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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)

From Auto- tune to Auto- compose
Kevin Nyamweya
Last modified on November 13, 2018 at 8:05 pm
Can composers see themselves outdone by data scientists and computer programmers?
Machine learning as a tool to predict future earning power
David St. Geme
Last modified on November 12, 2018 at 6:03 pm
This post discussed how a machine learning algorithm can be applied to predict student earnings post-graduation.
Don’t Give Up the Ship: A Smarter Approach to Maintenance in the US Navy
Joseph Lillie
Posted on November 13, 2018 at 8:01 am
The US Navy's antiquated maintenance system must evolve into a conditions-based system enhanced by AI.
Choosy: Give the People What They Want…To Buy
ABCDEF
Posted on November 13, 2018 at 2:09 pm
Solving the billion dollar unsold inventory problem in traditional retail
Pretty in Plaid? Burberry’s Hits and Misses with Machine Learning
E.K.
Last modified on November 12, 2018 at 1:06 pm
Image Credit: (Photo by Jack Taylor/Getty Images). Retail is not typically the industry that comes to mind when implementing new technologies—high fashion and big tech typically do not mix. But through the use of machine learning, Burberry is revolutionizing this [...]
Additive Manufacturing at GE Aerospace
warriorcat123
Posted on November 11, 2018 at 4:26 pm
Additive Manufacturing – the Future of General Electric’s Competitive Differentiation in the Aerospace Supply Chain
3D printing in automotive industry
Buang
Posted on November 13, 2018 at 6:07 pm
How is Ford Motor, a 100-year old automotive company, reacting to opportunities and/or threats of 3D printing technology?
A 126-year old company that sells Artificial Intelligence?
IoT nerd
Posted on November 13, 2018 at 2:50 pm
BHGE is finding new ways to create value for oil and gas customers by leveraging machine learning techniques.
Want to Make Your Business More Successful? Just Ask the Weather Using AccuWeather’s D3 Platform.
Allen Smith
Last modified on November 15, 2018 at 4:08 pm
AccuWeather is bringing machine learning to the weather industry and leveraging its capabilities to improve business performance.
Predictive Maintenance at NRG
CBH
Posted on November 13, 2018 at 5:48 pm
How will predictive maintenance impact NRG's competitive positioning?
Adidas Futurecraft 4D: One shoe to rule them all?
Will Craig
Posted on November 12, 2018 at 10:18 pm
Can Adidas harness technological advances in 3-D additive manufacturing to build the shoe of the future and overtake Nike as an industry leader?
23 & Who?: Deep Research into our Genetic Code
John Bracaglia
Last modified on November 14, 2018 at 1:33 am
How can machine learning answer the centuries-old question of who we really are?  
Flying from Prototyping to Mainstream: 3D Printed Aircrafts Top Out at Speeds of 150mph
Kelsey Muller
Last modified on November 12, 2018 at 9:35 pm
The aerospace and defense industry accepts additive manufacturing as a viable way to produce innovative prototypes – but can 3D printing really produce complete, complex jets that can withstand speeds of 150 miles per hour?
India’s InMobi is Disrupting Online Advertising by Making 15 Billion Decisions Per Day
Michael Kenny
Posted on November 13, 2018 at 4:20 pm
InMobi runs an ad-network that decides the value of over 15 billion ad transactions per day using machine learning. In just a decade, InMobi has positioned itself as a challenger to ad tech incumbents Google and Facebook. Yet in the [...]
Is Crowdsourcing a Sustainable Value Proposition For Innovation: A Unilever Case Study
Robert Alexander
Last modified on November 13, 2018 at 2:59 pm
Point of view on the impact of open innovation on Unilever's sustainability agenda
A Use Case for Machine Learning: How Facebook Uses Machine Learning to Combat Fake News
Sam Vallely
Posted on November 13, 2018 at 5:06 pm
This paper will focus on Facebook’s use of machine learning to manage political content on its site. Today, with platforms like Facebook, content is being generated by a wider range of sources, which has eroded the credibility of the political [...]
Boeing: Making Metal 3D Printing take-off
Yazan De L'Avion
Last modified on November 13, 2018 at 8:02 pm
Boeing is in the “rocket science” business, hence as the common idiom goes, it is no secret its manufacturing process is quite complex... With millions of parts that go into the making of each plane and space launch systems - [...]
Blue Apron: Can machine learning be effective in an omnichannel company?
GDC
Posted on November 6, 2018 at 12:19 am
The business world is captivated by direct-to-consumer companies because of its fascination with machine learning. However, what if you cannot capitalize on this data and are forced to turn to wholesale channels for scale, therein “diluting” this data that made [...]
Honda: Paving the Way with Additive Manufacturing
anonymous678
Posted on November 12, 2018 at 12:28 pm
Honda is charting a new path with customized 3D printed auto parts. Could this lead to something bigger in the future?
Machine Learning for Exploration
scuba_steve
Posted on November 12, 2018 at 1:41 pm
The poor state of mineral exploration and the potential role machine learning will play in the future
ONLINE LUXURY FASHION + MACHINE LEARNING = A “FARFETCH” EXPERIENCE?
RM
Posted on November 13, 2018 at 7:00 pm
Farfetch is not your typical luxury fashion company. It is hard to imagine from its glitzy storefront that lying at the heart of the company is a vision to use technology and artificial intelligence to transform retail and fashion, industries [...]
Commoditizing Crowdsourcing; How a Distributed Network Helped Build a Business
AA
Posted on November 13, 2018 at 1:22 pm
Premise uses distributed data collection to gather valuable information for customers ranging from governments to businesses.
American Express has Struck Gold with Machine Learning
PM
Posted on November 13, 2018 at 7:40 pm
American Express, a company which has been around for over 150 years, moves into the next generation harnessing the power of machine learning.
Kevin Stein at TransDigm Group
CPM
Posted on November 13, 2018 at 7:12 pm
Kevin Stein, CEO of TransDigm Group (“TDG”), a leading “designer, producer and supplier of highly engineered aircraft components,” gazed out his office window, playing back his conversation with CFO Michael Lisman from November 8, 2018. The debate du jour: does [...]
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