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The Final Frontier in Computers

by John Sebastian, MBA1

Computers never should have made it past the home business, by some accounts. However, these complicated machines have broken down many barriers to make it into many people's homes. Computers were too big, but the miniaturization of our world reflected in components such as microprocessors, have scaled computers to a reasonable size. Computer language was too complicated, but Steve Jobs and Bill Gates developed a language based on pictures which was easy to understand. They also added a mouse to help break down the barrier of the keyboard to point-and-click. Computers were too expensive, but the commoditization and competition in the industry have made computers more affordable than a new refrigerator. Despite these innovations, there are less than 50% of homes (without a small business) which have a computer. For computers to become as common as televisions, the industry needs to break down the barriers of accessibility. The mouse has helped improve the human to machine interface, but recent innovations may result in making computers truly accessible to everyone.

Windows 95 already incorporates little mentioned features designed for the mobility, hearing, or visually impaired which may actually improve the accessibility of computers to them and others. For example, "StickyKeys" allows users to press Shift, Ctrl, or Alt by pressing one key at a time, instead of needing to hold multiple keys at the same time. "FilterKeys" allows Windows 95 to ignore brief or repeated keystrokes performed by the poor typist. Windows 95 also includes a feature which can automatically change the colors of any program to make the program more readable. For those who are not good with or are intimidated by the mouse, Windows 95 also allows the user to use the arrow keys on the keyboard. However the feature of Windows 95 which allows for a quantum leap in accessibility is their open-ended "SerialKey" feature. This allows Windows 95 to accommodate more revolutionary human to computer interfaces.

The most promising of these new computer interfaces is voice recognition. Like computers, voice recognition has existed for some time, but has been impractical because of cost or performance barriers. However, software vendors have made significant improvements in voice recognition software and manufacturers have added greater processing power, allowing users to translate the spoken word, in a natural tone, into language the computer can understand with up to 95% accuracy. According to Nuance Communications, a voice recognition vendor, "The technology has migrated from a science project to a business solution".

Not only is voice recognition software now effective, it is also affordable, with prices for some products below $100. By adding a microphone and speakers, standard equipment with most multimedia systems, the user can fully benefit from the software's ability to perform program functions and dictation. In fact, Microsoft plans on adding voice recognition software to all of its programs and operating systems. According to InformationWeek, the first

integration may occur in Windows CE, opening up opportunities for devices such as Web TV and Personal Assistant devices to respond to the audible command.

However, these accessibility options may not help the final frontier in computer accessibility - true ease of use in software programs and operating systems themselves. While pull down menus and point-and-click make a lot of sense to those of us who are comfortable using it, the blue-gray screen of words and buttons is still overwhelming to new users. Microsoft tried to address this issue through its software "Assistant", but the annoying eyed paper clip seems to only get in the way of those who already know how to use the software. In the same way that Web browsing introduced a new paradigm of maneuverability, drill down, software programs and operating systems need to develop a new concept which is easy to use for both experienced and inexperienced users. This challenge is not easy - VCR's have been around a very long time and there are still many VCR's out there that are flashing 12:00 AM. Windows 98 appears to be following a "Web browsing" interface, which may further exacerbate new user accessibility.

The PalmPilot has shown that a well designed product from a small company, with a superior interface at a reasonable cost, can be extremely successful against insurmountable competitors like Microsoft. Computers are an important part in the lives of some. For the industry to grow the category and make computers accessible to all, they need to focus on the final frontier - to transform the way that humans interface with computers and break down the barriers of accessibility.

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MBA Talent in the Automotive Supply Chain

ITT Automotive: Challenges and Opportunities

by Ian Hinke and Kevin White, MBA1s

ITT Automotive, Inc. is a leading supplier of systems and components to automotive Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) around the world, providing innovative solutions to their customers in areas such as antilock brake and traction control systems, chassis and fluid handling systems, and small electric motors. With technical centers in Michigan, Ohio, and Germany and a network of laboratories around the United States and the rest of the world, ITT Automotive's product variety and global reach offer exciting challenges and career opportunities for Michigan MBAs.

We experienced ITT Automotive from their headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The schedule was designed to provide us a first hand look at the role of purchasing at ITT, and allow us to develop an understanding of some of the different career paths MBAs have chosen.

We spent much of our day interacting with purchasing managers from ITT Automotive's Electrical Systems Group. We began our DITL by attending an operations meeting whose participants included purchasing, engineering, manufacturing, and quality representatives from ITT and their pertinent suppliers. The roundtable produced tangible results and illustrated the multi-disciplinary problem solving approach embraced by ITT.

We continued our day by meeting with Program Managers to discuss their important leadership role at ITT Automotive. Program Management offers a challenging entry gateway into ITT Automotive for MBAs. Such positions utilize financial, operations, strategy, and discrete project management skills on a daily basis to meet design, production, and shipment expectations for individual programs worth over $150M in sales annually. An MBA will most likely start his or her career at ITT Automotive as a Program Manager, building valuable networks for "making things happen" across the entire organization.

We concluded our DITL experience by sitting in on a staff meeting where global purchasing practices were discussed. The meeting emphasized the need for implementing 'Best in Class' practices in ITT purchasing units around the world, and highlighted action plans and discrete timetables for achieving that goal.

ITT Automotive is a company with many exciting and challenging opportunities. They have undergone considerable changes and are continuing to improve their operations. Much of this transformation has occurred as ITT Automotive learns to become more independent from its past

with General Motors.

We were impressed with the time and attention given to us during our visit. It is clear that ITT Automotive recognizes the need for first-class MBA talent, and they are committed to providing rewarding experiences to employees entering their organization. Opportunities abound at ITT, as they continually strive to improve their operations and remain the premier supplier of value-added automotive systems to OEM's around the world.

ITT Automotive would like to hear from other University of Michigan MBAs who are interested in careers with their organization. You may discuss any part of ITT Automotive and the opportunities available for Michigan MBAs by contacting Mr. Mike Mizusawa, Purchasing Director-Electrical Systems, at (248) 340-2556.

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Utilizing the SIC to find out more about your industry

by Judith Brink, KBAL Librarian

Utilizing a WHAT? Okay, if that's your first question, let's start with what an SIC is, a standard industrial classification. The SIC is a coding system first designed by the U.S. Department of Commerce to organize economic statistics by industry. Many of the library databases can be searched with the SIC. For instance, if I'm in the process of researching the soft drink industry, one of the first pieces of information I want is that industry's SIC. I can either go to: the Standard Industrial Classification Manual, which is available at the Information Services Desk in KBAL; the following url (http://www.osha.gov/oshstats/sicser.html); or I can go to General Business File (GBF). Choosing either of the first two options will yield the number of the soft drink industry (it's 2086) and a textual description of what is and isn't contained in this particular number.

Using General Business File to begin researching an industry can often be synonymous to the term "one-stop shopping."At this point, I know my SIC for the soft drink industry, and I can just input the number into the search box, hit return, and wait a second or two for my industry profile to come back. The industry profile will include the textual description found in the book or website mentioned above, and it will also include a profile of the companies involved in this industry ranked by revenue with links that will take you to the company page on the database, articles from trade journals and newspapers, full-text investment reports from analysts, and a link that will take you to industries that are related to 2086. Hence the term "one-stop shopping"(at least for the beginning of your search for industry information)!

General Business File can still be used as a starting point even if you don't have your SIC yet. Here's how: instead of keying in a number on the first search screen for this database, type the name of a company who's a key player in this industry, like Gatorade. The screen will display a great company record that contains the SIC's (both primary and secondary) in which the company is involved. Then just back out, redo the search with the SIC number that you've found, and there's the basic outline of your industry profile!

There are a few caveats to remember when researching an industry by the SIC. First, and foremost, the Code was created with an industrial economy in mind. As a result, entries are more numerous and more detailed in the manufacturing portion of the manual than in the service section. Another drawback for searching with the SIC is that the codes themselves haven't been updated since 1987. Think about how much has changed since 1987, especially in the area of technology, and you see the limits of searching an SIC.

While using GBF is almost the perfect database for starting your search for industry and company data, it doesn't contain every source that you'll need to produce the perfect presentation or paper. GBF doesn't have annual reports for publicly held companies, it doesn't have scholarly journals or research-oriented studies, and many newspapers (like The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times) and trade journals are still not linked to full-text.

The Library has scheduled special sessions for CS390 students, and remember that there are Library Resource handouts on your ERes pages for this class. Please stop by the Information Services desk with your questions.

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1998 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 Convertible:

Right Car, Wrong Weather

by Ryan Scott, MBA1

Michigan winters are always made a little brighter by fun cars?cars that are completely out of place. Our red Chevrolet Camaro Z-28 Convertible is a perfect example. 305 hp, big gumball tires, no hard top, and worst of all, rear wheel drive: who cares that it's January? That's not what pony cars are about, and that's how it is supposed to be.

Practicality is never very high on customer wish lists when it comes to the high-power, low-price cars that have been called pony cars since the inception of the class with the 1964 1/2 Ford Mustang. One could argue that not much has changed since the first Mustang. Real pony cars still have big V8s, 2+2 seating, and rear-wheel drive: that is the formula, end of discussion.

Lately, though, there have been some concessions to technology and safety. As required these days, our Camaro had dual airbags. It also had ABS and traction control, but of course, the traction control is deactivated at the flip of a switch to allow tire-melting burnouts and tail happy antics.

Unlike the stunning new 1998 Corvette Convertible, the Camaro Convertible is not a purpose-built drop-top. In fact the current generation Camaro and Firebird F-Body twins retain the floor plan of the last generation F-Body introduced circa 1982 (remember Knight Rider?). This leads to the only insurmountable problem with this Convertible. Cowl shake. Cowl shake is the term used to describe the non-synchronous motions the dashboard and other parts of the interior make as the chassis flexes over bumps and potholes. Every convertible, except maybe the mighty new Vette suffers from cowl shake. However, the Camaro suffers more than most. While the cabin is rattle-free today, one wonders how long that will last given the constant flexing the car endures.

Belly of the Beast

The Camaro is not a Camry. All the buttons and switches are a little strange and have a parts-bin feel to them, the cloth interior has some garish color palette selections and the stereo, usually a GM strong suit, is a bit weak and tinny. You sit very, very low in the car, my shoulder barely cleared the bottom of the side window. You also look out over a wide dashboard that resembles one of those black Hawaiian beaches as it stretches off into the distance towards the base of the windshield.

The interior appointments were a source of debate among testers. Opinions were mixed on the fabrics and color choices, the rug was a little too shaggy, and the seats were too narrow for some tastes. There were universal thumbs down on the uneven passenger floor that is buckled and bent to accommodate the catalytic converter.

The back seat is best left to grocery duty, though you could squeeze your least favorite MAP teammates in if necessary. About those groceries, avoid large trips because the trunk is very small, and is mostly taken up by the roof storage area.

All in all, the quality is there, much more so than in past GM pony cars, but it is not up to the interior standards of a Mustang and is certainly a long way from the Japanese go-fast competition.

Born to be Bad

But the Japanese have never had torque like this, or sounds like this. This car is just a brute, but once you pull the reigns tight, it starts to treat you with respect. Top speed of our topless cruise missile is listed at 135 mph. 0-60 is a startling 5.1 seconds. Brakes, a good option given the previous numbers, are strong, but not world class. 4-wheel disks with ABS grab sharply and do manage to out-stop a Mustang GT from 60.

Driving the Camaro is never dull. In contrast to most cars on the road, the Camaro does not respond well to polite driving habits. The car seems to be bored when it is not being pushed. In fact, Chevy punishes a light foot by forcing a shift from 1st to 4th when moving slowly away from a stop to save fuel. Push the gas pedal a bit further and the shifts to 2nd are allowed. Darn.

But with 335 lb feet of torque, gears are really secondary anyway. I accidentally started from 3rd once or twice and the car really could have cared less. There is torque everywhere on the dial. There is so much torque that the traction control on our test vehicle came in handy and is best left on in Ann Arbor's typically slick streets.

Fairly conservative (225/55) 16-inch Goodyear Eagle GA's provide a little more give than Z28 coupes. This car is not meant to be the all-out handler like its enclosed sister. Driving this car hard requires courage because the performance limits are still quite high and the cowl shake is an often-dramatic distraction. But good clean fun can be had on smooth roads and on-ramps. The car performed admirably in the snowÑit got stuck only once when we parked in a hopeless spot.

Although it's winter, I did manage to put the top down for a little while. The top is pretty easy to manage: flip two latches, push a dash-mounted button, and away it goes. The top has a glass window complete with electric defroster, something that cannot be said of many high-dollar convertibles (are you listening Mercedes and BMW?). Putting the top up is also a simple affair, although the latches at the top of the windshield require some patience the first time through.

The Final Word

Competing with the Camaro/Firebird twins are some fun alternatives. The Mustang GT Convertible is in the same $27K ballpark. It's slower, but is a better all-around athlete. The Chrysler Sebring Convertible, the best seller in the segment, is a stunning piece of automotive art, but the chassis is a mess and quality might be a rung short. However, it is cheaper by a few grand.

Do not forget about the Japanese: Eclipse Turbo Spiders provide a wild 210 HP ride for a fire-sale price, and the classic Miata (re-vamped for 1999) is always a crowd-pleaser. If you push the needle up to 30 large, you can also step into the South Carolina-built BMW Z3.

The best part is that there is such a variety of choices that you are bound to go home happy. This segment of the market has been reborn since the 1989 introduction of the Miata, and it gets better every year. The Camaro Z28 Convertible is the wildest of the bunch and is sure to leave many memorable grins to accompany all those long stripes of Goodyear rubber outside your post-degree dream house.