Most Recent Assignment

RC TOM Challenge 2018

November 13, 2018

Read The Full Prompt

The TOM Challenge provides an opportunity for you to continue exploring organizational learning and innovation through the lens of process improvement and/or product development, the focus of RC TOM’s second module. In this challenge, you will investigate how an organization is grappling with machine learning, additive manufacturing, or open innovation. These megatrends are likely to significantly affect how organizations manage process improvement and product development in the coming years of your career. The TOM Challenge requires you to (1) conduct research and write an essay that examines how one organization is facing a particular aspect of one of these megatrends, and (2) write six comments that share your reflections on some of your section mates’ essays.

Your essay should address four questions in the context of the organization you choose:

  1. Why do you think the megatrend you selected is important to your organization’s management of process improvement and/or product development?
  2. What is the organization’s management doing to address this issue in the short term (the next two years) and the medium term (two to ten years out)?
  3. What other steps do you recommend the organization’s management take to address this issue in the short and medium terms?
  4. In the context of this organization, what are one or two important open questions related to this issue that you are unsure about that merit comments from your classmates?

Your essay should convey facts, analysis, and your recommendations. It should focus on a single organization (e.g., a single company, non-profit organization, or government agency) and a concern related to one megatrend. It is fine if the concern you choose relates to other megatrends that the organization is facing, but that’s not required. Roughly a third of your essay should be dedicated to each of the first three questions, with just a few sentences dedicated to the fourth question. Your essay should be at least 700 words but no more than 800 words, and must conclude with a word count in parentheses (such as 778 words).

When posting your essay to Open Knowledge, be sure to enter “Machine Learning”, “Additive Manufacturing”, or “Isolationism” in the Topics field.

More details on research, sourcing, deadlines, and other matters are provided in the RC TOM Challenge: 2018 note.  For assistance with the Open Knowledge platform during business hours (9:00 am – 5:00 pm M-F), email openknowledge@hbs.edu. A short video with instructions on how to post an essay to this platform is available at https://d3.harvard.edu/platform-rctom/how-to/.

Submitted (926)

Rise of the “Robo-Advisor”
123456789
Posted on November 13, 2018 at 6:30 pm
Would you trust a robot to mange your money? That may be where some firms are headed.
AI Comes to the Magic Kingdom
Kabir Melwani
Posted on November 13, 2018 at 7:05 pm
Artificial Intelligence has started to play a prominent role in the Media & Entertainment industry, enabling companies to use data to create customized content and user experiences. While streaming companies such as Netflix have led this movement to date, no [...]
Dial-an-Algorithm: Using Machine Learning for Child Welfare Screenings
iaw507
Last modified on November 13, 2018 at 12:50 am
Should algorithms intervene when child welfare is at stake?
Can machine learning solve the cyber security threat?
Willy_skipper
Last modified on November 14, 2018 at 12:40 am
With cyber security attacks growing in frequency and impact as more and more of our infrastructure is digitalized, how will we be able to secure our digital assets when there is also a growing shortage of skilled cyber security professionals? [...]
How Starbucks engages tens of thousands of customers to innovate products and store experiences
HZ
Posted on November 12, 2018 at 11:35 pm
The post explores how Starbucks has embraced open innovation in product development and rolling out new in-store experiences
Turning Big Data into Clean Electrons at NextEra
tsides
Posted on November 13, 2018 at 7:05 pm
As prices drop and competition intensifies in the world of solar and wind, can generators use machine learning to maintain healthy margins?
LittleBits: Open Innovation Fueled by Open Imagination
ahyans
Last modified on November 13, 2018 at 1:42 pm
LittleBits, the maker of magnetic electronic building blocks, utilizes open innovation to share inventions, troubleshoot problems, generate excitement for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) in schools, and make hardware design accessible to everyone.
I, Robot Meets Wall Street: The Age of the Robo-Advisor
byoung
Posted on November 13, 2018 at 3:01 pm
Riding the new wave of algorithmic investing for individuals, how does Charles Schwab add value and set itself up for sustainable success in an ever-evolving global market?
Can We Live Forever?
Thomas Alexandre
Posted on November 13, 2018 at 3:02 pm
When machine components deteriorate beyond repair, they are replaced. Can 3D bioprinting enable the human body to be maintained like a machine?
Can it be? A Solution to Lack of Innovation in the Engineering and Construction Industry……….?
JC
Last modified on November 12, 2018 at 8:20 pm
I took a look at the additive manufacturing processes that AECOM was trying to capitalize on.
Building Homes for Those in Need and for the Future: How 3D Printing is Transforming the Housing Landscape
RCTomUser555
Last modified on November 15, 2018 at 6:08 pm
Housing is a basic human need, yet millions around the globe lack access to basic housing, or currently live in dire conditions. How can 3D printing transform access to housing around the globe?
Billionaire Robots: Machine Learning at Renaissance Technologies
KEH
Posted on November 13, 2018 at 4:19 pm
Human traders may be a thing of the past - will machine learning and automation finally lead to the rise of a perfectly efficient market?
Economies of One – The 3D Printing Company Rewriting Economic Law
Carl Marcus
Last modified on November 13, 2018 at 7:54 pm
For additive manufacturing companies focused on low-volume and high-complexity, Protolabs is leading the way. Protolabs is the world’s fastest manufacturer of custom prototypes and on-demand production parts. Through technological innovation and customer service, the company is attempting to rewrite economic [...]
Is Addition the New Subtraction at Lockheed Martin?
NotMark
Posted on November 13, 2018 at 2:28 pm
Lockheed Martin is investing heavily in additive engineering now with hopes of leading the industry in the near future.
Will machine learning help the Commonwealth Bank of Australia avoid the next banking scandal?
Alan Tuning
Last modified on November 13, 2018 at 6:56 pm
Managing regulatory and reputational risk has become the top priority for the financial services industry in Australia in 2018 – so how will machine learning help?
China’s Take on 3D Printing in Healthcare
Caroline Schwanzer
Posted on November 13, 2018 at 5:52 pm
The rise of additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing, has transformed numerous industries across the globe. Healthcare in particular has the potential for disruption, as 3D printing has, and will continue to, provide new areas of cost savings, efficiency, [...]
If you can’t avoid the change – lead it. PepsiCo is betting on the wisdom of crowds to build a future of food industry.
Definitely not Fedor
Posted on November 12, 2018 at 3:00 pm
In a search for new products and global trends in food and beverages industry PepsiCo is turning to open innovation
Would you stay at a robot’s house? How Airbnb uses machine learning to drive product development
Alex Ray
Posted on November 13, 2018 at 2:08 pm
Over the past few years, Airbnb has developed machine learning algorithms that change how hosts and guests interact with listings. It's a major departure from their early human-centered design days. How should the young company balance data-driven design with human-driven [...]
Ushering authentic advertising – Can machines help marketers understand their audience better for the benefit of all?
Luis Valles
Last modified on November 13, 2018 at 8:07 pm
Influential.co is a platform using machine learning to improve the development and deployment of marketing campaigns with influencers on social media.
Promise and Peril for Machine Learning at Netflix
S_Eckhardt
Last modified on November 12, 2018 at 11:31 pm
As the amount of content, competition, and subscribers in the online media space grows, Netflix is turning to machine learning to provide a more entertaining experience for its customers. While they are investing heavily in their proprietary recommendation engine and [...]
El Bulli: It Could Be More Than Foams and Olives
Foamy Olive
Last modified on November 15, 2018 at 3:52 pm
Explored machine learning applications in fine dinning restaurants.
Hackers Wanted: Crowd-sourced security at the United States Department of Defense
Christine Keung
Last modified on November 13, 2018 at 11:39 pm
Data breaches and cyber attacks are becoming more prominent and less predictable. To manage ever-increasing cyber risk, the U.S. Department of Defense created a bug bounty program for security vulnerabilities and used crowdsourcing to invite hackers to break into their [...]
“Brewing a Better World” with Open Innovation: Heineken’s Innovators Brewhouse
Banana Bread
Last modified on November 12, 2018 at 6:45 pm
Heineken engages in co-creation with its global consumers as a core part of its innovation strategy.
Walmart Plays Catch-Up with Amazon Using Machine Learning
Jane Harvard
Last modified on November 14, 2018 at 7:25 pm
Walmart uses machine learning to remain competitive in the retail industry, through personalization and process improvement at check-out.
1 … 9 10 11 12 13 … 39