From owner-innovation-list@NewsScan.Com Tue Jul 4 15:45:59 1995
Subject: INNOVATION, 3 July 1995

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


TRENDS


STRATEGIES


INNOVATIONS


>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>TRENDS


TICKETLESS TRAVEL

Several airlines are experimenting with ticketless travel, hoping to cut down on paperwork and passenger lines, and now Southwest Airlines is beginning a "ticketless baggage check" service. Passengers will be able to check their bags at the curb, with luggage handlers verifying their flight information using hand-held computers. The passenger is then issued a receipt which is turned in at the gate to receive a boarding pass. Southwest hopes to allow customers to book their ticketless flights themselves over the Internet later this year. (Investor's Business Daily 6/28/95 A16)


VANITY E-MAIL ADDRESSES

It had to happen sooner or later. Now instead of vanity plates, there are vanity e-mail addresses. Small companies that want to appear big and important can now pay American Information Systems $100 to $200 a year per alias for the prestige of a custom e-mail address. "It makes it look as if you have your own server," says one subscriber. After you choose an Internet domain of your choice (yourcompany.com), AIS then intercepts your messages and routes them from and to any e-mail carrier, making them appear as if they come from joeblow@yourcompany.com. (Inc. Technology, No.2 '95 p.19)


CARTOON POLITICIANS GETTING ANIMATED

As the market for political cartooning dwindles because newspapers have either gone out of business or started relying on syndicated rather than local cartoonists, Detroit News cartoonist Larry Wright says that the "flat, dead tree cartooning" is on the way out, and artists will design computer-animated cartoons for transmission over the Internet. "Why not? If the technology's there, why shouldn't a cartoonist change his thinking about the concept of a cartoon?" Remember, person who created "The Simpsons" was a political cartoonists who couldn't place his work in mainstream newspapers. (New York Times 7/3/95 p.27)


JOB-MORPHING

Now there's more job-morphing than job-hopping, as employees learn to rapidly adjust their work skills to accommodate the changing workplace. In fact, the term is included in a new dictionary produced by Cambridge Human Resource Group Inc. (Wall Street Journal 6/29/95 A1)


IT'S A TABLOID WORLD

As the mainstream press becomes increasingly tabloid in style and focus, it's interesting to learn that the success of tabloids such as the National Enquirer is achieved largely by focusing relentlessly on the reader. The Enquirer sells more than 85% of each week's issue at the newsstands rather than by subscription, and the newspaper's editor-in-chief says: "This is almost the purest form of democracy. Every single week people are voting with their pocketbook." What this means is that the Enquirer's benchmark for attention is when "fifty percent of the population wants to read about someone. A critical mass." That's bad news for trend setters ("innovators," if you will), because the mass audience doesn't want to hear too much about wannabes. An Enquirer insider says: We don't give a f___ if you're up-and-coming. We care about you if you're there." And the newspaper's receptionist answers the phone brightly: "National Enquirer -- celebrity or noncelebrity?" (CJR, Columbia Journalism Review, p.33)


THE RISE OF THE PROJECT MANAGER

While middle management is heading toward extinction, there's a new breed of worker on the rise -- the project manager. "Project management is going to be huge in the next decade. The project manager is the linchpin in the horizontal/vertical organizations we're creating," says a partner at Price Waterhouse. While automation and worker empowerment has replaced day-to-day management in many organizations, there still needs to be some oversight, and that's where the project manager comes in -- "Everything has become projects," says Fannie May's CIO. (Fortune 7/10/95 p.179)


THE BUSINESS OF GAME THEORY

Game theory, developed in the mid-1940s, is coming into vogue as a practical business tool, thanks to the widespread use of computers today. The point is to score more points by anticipating the reaction of your competitor to your next move, and then build that reaction into your decision making process. The theory discourages competition just for the sake of it, focusing on cooperation when necessary to avoid no-win situations. The biggest demonstration of game theory in action was this past fall, during the FCC's PCS licensing auctions. The bidding process called for open bids, so that every player was allowed to see what the competitors were offering. The rounds continued until there were no higher bids for each license. Even those who came away empty-handed had a good time: "Craig McCaw thought he was playing Nintendo. He was having the time of his life," says the CEO of AirTouch. (Forbes 7/3/95 p.62)


TECHNOLOGY PRICING: IF YOU BUILD IT WILL THEY PAY?

In marketing high-tech products, sellers have to confront the fact that product features will continue being added at the same time that product prices will continue to fall. In view of the interdynamics of price and features, what high-tech product managers need to do is to plan market strategies that will allow price and technology to meet -- but not exceed customer -- expectations, and to use continuous improvement so that product development efforts lead customer expectations rather than confuse them. ("A High-Tech Product Market Share Model With Customer Expectations," Marketing Science 14:1 1995 p.61)


COMPUTERS YOU CAN TALK TO

The manufacturing and product processing industries are finding they can save a bundle and get better results by using computers that workers can talk to. Boeing Co. uses handheld computers equipped with voice recognition technology in its receiving and warehouse operations. Whereas workers used to hand-write information on incoming parts which was then transcribed by a data entry clerk, now they just say the name of the part, and are prompted for the rest of the information, such as the purchase order number, the part number, quantity, etc. The system repeats each response to make sure it's got it right. Meanwhile, Lenox Co. has automated its china quality-assurance system by allowing inspectors to record each piece's unit number, description, defect and disposition (pass, sell as second, destroy), by voice. "To get the kind of detail we're getting from our Dragon system, we'd probably need to double the number of inspectors we have now," says the company's PC support manager. "Even that wouldn't give us all the other benefits, like eliminating errors." (Information Week 7/3/95 p.47)


BUYER SEEKING COMMITMENT FROM WILLING SELLER

Marketing professor Eugene Fram says that his survey of randomly selected buying personnel from consumer and industrial firms discovered that buyers were less interested in getting prices than in dealing with sellers they could really communicate with. The secret of a successful purchasing partnership seems to be developing a relationship in which buyers perceive that they are receiving "more attention" from the supplier, resulting in the supplier becoming more familiar with the customer's operations. (Marketing Management, Summer'95, 4:1 p.49)


STYLES OF LEARNING IN A "LEARNING ORGANIZATION"

Starting from the premise that a firm is a "learning organization," Australian economic Pascal Tremblay says a firm's "organizational capital" is its investment in a learning strategy and thinks that the particular learning strategy adopted by a firm defines the firm's boundaries. Organizations will invest in a small number of similar activities or will attempt to successfully exploit the coordination of dissimilar activities. So the question is (as always): what business are you really in? -- and the learning strategy you choose will be your answer, because as you increase your mastery of one type of learning strategy, you tend to lose the ability to shift to the other type. Tremblay says that there is an ongoing strain within organizations between the desire to maintain coherent learning strategies by specializing in a single form of organizational capital, and the need for flexibility. One solution to the latter requirement: dividing your organization into parts, each part using a different type of learning strategy. ("The Organizational Assets of the Learning Firm," Human Systems Management, 14 1995 p.7)


>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>STRATEGIES


THE BUSINESS OF GAME THEORY

Game theory, developed in the mid-1940s, is coming into vogue as a practical business tool, thanks to the widespread use of computers today. The point is to score more points by anticipating the reaction of your competitor to your next move, and then build that reaction into your decision making process. The theory discourages competition just for the sake of it, focusing on cooperation when necessary to avoid no-win situations. The biggest demonstration of game theory in action was this past fall, during the FCC's PCS licensing auctions. The bidding process called for open bids, so that every player was allowed to see what the competitors were offering. The rounds continued until there were no higher bids for each license. Even those who came away empty-handed had a good time: "Craig McCaw thought he was playing Nintendo. He was having the time of his life," says the CEO of AirTouch. (Forbes 7/3/95 p.62)


TECHNOLOGY PRICING: IF YOU BUILD IT WILL THEY PAY?

In marketing high-tech products, sellers have to confront the fact that product features will continue being added at the same time that product prices will continue to fall. In view of the interdynamics of price and features, what high-tech product managers need to do is to plan market strategies that will allow price and technology to meet -- but not exceed customer -- expectations, and to use continuous improvement so that product development efforts lead customer expectations rather than confuse them. ("A High-Tech Product Market Share Model With Customer Expectations," Marketing Science 14:1 1995 p.61)


COMPUTERS YOU CAN TALK TO

The manufacturing and product processing industries are finding they can save a bundle and get better results by using computers that workers can talk to. Boeing Co. uses handheld computers equipped with voice recognition technology in its receiving and warehouse operations. Whereas workers used to hand-write information on incoming parts which was then transcribed by a data entry clerk, now they just say the name of the part, and are prompted for the rest of the information, such as the purchase order number, the part number, quantity, etc. The system repeats each response to make sure it's got it right. Meanwhile, Lenox Co. has automated its china quality-assurance system by allowing inspectors to record each piece's unit number, description, defect and disposition (pass, sell as second, destroy), by voice. "To get the kind of detail we're getting from our Dragon system, we'd probably need to double the number of inspectors we have now," says the company's PC support manager. "Even that wouldn't give us all the other benefits, like eliminating errors." (Information Week 7/3/95 p.47)


BUYER SEEKING COMMITMENT FROM WILLING SELLER

Marketing professor Eugene Fram says that his survey of randomly selected buying personnel from consumer and industrial firms discovered that buyers were less interested in getting prices than in dealing with sellers they could really communicate with. The secret of a successful purchasing partnership seems to be developing a relationship in which buyers perceive that they are receiving "more attention" from the supplier, resulting in the supplier becoming more familiar with the customer's operations. (Marketing Management, Summer'95, 4:1 p.49)


STYLES OF LEARNING IN A "LEARNING ORGANIZATION"

Starting from the premise that a firm is a "learning organization," Australian economic Pascal Tremblay says a firm's "organizational capital" is its investment in a learning strategy and thinks that the particular learning strategy adopted by a firm defines the firm's boundaries. Organizations will invest in a small number of similar activities or will attempt to successfully exploit the coordination of dissimilar activities. So the question is (as always): what business are you really in? -- and the learning strategy you choose will be your answer, because as you increase your mastery of one type of learning strategy, you tend to lose the ability to shift to the other type. Tremblay says that there is an ongoing strain within organizations between the desire to maintain coherent learning strategies by specializing in a single form of organizational capital, and the need for flexibility. One solution to the latter requirement: dividing your organization into parts, each part using a different type of learning strategy. ("The Organizational Assets of the Learning Firm," Human Systems Management, 14 1995 p.7)


>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>INNOVATIONS


DISTANCE DINING?

Now you can have a coast-to-coast power lunch. IBM and TelePort Corp. will build 600 virtual dining rooms where you can join your colleagues in distant cities for a meal -- the tables are a large half circle butted up against a large video screen that shows your life-size fellow diners in such detail you may be tempted to ask for a taste of their entree. Hilton, Hyatt and Doubletree have expressed interest in the $150,000 set-up, and plan to rent tables for $69 to $149 an hour, meals and tips excluded. "It's a little far-fetched, but then fax machines were, too," says the general manager of New York's Four Seasons restaurant. (Wall Street Journal 6/26/95 B1)


GLOBAL LINKS FOR GOLF CARTS

Golf cart makers are adding global positioning satellite technology to the vehicles to help guide drivers through unfamiliar courses, especially when traversing them involves a little street driving. The GPS systems have another advantage -- when parked close to the ball, they calculate the distance -- give or take a few feet -- to the flag. Golf course managers say eliminating the uncertainty speeds up the game, making way for additional golfers. (Business Week 7/3/95 p.81)


HYBRID GAS/ELECTRIC CARS

A newly patented cell based on technology from space satellite batteries could be used in a hybrid gas/electric automobile to raise the mileage of a gas-fueled internal combustion engine to about 80 miles a gallon. An executive at Ergenics, the Ridgewood, N.J., company that developed the patent, says the improved mileage is possible because the battery is used for power surges: "You'll use the same internal combustion engine to run at a steady speed, but that engine is not capable of an efficient power surge needed to go up a hill or accelerating onto a freeway. If you want to accelerate to 65 in a hurry, this battery is capable of a high power pulse, of delivering a chunk of energy in a hurry." (New York Times 7/3/95 p.22)


GENE THERAPY FOR HAIR

There's new hope for the hairless -- scientists have discovered how to insert new genes in hair follicles that can permanently darken graying hair and may someday stop hair loss or enable people to change the natural color of their hair. Experiments using melanin-encased liposomes rubbed into the skin of mice have resulted in the mice growing colored hair. "The idea would be to deliver a copy of the gene to the follicles so they could make their own melanin," says one of the researchers. That would enable a semipermanent restoration of hair color. (Wall Street Journal 6/30/95 B8)


ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTING ORGANIC POLYMERS

Will you be able to able to hold out your computer display the way you hold out your newspaper? Not any time soon, because economic facts of life make liquid crystal displays much cheaper than flexible displays would have to cost, but technology based on the electrical properties of conducting polymers could make it possible in the future. (Scientific American, July'95, p.82)


MEDICAL MANUFACTURING

An unlikely combo -- surgeons at the Munich-Grosshaden University Clinic are teaming up with engineers and computer specialists at the BMW Research and Development Center to manufacture human replacement parts. They're using computer-tomography scans and stereolithography to create polymer parts, such as spines and jawbones, to implant in human patients. (Popular Science, July '95 p.10)


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


(C) Innovation is copyrighted, 1995, by NewsScan, Inc., all rights reserved; -- however, please feel free to forward sample copies to your friends! Innovation is published weekly, with individual subscriptions available at $15 a year. Site licenses are also available.

To pay by VISA, Mastercard, or American Express, send us your name, card number, and expiration date. To pay by check, simply make your check payable to NewsScan, Inc. (and *please* print your e-mail address on the check).

International subscribers should pay in U.S. funds by credit card, international money order, or check drawn on a U.S. bank.

For a trial copy of Innovation, type the word "subscribe" in the body (not subject!) of a message to: innovation-request@NewsScan.com

Our address is: NewsScan, Inc., P.O. Box 15010, Atlanta, GA. 30333. We can also be reached at: Comments@NewsScan.com, 404-371-1853 (voice), or 404-371-8057 (fax). We appreciate your interest and support and would like to hear from you.

-- John Gehl & Suzanne Douglas


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Back to the previous page.