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RC TOM Challenge 2018

November 13, 2018

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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)

LEGO: Leveraging the Building Blocks of Open Innovation
Pallavi M
Last modified on November 13, 2018 at 4:32 pm
How LEGO's legion of global fans helped the company drive value from open innovation.
General Electric’s Future with Additive Manufacturing
David Zhou
Last modified on November 12, 2018 at 7:53 pm
General Electric is utilizing additive manufacturing to reshape its products. What does the future hold for the company and its additive division?
Predictions for Patton: Using AI for Maintenance of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle
Alex
Last modified on November 12, 2018 at 9:01 pm
The U.S. Army is using AI to better address maintenance gaps in one of its most important assets. Success not only means fewer breaks but a faster and more effective force.
Bringing machine learning to music – Spotify’s vision to win the hearts and ears of humanity
Ryo Takahashi
Posted on November 13, 2018 at 7:53 pm
Is Spotify singing to us what we want to hear?
Teladoc about Machine Learning
TOM_HBS2020
Posted on November 13, 2018 at 7:06 pm
Telehealth has recently emerged as a convenient alternative to the traditional in-person health care appointment. Teladoc, the oldest and largest telehealth company, provides 24/7 access to physicians worldwide via audio or video consultations. Patients use the Teladoc website or mobile [...]
Additive Manufacturing at Ford: A Long Way from the Model T
Chip
Posted on November 13, 2018 at 6:11 pm
How can Ford use additive manufacturing to speed up its product-development process, improve its competitiveness, and create value for the consumer?
Xcel Energy – Utilizing Machine Learning to Efficiently and Reliably Incorporate Renewable Energy into the U.S. Energy Grid
TOMB2020
Last modified on November 13, 2018 at 5:16 pm
Given the importance of addressing climate change and adding renewable generation to the energy grid, Xcel Energy is using machine learning to overcome the challenges of the intermittent nature of wind power.
Made In Space. Literally.
Rearden
Posted on November 14, 2018 at 10:25 am
Additive manufacturing could revolutionize spacecraft construction, and one company is making it happen.
Venture Capital: Rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated
Jack Bel
Posted on November 13, 2018 at 3:15 pm
Using machine learning to resurrect outdated VC sourcing models
AI on the Frontline: The Future of Warfare
Cantab
Last modified on November 13, 2018 at 7:42 pm
What does the future of warfare look like? What boundaries need to be implemented as AI is introduced to combat environments? Explore how machine learning is helping the US military adapt to the modern battlefield.
Ford: Using Machine Learning To Humanize Vehicles
E. Peterson
Last modified on November 13, 2018 at 6:44 pm
Imagine a car that understands how you feel in real time and adapts accordingly. It could adjust the cockpit light if it feels that you are sad, or take over the wheel if you are too angry to drive. Is [...]
Can Artificial Intelligence Replace Community Managers?
Melissa Serfaty
Posted on November 13, 2018 at 4:45 pm
Artificial Intelligence is revolutionizing the digital marketing field through targeted advertising, chatbots and content creation. Could it fully replace marketers in the future?
Image recognition at Facebook: How machine learning is helping computers — and people who are blind — ’see’ digital photos
Paige Tsai
Posted on November 13, 2018 at 2:34 pm
As we become increasingly reliant on machines to perform our daily tasks — from answering our emails to driving our cars — we are exposed to the limitations of technology as it attempts to perform complex human operations such as [...]
Could Daft Punk Actually Be Robots? How Machine Learning Could Redefine Musical Creativity at Next Big Sound
Mot Snave
Posted on November 13, 2018 at 5:52 pm
In the realm of music, Next Big Sound employs a data-centric approach to artist growth and strategy. Where future value lies for the company is in applying a similar model to the underlying product: music itself.
Rent the Runway Wants You to Clean Out Your Closet…Permanently
Liz Sprague
Posted on November 13, 2018 at 7:50 pm
Rent the Runway aspires to be a “closet in the cloud,” and it is using data to make it happen.
Sidewalk Labs Crowdsources Citizen Input for New Toronto Waterfront Development
NYC Writer
Posted on November 12, 2018 at 9:32 pm
To create the smart cities of the future, Sidewalk Labs shows that the way forward is to ask citizens what they want, long before construction gets underway.
Is machine learning the new wingman?
Kay
Posted on November 13, 2018 at 9:46 pm
Machine Learning is Taking-Over the Online Dating Industry
Crafting a Tailor-Made Bone – Leveraging 3D Printing in Healthcare
PK
Posted on November 13, 2018 at 1:14 am
Explore the crafting process of customized titanium bone for orthopedic surgeries & its potential impact to the overall healthcare sector.
Creating a “Factory of the Future”
Anuj Lohia
Last modified on November 13, 2018 at 6:38 pm
How machine learning can improve inefficiencies and deliver cost-savings at the factory level in the manufacturing industry. Company Brief: Indorama Ventures (IVL) is a petrochemical company, operating in 29 countries across five continents. Their operations are mainly in the manufacturing [...]
Google and Gmail: Machine Learning for Defense, Not Disruption
Victor Castro
Posted on November 13, 2018 at 5:10 pm
How Google is using Machine Learning to keep Gmail (and other core products) ahead of the rest.
Machines Learning: Caterpillar Inc.’s Metamorphosis into Big Data
JHarvard
Posted on November 13, 2018 at 4:16 pm
Introduction: Today, there are 560,000 “connected” Caterpillar machines – from back-office forklifts to high-powered 50-ton excavators – that have been outfitted with connectivity solutions designed to cut costs and drive productivity for customers. [1] Caterpillar, the leader in machinery innovation [...]
“Just let the Machines do the Work”: Marriot’s Opportunity to Build on Starwood’s Digital Expertise
AnonymousWriter#45
Posted on November 13, 2018 at 3:08 pm
How Marriott Can Build From Starwood’s Machine Learning Expertise
Optimizing athletic performance and recovery using machine learning at WHOOP
eagerbeaver20
Last modified on November 14, 2018 at 10:57 am
WHOOP, a start-up founded out of the Harvard iLab, uses machine learning to improve athletic performance and possibly the lives of diabetes patients.
Open Research: Advancing Innovation in Public Health
Narmeen Haider
Posted on November 13, 2018 at 9:45 pm
Unlock knowledge to advance life-saving innovation.
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