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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)

Building the Way to Battlefield Domination: The United States Marine Corps and Additive Manufacturing
Hill Hamrick
Posted on November 12, 2018 at 7:21 pm
More than any other service, the United States Marine Corps is embracing the power of additive manufacturing to "innovate in place" and provide small, dispersed units around the world the ability to rapidly produce their own unique, mission-specific equipment while [...]
Glossier: Changing the Face of the Beauty Industry by Crowdsourcing the Magic Formula
GlossierMasker
Posted on November 13, 2018 at 3:48 pm
Glossier became the “first socially driven brand” by crowdsourcing innovation and soliciting real-time feedback from its millennial cult-following [1].
Bechtel Corporation: Responding to Additive Manufacturing in Construction
Christopher Reynolds
Posted on November 12, 2018 at 4:51 pm
This paper analyzes the competitive threat and potential responses of the established construction corporation, Bechtel, to the disruptive technological advances of additive manufacturing in the construction sector.
Machine Learning Journey of Burberry: Is There Room For Machine Learning in Luxury Goods Industry?
Bilge Cavus
Last modified on November 15, 2018 at 10:01 pm
Luxury retail brand Burberry is one of the machine learning pioneers within the luxury goods industry. Burberry intensively uses machine learning algorithms to improve customer service, to fight counterfeit products and to offer personalized shopping experience to the customers.
Machine Learning at Amazon: Will Amazon Go Reinvent Retail?
EL
Posted on November 13, 2018 at 5:14 pm
Imagine a future where there are no longer queues to pay for groceries at a supermarket, order a meal at a fast food restaurant, or buy a movie ticket at a theater. As dreamlike as it sounds, these scenarios are [...]
Disney – “A Whole New World” of Machine Learning
Anna Pam
Last modified on November 13, 2018 at 4:10 pm
Let us explore how the masters of imagination are using machine learning to alter the movie production and animation processes
Rent The Runway wants to predict your fashion choices and give you a virtual closet, will you let them?
WinnieThePooh
Last modified on November 13, 2018 at 2:37 pm
Rent the Runway believes through machine learning they can accurately identify your fashion preferences and customize your closet with the latest trends, but only if you trust their insights enough to take a chance on renting their limited selection of [...]
Houzz Leverage Deep Learning to Level Up its Game in Online Marketplace
Feifei Li
Last modified on November 13, 2018 at 8:00 pm
Over the past decade, machine learning has profoundly disrupted online ecommerce shopping experience. It enables ecommerce businesses to create a more personalized customer experience by constantly training and refining their consumer datasets, leading to better conversion rates overall. However, for [...]
Predicting your casualties – how machine learning is revolutionizing insurance pricing at AXA
Talitha Kirchner
Last modified on November 15, 2018 at 5:36 pm
Insurance giant AXA, frequently classified as ‘archaic and static’, is now embracing machine learning and real-time driver data collection to determine individual car insurance premiums.
GE Additive: Additive Manufacturing and Aerospace
J Horgan
Posted on November 13, 2018 at 1:57 pm
GE unleashes the power of Additive Manufacturing
Predicting customer preferences at Starbucks and the challenges for the marketer of the future
Erik Peterson
Last modified on November 12, 2018 at 9:04 pm
Starbucks is using AI to understand customer preferences and offer recommendations even before they enter a store. The value for the company is clear, but is processing the data the real challenge?
Bumble: Is Machine Learning the Future of Online Matchmaking?
anranshoe
Last modified on November 13, 2018 at 5:08 pm
Bumble: can online-dating apps use machine learning to substantially increase its ability to accurately matchmake and create values for its users?
Could Additive Manufacturing (3D-Printing) Be the Answer to Boeing’s Program Accounting Woes?
Jesse Bendit
Last modified on November 7, 2018 at 6:27 pm
Boeing has committed to investing in and expanding its use of additive manufacturing, helping to improve upon the company's complex production of select commercial jet parts. But the company will need to continue to push the limits of 3D-printing if [...]
Machine Learning enhances Public Policy in Colombia
Emilio
Posted on November 13, 2018 at 1:36 pm
It is undeniable the importance of data processing in decision making. Colombia has started implementing machine learning to better understand the efficient policies and maximize the impact of the taxpayers’ money in the country’s development.
Bioprinting: How the Manufacturing of Human Organs Will Disrupt Healthcare
RJ
Last modified on November 13, 2018 at 8:06 pm
This short article describes how Organovo is using a novel technology called bioprinting to produce liver and kidney tissues that could help reshape the way drugs are tested and organs are transplanted in our days. It also discusses the challenges [...]
StoryCorps: Crowdsourcing to Preserve Humanity’s Stories
Keith Bender
Last modified on November 15, 2018 at 10:38 pm
StoryCorps drives product and content generation through physical and digital crowdsourcing of human stories
Pinterest uses machine learning to expand their offerings for consumers and marketers
Oswald Cobblepot
Posted on November 13, 2018 at 2:32 pm
Pinterest uses machine learning to expand their product lines and monetize the massive amount of user data they have.
Netflix Uses Machine Learning to Cut Costs and Retain Customers
ELTOM
Posted on November 13, 2018 at 7:59 pm
Netflix is an on-demand video subscription service offering unlimited viewing for a monthly fee in virtually every market in the world except China. The company currently has over 137 million accounts across these markets in which it competes with other [...]
Chasing Medicare Fraud with Machine Learning
Christine W
Last modified on November 13, 2018 at 3:34 pm
Machine learning can help detect Medicare fraud, but what is the tradeoff between human v.s machine?
Additive Manufacturing at Porsche
dthief
Last modified on November 4, 2018 at 8:50 pm
A look at the role of 3D printing in the future of Porsche
The Promise and Perils of Machine Learning in Pharmaceutical Drug Development
K Shen
Last modified on November 12, 2018 at 4:06 am
A look at GlaxoSmithKline's efforts to incorporate machine learning into their drug development processes.
Dr. Roboto Will See You Now – Improving Radiology Diagnostics
mmat
Posted on November 13, 2018 at 6:20 pm
To what extent can StatDx's machine learning tool help improve radiologists' efficiency and accuracy?
Taste the Future: 3D Printing Chocolate at Hershey
PZH
Posted on November 13, 2018 at 5:30 pm
How Hershey is using additive manufacturing to customize chocolate production
Robots To The Rescue of Lost Trust In Banks
MV
Last modified on November 13, 2018 at 7:14 pm
Banks can regain lost trust through a virtual assistant that will be customers true ally in managing their finances
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