Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 127-130). / In order to cope with the continuous increase of magnetically stored data and of mission critical dependence on this data, storage systems must similarly increase in their functionality offerings, and with that, their complexity. The efficient management of the heterogeneous and complex aggregation of these systems is becoming one of the major challenges to IT customers. At the same time, hardware is becoming commoditized, and the industry is looking towards software for additional revenue generation. This document examines proprietary as well as open-standards attempts at solving the interoperability problem. The first attempt was made by EMC when it developed WideSky, a middleware software layer that would be able to manage third party hardware. It is shown that the aim was to eventually transform this middleware into a de facto standard and with that establish platform leadership in the industry. The WideSky effort failed, and the analysis of this failure attributes it to a lack of industry support and inability at establishing a sustainable value chain. Meanwhile, the industry players rallied around the SNIA body and adopted the SMI specification (SMI-S) as a standard. SMI-S adoption is on the rise, but although it has the formal backing of most of the storage industry firms, it has not yet fulfilled its promise of enabling centralized management of heterogeneous systems. This is partially because of the fact that the functionality that it provides is still lagging behind the functionality that native APIs provide. Moreover, client adoption and the availability of client products that can be directly used by IT customers are still very limited. / (cont.) However, an examination of the dynamics surrounding this standard show how SMI-S will benefit greatly from learning effects and network externalities as it continues to grow, and although lagging in traditional functionality, it offers an ancillary functionality of interoperability that is missing from current non- standardized software interfaces. The adoption tipping point is highly dependant on whether or not the value chain can be established before vendors start dropping support for the specification. It is proposed that a positive tipping of the market will make SMI-S a disruptive technology that has the potential of becoming the dominant design for storage management interfaces. / by Jean-Claude Jacques Saghbini. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design & Management Program, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 128-131). / Managing the integration of technology is a complex task in any industry, but especially so in the highly competitive automotive industry. Automakers seek to develop plans to integrate technology into their products such that they deliver significant value to the customer. These plans and their implementation are critical to achieving success in the marketplace. This thesis proposes a framework for developing and implementing technology integration plans using the systematic application of specific "building blocks". The "building blocks" are developed through specific technology integration case studies at an automotive manufacturer, and further validated by studying other auto manufacturers. While the current technology integration process at the main automotive manufacturer studied is somewhat structured, the process seems inadequate, as significant issues with the strategy and implementation diminish its effectiveness. There are many building blocks that can help define and implement a strategy for technology integration, but which ones to focus on and how to apply them is not well defined. The proposed solution for developing a comprehensive technology integration process and applying it systematically, focuses on five key building blocks. Each of the building blocks is applied through a holistic lens, and is designed to enhance the technology integration process. The proposed methodology can be a complement to an existing process, or can be used to create a new technology integration process. The methodology combines known system engineering and change management frameworks and principles. Analyzing the current technology integration processes at a few automotive manufacturers and contrasting them with the proposed technology integration / (cont.) approach leads to several conclusions. The technology integration framework provides a valuable and comprehensive method to evaluate the current technology integration process. Each step in the technology integration framework serves to strengthen the technology integration process and is aimed at making it more consistent and successful. Furthermore, the framework as a whole, contributes to alignment within the organization, helping to ensure objectives at the staff level are matched to the corporate strategy. / by Eduardo F. Barretto. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.M.O.T.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, Management of Technology Program, 2000. / Also available online at the MIT Theses Online homepage <http://thesis.mit.edu>. / Includes bibliographical references. / Fostering creativity in research and development (R & D) operations, especially in large corporations in mature industries, is a critical challenge. I hypothesized that very creative groups, what some have termed "hot groups," can be formed even in such organizations and that they may have an impact on the entire organization. A hot group is a lively, high-achieving, dedicated group whose members are extremely excited to work on challenging tasks. The principal research questions in the present study are, "What are the kinds of situational settings where hot groups can arise, grow and sustain in an organization?" and "What are the effects of a hot group on the parent organization?" Based on the literature review and interviews, this study concludes that hot groups can be formed even in cold, hierarchical organizations. Strong sponsorship by senior managers is the most important success factor for the formation of hot groups. In addition, introducing fluctuation or "unfreezing" into organizations, forming a creative culture and formulating policies and systems that stimulate autonomy contribute to the viability of hot groups. In order to sustain the creativity of hot groups, the importance of what has been termed "virtual knowledge" should also be recognized by the sponsors and group members. If top management fails to recognize the achievements and also the effects of hot groups, members of the hot groups often leave the company, causing the diffusion process to cease. Organizational boundaries largely impair the penetration of hot groups' excitement and creativity. The thesis identified two different patterns in the diffusion process of hot groups into the parent organization. In the horizontal diffusion model, the excitement and creativity of a hot group first diffuses horizontally to other people in the parent organization, typically middle to bottom people. The organization changes from the bottom of the hierarchy. Although this is the best way to share the virtual knowledge of how to be creative by the bottom people, it may create disordered chaos in the organization and may take a long time to change the organization. In the vertical diffusion model, top management of the company jumps into the diffusion process in the early stages, and establishes policies and systems to facilitate formation of hot groups. The organization changes from the top of the hierarchy. Although this is the best way to quickly introduce the hot group concept into the organization in a controlled manner, there exists the potential for ending up with insufficient "heat" in the organization. The horizontal and vertical diffusions are complementary and sequential. In order to energize organizations and to make them creative by the hot group concept, both the horizontal and vertical diffusions are required. Overall, the hot group can be a powerful tool for re-energizing organizations and fostering creativity in large corporations in mature industries when they are stuck on the past narrow incremental improvement. / by Hideaki Murata. / S.M.M.O.T.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design & Management Program, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 212). / The United States Air Force is having a difficult time retaining their technical officers, who are critical to the success of their research, development, and acquisitions of major military and defense systems. A statistical analysis is conducted on survey data collected, and the analysis seeks to explain the reasons why officers, mostly junior in rank, leave the Air Force after only a short time on active duty. This retention problem leads to fewer higher-ranking officers, since the military only hires from the bottom up. Results of the research show that about 47% of junior officers have intent to leave the Air Force after their initial commitment, which is 4 to 5 years. With nearly half of the Air Force's incoming officer leaving after their initial commitment, the problem is very serious. Job satisfaction and the closely related Air Force assignment system are shown to be the primary problems for junior officer retention. The thesis concludes with recommendations to Air Force leadership on where to focus their retention efforts. Special emphasis is given on how the Air Force may address tangible components of job satisfaction. Policy change recommendations that affect satisfaction levels with the assignment system are also given. / by Derek William Beck. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 111-112) and index. / In the nuclear, aerospace and chemical industries, the need for risk management is straightforward. When a system failure mode may cause a very high cost in lives or economic value, risk management becomes a necessity. In its short history, Information Technology (IT) came to be a crucial part and sometimes the platform of business activities for many large companies such as telecommunication or financial services organizations. However, due to scale and complexity, risk management methods used by other industries are not widely applied in IT.In this thesis, we investigate how probabilistic risk assessments methods used in other industries can be applied to IT network environments. A comparison is done using a number of possible approaches, improvements to these approaches are suggested, and different tradeoffs are discussed. The thesis examines ways to apply probabilistic risk assessment to a Service Oriented Architecture environment (where each service is an application or a business process that depends on other services, local and networked resources) to estimate the service reliability, availability, expected costs over time and the importance measures of elements and configurations. Finally, a method of performing cost benefit analysis is presented to estimate the implication of changing the services-supporting infrastructure, while taking into consideration the varying impact of different services to the business.A case study is used to demonstrate the methods suggested in the thesis. The case study compares four different configurations, showing how equipment failure and human error can be placed into a single framework and addressed as a single system. The implications and application of the results are discussed and recommendations for further research are provided. / by Gadi Oren. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design & Management Program, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 105-106). / The high-tech industry is showing increased interest in developing an enterprise wide approach to risk management. There are three reasons for this increased interest; first as the industry has matured, as evidenced by slower growth, increasing consolidation and global competition, managing "costs" has moved to center stage; second, technology product life cycles have progressively shrunk leading to increased technology strategy risk; and third larger events such as 9/11 and corporate scandals have created an awareness of new risks to be managed. In these changed circumstances, the old days of rapid growth and localized & reactive risk management techniques need to be replaced with a capacity to understand risks and manage them effectively across the entire enterprise. Although, risk management has been practiced in the high-tech industry for some time the approaches are based on silo techniques such as insurance, finance, strategy or operations. The challenge is that these varied approaches fall short of holistic risk management and further maintain risk silos that generate additional risks to the organization. To address these silos and develop an enterprise risk management approach we have devised a "generic" and "scalable" risk management framework that could be used by a firm irrespective of its current risk management maturity to achieve a higher level of risk management sophistication. Our approach is based on a three step process; identifying the risks in each of the organizational silos, analyzing their gaps and thereafter developing common risk language and measurement capability across the whole enterprise to close these gaps. To accomplish these three steps a firm can use a 3-T knowledge management assessment framework / (cont.) and a 4-R risk management process methodology. We have also devised a risk management maturity model that helps a firm assess its current risk management sophistication, determine the level of maturity the firm would like to target and so clarify the next steps to get there. We combine these frameworks and methodologies together to create what we call Integrative Corporate Risk Management (ICRM) architecture to help high-tech firms develop a state of the art enterprise risk management capability. / by Atul Sharma. / S.M.

Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, September 2016. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 86-89). / Years after the inception of the Radical Atoms vision, significant advances in technology have seen to dynamic tangible interfaces that bridge the biological and micromechanical to enable radical physical interaction with computation. With an increasing multi-modal complexity in such interfaces, this thesis explores a new methodologies and frameworks to designing input/output coincident and physically embodied computers. New types of Shape Changing Interfaces introduce physical perception of material properties to dynamic shape with physically accurate force feedback and introduce Radical Materiality as a way to afford physical interactions with a rendered object. Finally, the Radical Reality Test is proposed as an objective for such interfaces to eventually become indistinguishable from the physical entity or behavior they are computationally and dynamically imitating. / by Luke Vink. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, February 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 67-68). / Since the invention of IBM 360, the first computing system about five decades ago, the processing and software capabilities have grown by leaps and have become major components of businesses. The software applications and capabilities for major business have become necessity rather than a "differentiating" factor to conduct their businesses. This thesis aims to analyze the product strategies in the enterprise software, specifically from the competitive point of view and their position in the market, new technology architectures and core competencies of an organization. / by Krishna S. Boppana. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.M.O.T.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, Management of Technology Program, 2000. / Also available online at the DSpace at MIT website. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 71-72). / The telecommunications industry is highly competitive. Many of the players in the Carrier, Commercial and Network Construction Service markets are looking to have financial, personnel, marketing, other resources and other competitive advantages such as B2B Internet services. Increased consolidation and· strategic alliances in the industry, resulting from the Telecommunications Act of 1996 is giving rise to significant new competition in the industry. In addition to this, the advent of the Internet has made the traditional circuit-switched telephony no longer efficient and economical, and to a certain extent obsolete. The less expensive and easily maintainable IP-switched networks are in greater demand. Information age has made Ecommerce the process of empowering the organizations for information exchange using digital technology. This study includes an analysis of the effect of the above factors on a network operator's business. It also consists of the case studies of two new-age network operators, Level 3 and Qwest. / by Tharunidhar Narravula. / S.M.M.O.T.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 57-59). / The pharmaceutical industry needs new modes of innovation. The industry's innovation system - based on massive investments in R&D protected by intellectual property rights - has worked well for many years, providing incentives for pharmaceutical firms to invest in developing drugs across a wide variety of major medical needs. However, this traditional drug development process is subject to decreasing productivity and increasing costs. In addition, it encourages pharmaceutical firms to focus on "blockbuster" drugs, and to neglect meeting needs in small potential markets such as "orphan" diseases and diseases primarily found in third world countries. This thesis focuses on new modes of innovation, specifically the sharing of safety information prior to clinical trials. To inform this analysis, I first discuss the data that informs why the industry is in need of new modes of innovation. I then proceed to outline the potential promise of some new modes of pharmaceutical development that are emerging. I then explore a specific novel innovation mode in more detail: the sharing of non-competitive safety information prior to clinical trials, leading to significant reductions in both costs and chances of failure in drug discovery and development. I propose that this new innovation mode offers the potential of significant benefit to both drug developers and medical patients. / by Ragu Bharadwaj. / S.M.