Thesis (S.M.M.O.T.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, Management of Technology Program, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 62-63). / This thesis explores the measures for the Japanese electric power utilities to meet the Kyoto Target, and the technological development of the coal thermal power generation to meet the further abatement of the carbon dioxide beyond Kyoto. To meet the Kyoto Target, the present measure by the Japanese government to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions in the energy sector relies much on the development of the nuclear power generation. Therefore, the current delay of nuclear power development, mainly due to the lack of public acceptance for the nuclear energy, and, consequently, the increase of the carbon dioxide emissions are crucial problems to be solved to the achieve the target. In this paper, possible measures to achieve the abatement target of the carbon dioxide emissions are examined. Among the five measures, changing dispatch from high carbon emitting capacity to low emitting one provides a sufficient abatement with relatively low cost. Other measures, like wind power or re-powering of existing thermal power plant require the higher abatement cost or fail to provide sufficient quantities. Looking at the scenario beyond the Kyoto Target after 2012, further reduction of the carbon dioxide emissions calls for the technological development. Since the uncertainty of the nuclear power development will still remain in the future, and other measures including re-dispatch and re-powering can not afford to provide further reduction, the development of the generating technologies is one of the crucial measures to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions. Especially, the technologies for coal thermal power, which are expected to be the most stable and inexpensive energy resources in a few decade, affect the strategy for the global warming. The developing technologies, the coal / (cont.) gasification and the carbon dioxide sequestration are examined in the latter chapter. / by Yasushi Furuyama. / S.M.M.O.T.

Thesis (S.M.M.O.T.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, Management of Technology Program, 2004. / "June 2004." / Includes bibliographical references. / High-performance teams can be used to achieve strategic high pay-offs for an organization. The aim of this paper is to study fundamentals key to the success of high performance teams and to examine the application of these fundamentals in an inherently multicultural international organization, such as the United Nations. The approach is to first review and to discuss relevant articles of work on high performance teams. As far as is possible, the most updated papers and books with a strong focus on both theory-driven approach and research, and which make good use of case studies with ample examples and illustrations are used. The output is the derivation of perspectives and frameworks which will then be used as guides to understanding the case for the United Nations. Following an overview of the United Nations history and current operations, a series of interviews with its key individuals is then conducted, with the aim to learning and making credible hypotheses and meaningful analysis. Towards this end, a good representation across the UN agencies is sought to ensure the necessary depth and breadth. The paper then considers what lies in the way ahead and finally concludes with recommendations for the United Nations and relevant key lessons learnt for the Civil Service of Singapore. / by Tan Wee Beng. / S.M.M.O.T.

Thesis (S.M.M.O.T.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, Management of Technology Program, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 93-94). / Innovations can be the single source of industry's growth. How innovations themselves grow or decline also has a direct affect on the health of the industry in which they play. This thesis looks at fiber optic technologies and their impact on the communications industry. The relative importance of the fiber optic technology is evidenced by its speed and effectiveness in shaping the communications infrastructure in a short period of the recent years. Advent of this relatively new technology, coupled with deregulation policies and the changes in the nature of the network traffic, has caused several disruptions to the communications value chain. Effects of these disruptions and their eventualities are the focus of this thesis. To study these effects, this thesis looks in detail at the interplay of various life cycle stages of innovations and industry. The innovation stages are classified as: Fluid, Transitional, and Specific. Each of these three stages affects the dynamics value chain of the industry in different ways. The characteristics of each stage are studied in detail. There are few innovations that can bring about an impact as extensive as the advent of fiber optics communications has. The review of the processes in the evolution of innovation from birth to potential re- birth provides great insights on the industry's life cycle. The study is based on current theories on the subject of management of technology applied to the communications sector. Most examples and data are based on the telecommunication networks in North America; the timeline of the study is the decade from mid 1990's to present. In closing various strategies in treading the evolution of innovation are described. The evolution life cycle / (cont.) model can be used in several other industries for managing innovation and technologies. Several related research topics are described, and citations for further suggested readings on the topic are provided. / by Rodan Zadeh. / S.M.M.O.T.

Thesis (S.M.M.O.T.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, Management of Technology Program, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 151-152). / The banking industry is known to have certainty only about uncertainty, change is only constant in adopting the technologies for developing innovative products and services, and yet the opportunities of arbitrage are everywhere including in economical settings and business strategies. The retail banking industry will be analyzed to understand why some banks make sustainable profits while others are less successful. We will analyze what business strategies would best work for such dynamic industry even as banking appears to be a commodity business. A systematic study will be set out to model the dynamics of different positioning of Delta Model and the effect of the underlying interactions. We will walk through the analysis of why the innovation along with the customer targeting and the operational effectiveness are crucial to implement the right business strategies. We also study banking case studies relevant to the business strategies. Finally, we present the conclusions with some recommendations in order for banks to thrive in the industry for years to come during both war times and peace times. / by Harry Reddy. / S.M.M.O.T.

Thesis (S.M.M.O.T.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, Management of Technology Program, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 75-76). / This thesis aims at examining CRM implementations and at obtaining theoretical and practical evidence to three questions: ** What patterns emerge in successful CRM implementations, and general factors that prevent organizations from achieving expected results in such projects; ** What business benefits and impacts (e.g., return on investment, customer value, and redesign of business processes), are typically observed in CRM initiatives; ** How companies rearrange their organizational structures to, maximize the benefits of CRM. To accomplish these goals the author conducted a review of available literature, arid then interviewed members of 3 companies that implemented CRM and 2 system integrators with comprehensive experience in implementation of CRM. This practical experience intended to confirm the findings obtained through the literature review. The 3 companies researched are market leaders in the Financial Service Industry in Latin America. Consistently, the System Integrators interviewed actively serve the same industry. The major findings of this work are the following: ** Technology components as well as vendor selection is secondary as a key success factor; ** Companies usually do not reorganize themselves due to CRM implementations. Structure models; seems to be much more dependent on intrinsic cultural aspects; ** Observed business benefits have a high degree of variation, depending much on the situation before the implementation - all researched cases were considered to be successful. Although the sample analyzed is not sufficient to establish generalizations, due to its size and to the impossibility of obtaining reliable numeric or quantitative data, we report our results and interpret as a contribution to the growing body of evidence. Most of the conclusions are consistent with the literature review findings, with the exception of the observed absence of 'business cases' in the analyzed companies. The literature claims that elaboration of detailed business cases is critical, whereas in the analyzed companies a less rigorous, but nevertheless detailed, planning was sufficient to ensure success. Apart from the limitation of the size of the researched sample, due to the relative newness of the theme, part of the literature reviewed was composed by white papers published by CRM vendors, management consulting firms, and independent research and advisory companies. The research suggests that such implementations have important and lasting effects on the business. It also indicates that the magnitude of the business impacts are intrinsically dependent of the realities of particular companies, and cannot be generalized even within the specific financial services sector. Most of conclusions are based on qualitative analysis. since the number of cases, complexity and variability of the implementations, prevent from generating statically sound analysis. It would be valuable if this research could be extended through other industry sectors, in Latin America, or alternatively to encompass financial service companies from other regions. / by José Rogério Pinto de Mendonça. / S.M.M.O.T.

Thesis (S.M.M.O.T.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, Management of Technology Program, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 75). / The recent progress of the 3G technology and the up-coming 3G mobile telecommunication market environment of Korea were reviewed. On the basis of this knowledge, a simple system dynamics model was constructed. From the analysis of previous Korean mobile plethora, the model found that the network effect was the most important factor for the diffusion of mobile service in Korea. To investigate the competition on of 2G and 3G businesses, a more complicated model was designed. After its results, the initial large number of service contents of 3G will be helpful for expanding its market share for a short term, and the degree of technology performance and social demand is more helpful for a long term business. The model says the success of 30 businesses is quite dependent on how to quickly and effectively switch 2G subscribers into 3G subscribers. To do that just early entree to the market is not going to make a difference from 2G services. The 3G service providers have to decide whether it is right time to start the business by considering the technology performance differentiation from existing technology and the social need for bandwidth simultaneously. / by Jae Hwang Yi. / S.M.M.O.T.

Thesis (S.M.M.O.T.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, Management of Technology Program, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 120-121). / This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections. / Developed countries are increasingly using information technology to access and deliver information across all the organizations that comprise the government. Argentina is in the first stages of adopting Internet technology for the government. This thesis proposes that Argentina's e-government construction can be optimized if a good foundation for systems connectivity is put in place first. The author argues that the current time lag in the construction of Argentina's e-Government can be used in a positive way if experience from more developed countries is used. Chapter 1 provides a strategy for building e-Government in Argentina using standardization and connectivity. In Chapter 2, a theoretical analysis about the economics of systems integration is presented. In Chapter 3 the importance of standardization and specially the use of XML are outlined. Chapter 4 develops the basis of IT infrastructure and its importance to enable e- Government. Chapter 5 evaluates the current state of e-Government in three developed countries. Chapter 6 and 7 provide a potential framework for building the e-Government in Argentina based in the ideas of the previous chapters. The author has found that developed countries are defining standard connectivity based on XML and that they are in the process of becoming a full e-government by 2005. At the same time Argentina is lacking a coherent plan to enable the creation of the e-Government in the near future. Finally, the thesis proposes the standardization of systems interfaces using XML and the definition of standard XML data schemes to facilitate connectivity. At the same time the thesis encourages building an IT infrastructure and the use of standard applications to gain efficiency and lower the cost of e-Government. / by Emilio José Pellet-Lastra. / S.M.M.O.T.

Thesis (S.M.M.O.T.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, Management of Technology Program, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 60-62). / This thesis analyses the historical development and deregulation of the U.S. Electrical Power Industry and its impact on the structure of Transmission System. The results of introducing competition in generation and creating wholesale market for electricity are evaluated. The problems in the U.S. Electrical Transmission System are identified; existing pricing models and investment mechanisms are evaluated. Positive and negative outputs are described and analyzed - including existing problems in the transmission system and different pricing models and their effect on investment in transmission system. The importance of regulatory factors is evaluated, the limitations and advantages of pricing models are described and investment mechanism is chosen. Possible perspectives of the development of Transmission System are analyzed from technical and economical perspectives. Based on evaluation of existing financial tools and current problems in operating of the GRID, optimal structure and investment solutions for Transmission System are proposed. / by Alexander Okunev. / S.M.M.O.T.

Thesis (S.M.M.O.T.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, Management of Technology Program, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 70-75). / This thesis is an investigation of the strategic impact of Web Services on the firm. A literature review was conducted to gain a broad understanding of the research previously done on various related subjects. The core of this thesis is focused on looking at Web Services using time-tested, generally-accepted strategic management frameworks in order to better understand the true potential impact of Web Services. Utilizing in-depth interviews with industry leaders, comprehensive knowledge of Web Services technology, and seminal academic research where appropriate, the author has attempted to derive the strategic implications of Web Services over a three- to five-year horizon. / by William T. Shelton, Jr. / S.M.M.O.T.

Thesis (S.M.M.O.T.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, Management of Technology Program, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 110-113). / The Colombian government is working on solutions to widen the coverage of higher education which is currently around 21%. One of the solutions to handle this major problem in rural and remote areas, but also in some towns and cities where there is either not enough capacity in the current traditional higher institutions, or its quality is poor, or there is little to no supply is Virtual Education. The current stage of higher distance education in Colombia is characterized by a fragmented supply with weaknesses in defining and adopting a pedagogical model, the use of technology capabilities, the organizational structure to support virtual education, and the planning and quality assurance processes. Institutions offering distance services have opportunities for improvement and innovative developments but they lack the necessary resources. Based on this diagnosis, our challenge in coverage of higher education, and the elements identified from seven international experiences studied, a Virtual University is proposed with the purpose of being an 'Open and distance learning university' with "open" meaning access to everybody and "distance" including the appropriate technologies and pedagogical models to offer distance education. The Virtual University is set up primarily to serve young students and adults from the lowest income levels who have finished their high school education. Three alternatives are described to implement the virtual university: i) a new centralized and autonomous organization, ii) a network of universities under an umbrella of a Virtual University, and iii) free competition among institutions. Finally, the role of the Ministry of Education in higher distance education is developed. The Ministry plays the roles of policy maker, accreditation / (cont.) and funding in distance higher education and a leading role in helping in the development of a market of good quality distance programs and creating the conditions for the demand to get access to the new offering. In addition, the Ministry should strengthen institutions to face properly distance education and create the mechanisms for cooperation with international governments and organizations. / Luz Stella Garcia. / S.M.M.O.T.