the search engines use the identification of the keyword used by the

person doing the search and, as a result, the user obtains a list of links that direct to

websites in which the topics related to the search are mentioned. keyword. Search

engines are classified mainly into 3 hierarchical search engines, Directories

and metasearch engines the best example there is of search engine is the famous Google,

and in my particular case I think it is the only one I know.

2. What are the internet, an intranet, and an extranet? How are they being used by numerous

large and small companies today?

The Internet can be defined as a conglomeration of local networks distributed around the

world, with computers that are connected through a specific protocol.

"Computers with internet access can reach web pages, send and receive e-mails and share

files and other information with any other computer around the world," summarizes Jan

Axelson. The Internet, one of the greatest technological advances of humanity, reduces

the distance between people and makes possible unimaginable situations a few years ago.

In other words, "we are all connected to the internet as a neuron in a giant brain,"

according to Stephen Hawking's famous description.

In a company Internet is the basis of communication in the current days, allowing to

transmit any type of file with distant people, almost instantaneously.

The Intranet is also a network of computers, but, while the Internet is open to anyone

with the necessary protocol, an intranet is a space intended for a specific audience, for the

distribution of information of limited use.

In this case, the network connects some computers to each other, using local servers,

without external access. This mode is used to reduce costs, speed up communication and
 ensure more security to the communication, since it is necessary to identify the user and

password to access the network.

The intranet, on the other hand, allows the company to create its own network for internal

and secure distribution, which also tends to reduce expenses. Restrict access and you can

use other protocols for communication.

The Extranet has the same function as an intranet, but allows external access, through the

Internet. The extranet continues to be a closed network limited to a certain group of

people, but it can be accessed from anywhere in the world if the registered user has an

Internet connection. This form also facilitates the interaction between people from the

same group who are separated, using the security offered by an intranet with the freedom

of the internet.

The extranet is useful if you want to expand the relationship of the company with its

customers or if you have a decentralized employee base, with people who act in different

regions and need to communicate daily with each other.

3. What are the standard markup languages used in the design of web pages?

HTML and CSS are the two most basic programming languages and are used to build

almost all websites on the Internet.

 HTML is the standard markup language that structures and formats the contents of the

web. Page elements such as titles, headings, texts and links are included in the HTML

document. It is one of the main technologies used on the Internet and serves as the

backbone of all websites.

The CSS or Cascading Style Sheets is a language of style sheets that basically allow the

developer to "do it and forget it". Along with HTML, CSS allows the programmer to

define how they will look and the format of multiple web pages at the same time;

Elements such as color, design and fonts are specified in this single file that is kept

separate from the central code of the web page.

These two languages provide the basic structure and style information that is used to

create a static web page, a web page that looks the same for everyone who visits it.

4. In implementing a computerized maintenance management system to reduce maintenance

costs, what steps are taken?

A maintenance information system, rather than a software, is a management and

maintenance management methodology that allows companies to obtain results in terms

of:

- Definition of optimal processes

- Standardization of procedures.

- Event analysis.
- Knowledge of the costs.

- Obtaining management indicators.

The maintenance software (CMMS: Computerized Maintenance Management System) of

high level are apparently similar in content, being its difference the depth of information

of some registers and functions, the capacity of support and innovation.

The main component of software for maintenance management is that it is applicable to

any type of company. Have integrated modules for the management of warehouses,

purchases, invoices, and some applications for the management of projects, tools,

budgets, catalogs, plans, management indicators, issuance of reports and control of

authorizations.

The main function of said software is to allow the planning and control of maintenance,

since it must serve as a tool to carry out said processes. The system must work with

shared and interrelated data, which allows the information to flow between different

dependencies in real time. The data entered and stored in the database only once should

be available to any user who has access to the system.

Here are the steps to follow to implement a computerized maintenance management

system and thus reduce maintenance costs:

1. Develop goals and objectives

2. Determine resource needs
3. Involve management
4. Develop the plan
 5. Develop structures and schemes
6. Confirm assets
7. Use the management of change
8. Gather data
9. Data migration
10. Develop work flows and PDFs
11. Create reporting process
12. Training
13. Audit
14. Continuous improvement

5. What is data mining, and how significant is it in generating useful results to support

management decision-making?

Data mining is the set of techniques and technologies that allow us to explore large

databases to find patterns that can provide us with valuable information in making future

decisions. The process of data mining normally has four main stages:

- Determination of the objectives: it deals with the type of information that the client

wants to extract from the database.

- Data processing: we must select, clean, enrich, reduce and transform the database that

the client has given us.

- Determination of the model: choose which algorithm will give us better results, this will

depend a lot on the problem to be solved (classification, regression, segmentation,

association and sequence analysis). 

To solve these problems there are many algorithms to use, the main ones are: association,

clusters, decision tree, linear regression, naive Bayesian classifier, neural network,

sequence clusters and serial temporary.

 - Analysis of the results: Currently this work is being done in many business areas such

as data security, finance, health, marketing, fraud detection, online searches, natural

language processing or new smart cars.

For these reasons, data mining is becoming one of the jobs with the greatest projection

for the future, since it saves large amounts of money for companies and opens new

business opportunities.

6. For the development of software products, the software configuration management

(SCM) process is closely followed as a way to ensure performance and reliability while

controlling costs. Explain what SCM can do and in what ways it is important that both

developers and intended customers insist on SCM.

All the products that we can find in the market come from a long process called Supply

Chain Management (SCM). SCM is the entire life cycle of a product or service, since the

raw materials are purchased to acquire it until it is consumed by the recipient. That is, we

are faced with a system that is composed of different stages, among which are purchases,

supplies, stock management, transportation, etc. In addition, in all these stages that make

up the SCM involved many subjects as suppliers, distributors, manufacturers including

the final customer.

There are different stages throughout the SCM:

Supply: Find out which supplier of raw materials is the best option and buy them.

Production: Use the raw materials to manufacture the product.

Distribution: Distribute the finished product to all the stores where the customer can

acquire it.

These stages are of utmost importance to be carried out in an agile and efficient manner,

since it depends on them that the final consumer is happy with the acquisition of a

product. Therefore, due to the great weight that falls on the SCM, its management is

expected to be excellent.

Nowadays, in the globalized market, companies are forced to generate new ideas to

venture into the environment and obtain a competitive advantage. Due to this, the interest

of the companies is focused on the management of the supply chain, creating value for

the company and the client, focusing primarily on the satisfaction of the client's

expectations.

Supply chain management is emerging as the combination of technology and best

business practices around the world. Companies that have improved their internal

operations are now working to achieve greater savings and benefits by improving the

processes and exchanges of information that occur among business associates.

It encompasses those activities associated with the movement of goods from the supply

of raw materials to the final consumer. This includes selection, purchase, production
 scheduling, order processing, inventory control, storage transportation and customer

service. But, the most important thing is that it also includes the information systems

required to monitor all these activities.

7. Although marketing and sales are not functions of engineering, they have a direct impact

on product development and CRM. Which web-based applications are currently available

to facilitate marketing and sales?

CRM means "Customer Relationship Management". This term refers to a set of practices,

business strategies and technologies focused on customers, ranging from small to large

companies, who use them to manage and analyze interactions with their customers,

anticipate their needs and desires, optimize profitability, and increase sales and the

objectivity of its campaigns to attract new customers.

CRM stores information about current and potential customers (names, addresses,

telephone numbers, etc.), and their activities and points of contact with the company,

which include visits to websites, phone calls, emails and more. But the platform is not

just an elaborate contact list: it gathers and integrates valuable data that helps to prepare

and update teams with personal information of clients, histories and purchasing

preferences.
 The CRM solution is one of the most important and innovative corporate technologies

available to companies thanks to the way it uses customer information to manage

accounts, leads and sales opportunities from a single location.

CRM helps eliminate obsolete processes and manual effort, so your business can grow.

The platform organizes accounts and contacts in an accessible manner, in real time,

accelerating and simplifying the sales process. An example of this is Salesforce.

Salesforce is the innovative company responsible for the # 1 CRM platform in the world.

They have a software based on the cloud, so you do not need a team of IT experts to

configure or manage it; you just have to log in and start using it.

8. The “Design for Lean Six Sigma (DFLSS)” is a methodology known to be particularly

useful for designing new services that are in close alignment with customer and business

needs. Explain the key phases the DFISS methodology goes through.

Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma are different strategies, while Lean Manufacturing

has a productivity-oriented approach, Six Sigma has a focus on reducing variation.

Lean Six Sigma is a new concept, which some specialists define as "Lean Six Sigma is

about continuous, incessant improvement, analysis after analysis, measurement after

measurement and project after project." Lean causes products to move faster through the

process and Six Sigma improves quality. "

The application of the Lean Six sigma methodologies does not exclude other methods of

improvement, it is a function of those responsible for its implementation to complement

them correctly according to the appropriate approach.

Six sigma uses the DMAIC methodology (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control),

which consists of:

- Define: The project to be carried out is defined, generally according to purpose, scope

and results; or depending on the problem, processes and objectives.

- Measure: Data and measurements of the process are obtained. This phase is supported

in value and observation maps. Key aspects, relevant data, should be measured and

documented, considering all the variables and parameters that affect the processes.

- Analyze: In this step the data collected in the measurement becomes information, in this

phase they must be identified from the variables and parameters, the key causes of the

problems.

- Improve: According to the main causes of the problems, the processes must be modified

or redesigned. It is key to involve the personnel that is directly related to the processes,

this is a fundamental step in the continuity of the improvements.

 - Control: It must be verified that the results are sustained, this phase is the principle of

continuous improvement. Improvements in the process must be ensured to sustain

performance levels, in the same way that incremental improvements are adapted over

time.

9. Services are known to have many wates, which, if not removed, will increase costs and

erode service quality, leading to customer dissatisfaction. Name a few of the typical

wastes encountered in service offerings.

- Delays: delays in providing the customers with information, a product, or a service

- Duplication: filling in multiple forms with repeated data

- Unnecessary Movement: unnecessary segmented points of communication.

- Unclear Communication

- Incorrect Inventory:  Products are expired or being out of stock.

- Errors: customer receives the wrong product.

- Opportunity Lost

10. The Lean principle focuses on the improvement of process speed. It is thus particularly

useful to service enterprises, which need to shorten customer response time. Explain the

basic concepts involved in Lean to improve process speed.

The lean manufacturing philosophy seeks to improve and optimize the production

system, trying to eliminate or reduce all activities that do not add value in the production
process. In this way, immediate results are achieved in the productivity, competitiveness

and profitability of the business. It is based on the following production systems:

- Total quality management (TQM): The TQM is one of the foundations of Lean

Manufacturing, initially contributing with its approach to implement a collective

business culture of total commitment to efficiency.

- Just in time (JIT): it is a type of maintenance of inventories to the minimum possible

level where the suppliers deliver just what is necessary at the time necessary to

complete the production process.

- Kaizen: The meaning of the word Kaizen is continuous improvement and this

philosophy consists of several steps that allow us to analyze critical variables of the

production process and seek its improvement on a daily basis with the help of

multidisciplinary teams.

- TOC (Theory of restrictions): is a philosophy of management and supply chain raised

by the doctor in physics Eliyahu Goldratt and popularized from his bestseller "The

Goal".

- Process reengineering: it consists of the fundamental revision and the radical redesign

of processes to achieve improvements in critical and contemporary measures of

performance, such as costs, quality, service and speed.

11. There are two types of web services. The first type offers software applications that are

accessible to human users. The second type provides software applications that can be

accessed by other applications. Explain the basic requirements of building web services

to create applications, which can be accessed by human users.

World Wide Web Consortium defines a web service as: "A web service is a software

system designed to support machine-to-machine interaction, through a network, in an

interoperable way." It has an interface described in a format processable by a computer. ,

through which it is possible to interact with it through the exchange of SOAP messages,

typically transmitted using XML serialization over HTTP in conjunction with other web

standards. "

At the technical level, services can be implemented in several ways. In this sense, we can

distinguish two types of Web services: the so-called "big" Web services ("big" Web

Services), we will call them SOAP Web services, and RESTful Web services.

SOAP Web Services

SOAP Web services, or "big" Web services, use XML messages to intercommunicate

that follow the SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol), an XML language that defines

the architecture and format of messages. These systems usually contain a machine-

readable description of the operations offered by the service, written in WSDL (Web

Services Description Language), which is an XML-based language to define the

interfaces syntactically.
The SOAP message format and the WSDL interface definition language has been greatly

expanded, and many development tools, such as Netbeans, can reduce the complexity of

developing Web services applications.

The design of a SOAP-based service should establish a formal contract to describe the

interface offered by the Web service. WSDL can be used to describe contract details,

which may include messages, operations, bindings, and the location of the Web service.

Non-functional requirements must also be taken into account, such as transactions, the

need to maintain the status (addressing), security and coordination

In this module we are going to talk only in SOAP Web Services.

RESTful Web Services

The RESTful Web Services (Representational State Transfer Web Services) are suitable

for basic ad-hoc integration scenarios. These Web services are usually better integrated

with HTTP than the SOAP-based services, since they do not require XML messages or

service definitions in the form of a WSDL file.

REST Web services use well-known standards such as HTTP, SML, URI, MIME, and

have a "light" infrastructure that allows services to be built using tools in a minimal way.
 Thanks to this, the development of RESTful services is cheap and has very few "barriers"

for its adoption.

CH 13

12. For products intended for global markets, customers’ wants and needs are different from

one market to another. How can a centralized global team build up a product to serve as a

“platform” for the global market?

The design and development of a product in a culture should be done thinking about the

needs of the individuals that make up that society. The diverse cultures and territories that

currently exist in the world are very different. This means that each individual of a

different culture will need different products to meet their needs. There are many factors

that generate these differences between cultures; the weather, the geographical situation

of the territories, the characteristics of the land.

One of the most important things in the globalization process of a product is

standardization and services, the reduction of tariff barriers and economies of scale. The

standardization of products means that they have little or no variation among the different

countries or regions where it is distributed. If a product needs to be modified significantly

to be introduced in another region, it is no longer a standard product.

13. Japanese companies face challenges similar to those faced by U.S. companies in that low-

cost manufacturing capabilities are readily available in such countries as China, India, the

Philippines, and Mexico. How can the Japanese companies plan to deal with these

challenges?

Many of the occasions in which people criticize the effects of globalization, in general,

refer to economic integration. Economic integration occurs when countries reduce their

barriers, such as import tariffs, and open their economies to investment and trade with the

rest of the world. These critics complain that inequalities in the current world trade

system have hurt developing countries at the expense of developed countries.

But for all countries to reap the benefits of globalization, the international community

must continue to work to reduce the distortions in international trade (eliminate

agricultural subsidies and trade barriers) that favor developed countries and create a more

equitable system.

14. It can be argued that democracy and capitalism are concepts that are fundamentally

incompatible with each other. Democracy is built on the principle of equality—one

person, one vote—regardless of the individual's intelligence, wealth, work ethic, or any

other features that may distinguish one individual from another. Capitalism, on the other

hand, fosters inequality. It uses incentive structures to encourage hard work and wise

investment to realize differences in economic returns. Because future income from

investments (in human or physical assets) depends on current income, wealth tends to
generate wealth, and poverty tends to constrain the individual's economic growth. The

cycle is self-reinforcing: success breeds success, and failure compounds failure. "The

economically fit are expected to drive the economically unfit out of existence. Thus, there

are no equalizing feedback mechanisms in capitalism" (Thurow 1997).

What are some of the remedies capitalistic countries have introduced to mitigate such

inequality? Would globalization compound this condition in a capitalistic and democratic

country? Why, or why not?

From its birth to today we must recognize that the capitalist system has achieved an

advance in the production of goods and services as had not been achieved by any other

system before. It is because of this success that their social failure must be borne in mind.

The wealth accumulated in these 250 years of capitalism, has been concentrated in small

areas of the planet, and has improved the living conditions of a small part of humanity.

The vast majority of humanity has not been benefited by the success of capitalist

development.

The culture of globalization is the one that has led to the awareness of many people the

feeling that the problems of hardship in different countries are not alien problems. The

entire broad sector of international cooperation carried out by individuals and private

organizations, also by the States themselves, is the sign of this new culture that does not

fit into the classic decision making models of capitalism. The strictly capitalist decision-

making models that seek only and only the maximization of profit and the minimization

of risk, are unable to resolve the imbalance between developed and undeveloped

countries. The culture of globalization leads us to an overcoming of values traditional

 capitalism. Globalization is claiming to include values such as solidarity, the equal

distribution of wealth, justice and ecology in decision-making models. It is from the point

of view of globalization that the insufficiencies of the capitalist saving and investment

model are being highlighted.

15. Globalization, which causes the countries involved to become more interconnected,

clearly has tremendous social and political implications. It also has a cultural dimension

to it, due to worldwide communications that facilitate the global connections. Cultural

globalization may lead to a more civic global society with a greater consensus on civic

values. It may also diminish the rich diversity of human civilization, as the Asian,

Islamic, South American, and other non-Western values become increasingly generic.

For many, the preservation of distinct cultural traditions is a very serious matter.

Is globalization a form of Western imperialism that may homogenize non-Western

values? Why or why not? Can homogenization be avoided or mitigated?

With globalization, the only countries in position to determine the rules are those that

control the world trade organizations and the international financial institutions. Those

above set the rules for those others below. The unequal application of trade rules is the

result of the imperialist nature of capitalist globalization.

The concrete conditions in which globalization occurred made possible the strengthening

of transnational financial capital and the consolidation of its economic and political

dominion over the other classes and social sectors within the imperialist powers, and the
 appearance of a neo-colonial phase of subordination, of plunder and looting of these on

the other countries of the world.

Imperialism is not a stage, not even the highest stage of capitalism. From the beginning it

is inherent in the expansion of capitalism. The imperialist conquest of the planet by the

Europeans and their American children, was carried out in two phases, and perhaps is

entering the third.

I really do not know if it is a form of Western imperialism, but what I am clear about is

that it is a form of imperialism. Because thanks to globalization many countries have had

to open their doors to things totally new to them as culture and other things, in many

cases they have adopted or accepted things that are against their beliefs or customs only

to not be isolated from the rest of the world.

16. During the new century, increased flows of products, services, technologies, capital, and

workers across national borders will affect the economical, social, and political life of

everyone involved. The UN is expected to play a critical role in this increasingly dynamic

environment. In your opinion, what should be the major missions of the UN in addressing

these issues?

According to the website of the UN where they talk about three mega trends that will

affect our future says that with the changes so violent and rapid introduced by technology

and the increase in the movement of goods, services, capital and work as a motor, to Over
the last decades, globalization has changed economies, societies and natural means and

has connected the world more than ever.

Globalization and greater economic interdependence have correlated, and allowed, rapid

economic growth in many countries and regions. Even so, it has also involved

considerable challenges, among which is an unbalanced distribution of its costs and

benefits.

"To ensure that globalization serves as a lever for economic growth and sustainable

development, it is necessary to analyze the current system, as well as the trends that are

emerging, to find policies and solutions that address them," said Liu Zhenmin, Assistant

Secretary General UN DESA, at the time of presenting the new report of the Secretary

General "To fulfill the promise of globalization: to promote sustainable development in

an interconnected world".

The first trend refers to the impact that changes in production have had on labor markets.

These trends in labor markets are associated with high rates of income inequality, an

aspect that has increased in a majority of the countries of the world.

The second mega trend is closely linked to the first and has to do with the rapid

development and progress of new technologies, including information and

communications and artificial intelligence, which have also affected the world of work.
The third mega globalization trend and its effects on climate change are emerging. The

report highlights that many of the trends are closely related to globalization, including

economic activity, changes in lifestyle and urbanization, all have their impact on the

environment and can contribute to climate change.