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, 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.)--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.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design & Management Program, February 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 88). / by Mark E. Cummins. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design & Management Program, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 113-116). / The research provides a case study of performance metrics within the framework of the product development process and team effectiveness. A comparative analysis of eight product development teams was done to evaluate the teams' effectiveness in achieving three outcomes - customer satisfaction, shareholder value and time to market. A survey was conducted to evaluate areas where no formal documentation existed and to supplement the existing historical data that were collected from databases and documents. The analysis was done on two levels - by program team and individual respondent - and looked at the level of performance and effort that influenced the specific outcomes. It was concluded that performance metrics are used within an organization to drive actions, to assess progress and to make decisions. Conclusions were consistent with the premise that people perform to how they are measured and that the team effectiveness can be driven by a set of performance metrics that are aligned with the strategic goal of the organization. Transformational metrics were developed within the framework of understanding the interdependence of the social and technical systems. Choosing the right metrics is critical to an organization's success because the metrics directly influence behavior and establish the culture within the firm. It was determined that if the right combinations of metrics are selected, teams will act in such a way as to maximize their effectiveness and behave in a manner that achieves the corporate goals. / by Dawn M. Robison. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design & Management Program, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 98). / by K. Hari Reddy. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design & Management Program, February 2000. / Vita. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 74). / by Lynn M. Tinker. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design & Management Program, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 70-71). / The xerographic printing and copying industry has become extremely competitive. Xerox market share has gradually declined since the 1960s as the market share of corporations like Canon, Hewlett Packard and Ricoh has increased. In response to rising competition, various product architecture strategies are heralded as the means to gaining, or regaining, competitive advantage in this environment. Among the most popular of these strategies are platobrm strategy, product families and parts commonality, and outsourcing. The objective of this thesis is not to dispute the value of these strategies in the present context. Obviously, platform strategies and parts reuse enable firms to develop products faster and with less cost by leveraging previous investments. Likewise, in order to remain competitive in this environment, a firm can no longer afford to vertically integrate its products-clearly, firms can no longer afford to do everything themselves. Horizontal integration through outsourcing, or what Xerox calls extended enterprise, is therefore one source of competitive advantage. Platform strategy, parts reuse, and extended enterprise all make good sense but each of these strategies can easily backfire. In this paper we will examine these strategies and see how they relate to central themes in product architecture, such as, architectural modularity. Then we shall see how these strategies can, if not applied carefully, cause more problems than they attempt to resolve. Finally, in light of these problems, revised and more robust versions of these strategies are presented. / by David C. Craig. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design & Management Program, 2002. / This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections. / Includes bibliographical references. / by Shui-Fang Chou. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design & Management Program, February 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 71-73). / by Khusrow M. Uzair. / S.M.