ASSIGNMENT DUE IN 24 HOURS
DUE IN 24 HOURS
1.
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Purpose
This assignment is intended to give you an opportunity to strengthen your skills in gathering and analyzing business-related information. It provides a deeper understanding of how companies can look at globalization as part of their strategic and operational plans. The assignment has two parts: one focused on information research and analysis, and the other is on applied analytics.
Resources:
o Microsoft Excel
o “How Netflix Expanded to 190 Countries in 7 Years” from Harvard Business Review
o CallCenterWaitingTime.xlsx file
Part 1: Globalization and Information Research
Context:Companies that perform well in their country of origin usually consider expanding operations in new international markets. Deciding where, how, and when to expand is not an easy task, though.
Many issues need to be considered before crafting an expansion strategy and investing significant resources to this end, including:
o the level of demand to be expected for the companys products/services
o presence of local competitors
o the regulatory, economic, demographic, and political environments
Carefully researching and analyzing these and other factors can help mitigate the inherent risk associated with an overseas expansion strategy, thus increasing the likelihood of success.
As a data analyst in your companys business development department, youve been tasked with the responsibility of recommending countries for international expansion. Youll write a report to the companys executive team with your research, analysis, and recommendations.
Instructions:
Write a 525-word summary covering the following items:
o According to the article listed above, what were the most important strategic moves that propelled Netflixs successful international expansion?
o The article mentions investments in big data and analytics as one of the elements accompanying the second phase of overseas expansion. Why was this investment important? What type of information did Netflix derive from the data collected?
o According to the article, what is exponential globalization?
o Not all international expansion strategies are a resounding success, however. Research an article or video that discusses an instance in which an American companys expansion efforts in another country failed. According to the article/video you selected, what were the main reasons for this failure? Do you agree with this assessment?
o Explain some of the reasons why certain companies expansion plans have failed in the past.
Part 2: Hypothesis testing
Context:Your organization is evaluating the quality of its call center operations. One of the most important metrics in a call center is Time in Queue (TiQ), which is the time a customer has to wait before he/she is serviced by a Customer Service Representative (CSR). If a customer has to wait for too long, he/she is more likely to get discouraged and hang up. Furthermore, customers who have to wait too long in the queue typically report a negative overall experience with the call. Youve conducted an exhaustive literature review and found that the average TiQ in your industry is 2.5 minutes (150 seconds).
Another important metric is Service Time (ST), also known as Handle Time, which is the time a CSR spends servicing the customer. CSRs with more experience and deeper knowledge tend to resolve customer calls faster. Companies can improve average ST by providing more training to their CSRs or even by channeling calls according to area of expertise. Last month your company had an average ST of approximately 3.5 minutes (210 seconds). In an effort to improve this metric, the company has implemented a new protocol that channels calls to CSRs based on area of expertise. The new protocol (PE) is being tested side-by-side with the traditional (PT) protocol.
Instructions:
Access the CallCenterWaitingTime.xlsx file. Each row in the database corresponds to a different call. The column variables are as follows:
o ProtocolType: indicates protocol type, either PT or PE
o QueueTime: Time in Queue, in seconds
o ServiceTime: Service Time, in seconds
o Perform a test of hypothesis to determine whether the average TiQ is lower than the industry standard of 2.5 minutes (150 seconds). Use a significance level of =0.05.
o Evaluate if the company should allocate more resources to improve its average TiQ.
o Perform a test of hypothesis to determine whether the average ST with service protocol PE is lower than with the PT protocol. Use a significance level of =0.05.
o Assess if the new protocol served its purpose. (Hint: this should be a test of means for 2 independent groups.)
o Submit your calculations and a 175-word summary of your conclusions.
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Information Technology (IT) Strategy
Week 6 Individual Assignment
Carolyn T. Vital
ENT/586 Information Technology for Entrepreneurs and Leaders
July 13, 2020
Dr. Chris Robinson
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Preparing for the New Norm
The coronavirus pandemic has transformed healthcare overnight. With their missions on
the line, health systems are deploying creative solutions to improve care delivery and technology
has played a significant role in healthcare organizations response to the COVID 19 pandemic.
Mobile Registrations, Inc. has redefined the manner in which healthcare organizations, providers
and patients are embracing the new norm when it comes to patient care. In an effort to continue
to provide avenues for seamless and appropriate care for the COVID-19 patient population, our
IT team at Mobile Registrations, Inc. is working to provide options beyond in-person care that
will allow patients and providers to connect in non-traditional settings. Our goal is to accelerate
the expansion of various upgrades including but not limited to telehealth offerings and data
analytics based on clinical expertise to restructure and enhance clinician workflows.
Healthcare systems are being challenged to show resilience throughout this
unprecedented COVID -19 crisis. Revenue from patient visits has significantly decrease as visits
have been cancelled and/or ae limited to virtual and/or audio only. Elective surgeries and those
that not considered emergent have been postponed and companies have been forced to furlough a
large percentage of their workforce due to decreased patient volume. Mobile Registrations, Inc.
offers workflow customization options and integrated supporting systems that are needed to
provide healthcare professionals with improved features and functionality.
We recognize that we will never go back to what was our previous normal; however, at
Mobile Registrations, Inc., we choose to be in healthcare and are committed to improving access
to care and quality. Our dedication to helping healthcare organizations and providers build an
even stronger healthcare system is an opportunity for innovative partnerships that will reshape
healthcare. Our rapid response includes using existing data to identify opportunities for facility
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upgrades, creating a virtual visit experience that supports better communication and
collaboration between caregivers and the patient. We strive to rebuild operations to fit the new
normal where Providers can rely on technology more than ever to assist with increased roll-outs
of telehealth services in an effort to keep patients out of the hospital setting; this will greatly
reduce the chance of infection as well as overall costs.
In the post COVID-19 environment, healthcare leaders must explore the impact of the
pandemic on both clinical operations and the bottom line while preparing for changes in care
delivery. Hospital processes will become more efficient as a result of utilization of artificial
intelligence, machine learning, robotic process automation and data analytics (K. Green,2015).
Our team at Mobile Registrations, Inc. can work with existing applications to augment patient
portal functions including pre-checks and patient questionnaire completions prior to patient
presenting to the facility, curbside arrival messages and the ability to capture patient payments
using a no-touch system. Our value chain is designed to support enterprise innovation and
competitive advantage by introducing new workflows and related goals for continued success.
Utilization of the vast technological upgrades at Mobile Registrations, Inc. provides tremendous
agility and advancement in responding to COVID -19 which creates valuable insight into best
practices that will revolutionize healthcare.
Governance Framework
The healthcare industry is a critical and growing part of economies worldwide (Ba and
Nault, 2016). The COVID-19 pandemic heightened awareness of the need to save every minute
of the caregivers time while maximizing the value of the information that was captured when
treating patients. To provide better quality of care and value for money, billions of dollars are
being spent on bettering information systems in healthcare organizations. At Mobile
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Registrations, Inc., our Information Technology steering team consists of individuals who have a
diverse knowledge base along with key stakeholders within our organization. This team is
responsible for identifying, developing and implementing software changes for new and existing
business systems.
Healthcare organizations and providers require wireless solutions to maximize
operational efficiencies and improve patient care (Khalil and Belitski, 2020). Mobile
Registrations, Inc. utilizes Control Objectives for Information and Related Technology (COBIT)
to maintain regulatory compliance, risk management and align our information technology with
strategic goals of the your company. COBIT is an internationally recognized framework that
helps our information technology team members along with our senior leadership to measure,
control and report the success and/or failure of identified processes (COBIT Focus, March,
2019).
Companies seeking business opportunities in a digital age focus on reshaping customer
value propositions and transforming their strategy and operations, adopting digital technologies
for greater interaction with external stakeholders (Tambo and Filtenborg, 2019). Process quality
can be measured in two dimensions; process effectiveness and process efficiency. Mobile
Registrations, Inc. utilizes an effective business process that enables your organization to
accomplish overall strategy and we are proud to be one of the leading software manufacturers in
the business. We have streamlined our operations to be a leader in capturing, storing, and
formatting patient information and/or sensitive patient data over a long period of time.
Our company strives for continued efficiency in our operations as our obligation to our
business partners, stakeholders and patients remain a top priority. Despite the potential benefits
that an information system can deliver to healthcare organizations and/or providers, there can
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often be a challenge in getting value from the investment. Effective use and beneficial outcomes
from IS are not guaranteed and systems continue to fail to meet expectations in some way (Bush
et al., 2009; Heeks, 2006). Mobile Registrations, Inc. is dedicated to finding and embracing
groundbreaking techniques to address the COVID-19 social distancing initiatives, improving the
overall patients experience but most importantly protecting your data.
Mobile Registrations, Inc. recognizes that the utilization of technology brings both
opportunities and threats for its partners. Unless an enabling ethical environment is in place, the
use of such analytics will likely contribute to the proliferation of unconnected data systems,
worsen existing inequalities and erode trustworthiness and trust. Our team undergoes routine and
annual training regarding numerous compliance laws and expectations. We are steadfast in
educating our employees to ensure that information is handled appropriately.
Our governance framework is made up of managers from the executive, commercial and
operational platforms. As IT governance mechanisms are complementary, a small improvement
in their implementation may have a significant impact on firm outcomes ((Tambo and
Filtenborg, 2019) including the individual and cumulative impact of IT governance elements on
firm performance (Sarker et.al., 2012; Wu et.al, 2015). Whereas Mobile Registrations, Inc.
derives its success from embracing technology and innovation, we pride ourselves on our ability
to recognize business drivers.
Our IT Governance will influence strategic planning by enabling modern connectivity
with confidence in a network that is stable, scalable and secure. Mobile Registrations, Inc. will
use the telehealth platform, as well as other consumer and enterprise video conferencing tools to
support caregivers working from home and for patients to virtually present for their conditions.
We will use newly developed workflows and advanced decision support to enable efficient
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testing processing including curbside and mobile testing capabilities and leverage data and
analytics to support all aspects of COVID-19 response and recovery efforts.
Project Systems Acquisitions Plan
In the climate we find ourselves in today, identifying options for patient facing tasks
while improving the overall patient experience is critical. The mission to provide a touch-free
experience can take many different paths, leading to varying results. Knowing the potential
effect of information systems and having the capacity to put this knowledge to work can help
decision makers achieve the business goals. Mobile Registrations, Inc. has created a system that
will help hundreds of hospitals consolidate their patient relationships, create a safe alternative to
in-person check in and streamline the overall patient visit.
At Mobile Registrations, Inc., our goal is to transform the manner in which patient access
medical care by providing a safe and electronic option to the traditional front desk check in
procedure. Wi-Fi based positioning technology has been recognized as an effective technology
for indoor positioning along with the rapid development and application of smartphones (Gao,
Tang, Bai 2019). We will utilize a system development process (SLDC) which will allow the
company to review and validate each step of the process prior to moving to the next. We must
have a system that will provide a means for managing the information associated with the data
related to the product development, engineering design, production, support and documentation
of the patients future appointment history. Using the SLDC model will ensure that as each
system is built and validated, we will be able to adjust our project timelines as appropriate to
facilitate a better opportunity for a successful implementation.
The SLDC workflow should also limit unnecessary expenses and rework (Gao, Tang and
Bai, 2019). There is a formal review at the end of each phase which allows management to
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develop and initiate a corrective action in a timely manner. If an error is detected further
downstream of the project, it may cost substantially more to correct and will require the previous
phases to be reviewed, revised and evaluated for accuracy. As this new software requires
extensive testing, this approach will uncover and get rid of errors early on in the project life
cycle.
System development can cost a company a considerable amount of resources including
employees time and business finances (Dhiman, Amber and Goodman, 2015). Prior to choosing
to move forward with a system acquisition, Mobile Registrations, Inc. has created a steering
committee and provided a system investigation request which identifies current workflow
deficiencies including redundancy and customer feedback. Based on current healthcare trends,
Mobile Registrations, Inc. touch-free electronic check in is a much anticipated option as patients
consider returning to their Providers office.
Our system developers and subject matter experts (SME) will be responsible for testing
the system on each level and analyzing throughput, timeliness and accuracy. The overall goal is
to assess all aspects of the project including technical, economic, legal, operational and schedule
feasibility. End users who serve as our subject matter experts will be responsible for reviewing
the system and identifying any high volume and/or problem prone areas based on previous
interactions with patients and/or feedback from returned surveys. Our goal is to gin an
understanding of any concerns the patient may have and determining if we have a technical
component that can address their needs.
Our system is designed to minimize the amount of time and the number of people that the
patient has to come in contact with. With this new software, the patient can complete all
paperwork and make the necessary payment without interacting with a person. Once the patient
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arrives to their location, they will be able to send an electronic message to the Providers Office
indicating they are onsite. When the Provider is ready to see the patient, the patient will receive
an electronic message to report to a specific location thus bypassing the waiting area and
employing enhanced social distancing protocols.
Many software development projects are being carried out by distributed teams who use
the agile approach for their software development (Attri and Grover, 2017). Our teams will
include a Project Manager, system analysts, programmers end users and our patients.
Transparency is necessary in purchasers reporting of system defects and vendors disclosure of
marketing conflicts of interest to support methodology sound studies. Taken together, these
measures can foster the evolution of evidence-based tools that, in turn, will enable and empower
system purchasers to make wise choices and improve the care of patients (Dhiman, Amber and
Goodman, 2015).
At Mobile Registrations, Inc., the maintenance phase starts the SLDC process over. As
part of any system, there has to be a process to track both deficiencies and any requests to
improve the system or adjust to meet new requirements. Mobile Registrations, Inc. is a new
system design with the potential to expand into other areas such as appointment scheduling. As
we roll out the new system, users will be able to open a ticket via an internal system; the ticket
will be formatted to capture what is not working and/or what enhancement is being requested.
Data Analytics
Data analytics are increasingly used by health systems and providers to bring healthcares
enormous datasets into focus. While existing technology has broad applications in healthcare
from tracking patient outcomes to monitoring when the patient arrives for their visit, COVID-19
has created a new type of challenge to growing concerns over patient data privacy and
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ineffective solutions that fail to serve the patient and/or end user. Mobile Registrations, Inc. is
set to grasp the critical nature of human interaction and how to use technology to expand each
Providers and/or facilitys ability to share information with their patients and other health care
providers while maintaining social distancing.
. Mobile Registrations, Inc. has proven it has the understanding to meet the data needs of
the Provider, the facility and the patient. Data sources such as the patients demographic
information and insurance benefits can be validated and extracted for proper billing while also
using the data sources to track/trend any new positive exposures and/or infection hotspots based
on address/zip codes. The effective use of virtual intake management tools creates an expedient
experience that can increase the patients satisfaction and loyalty.
Considering that COVID 19 is a global threat, measures should be taken to protect health
care workers, their families and professional support should be given to address their concerns
(Akbolat, Bostoan, Kaya, Ozata &Gunes, 2020). Mobile Registrations, Inc. uses standard data
management tools to manage patient populations in real time and provide accurate reports to
local and state agencies is crucial. It is important to develop a database that receives data from
various software platforms and presents it in one place. Using the approach, each entity is able
to work from the same data sources and meaningful dashboards can be created by multiple end
users.
The emergence of the deadly COVID 19 virus resulting in the current world-wide
pandemic requires effective information management and accurate data reporting to enable the
healthcare communitys efforts to learn as much as possible about this specific strain of
coronavirus and halt the pandemic (Stanfill et al., 2020). Mobile Registrations, Inc. has the
ability to use contract tracing system to help prevent future infection by assessing the database to
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determine which patients seen by a Provider may have had an exposure to a COVID 19 positive
patient. The capture of high-quality treatment data and outcomes is necessary in order to learn
from our clinical experiences with big data analytics (McNutt et al., 2018).
Prior to the COVID 19 pandemic, growth in the healthcare industry was seen as an
essential factor to helping to increase accessibility to services; however, it has also often
contributed to operational inefficiencies. By using predictive analytics, healthcare providers
were able to create strategic plans that would address these inefficiencies an in turn, give
clinicians and administrators time and opportunity to address the issues. Since the COVID 19
pandemic and the increase in the number of patients requiring life-saving measures on a daily
basis, it has become even more critical to eliminate time-wasting tasks and to create virtual
options that will produce a positive patient experience.
Risk Assessment and Management
Implementing an information system can be time consuming, expensive and risky. The risks
involved include collaborative management, requirement gaps, problems with transition and
resistance from employees. Hospitals spend a lot of time and money reinforcing firewalls and
protecting server infrastructure. Firewalls have an essential role in setting up powerful,
trustworthy and reliable security policies to ensure the protection of private and sensitive
applications, services, systems and infrastructures (AIDI, 2019).
Prevention and resistance technologies stop intruders from accessing and reading data but
many organizations leave endpoints like PCs and printers unprotected. These seemingly
innocuous tools can be the gateway for malware, putting the entire network and the patient
data connected to it at risk. When designing and/or developing a system, there will be
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disputes that inevitably arise and will require direction. The organization will need to develop
and steering groups to collaborate and create effective solutions.
Many organizations will not create their own system but instead rely on an existing
product that will need to be configured. Transitioning to a new system will be challenging;
Mobile Registrations, Inc. will need to identify specific gaps, particularly what our new system
offers compared to what the company may need. Your organization must be prepared to revamp
from existing silo systems to using our more broader and inclusive system; this will take place
while continuing to run the business and generating revenue.
Information systems security involves a trade-off between cost and risk and unfortunately
risk cant be eliminated. Effective IT governance can support web-based strategic initiatives such
as dissemination of information on corporate web sites (Heroux &Fortin, 2011). The most
effective way a company can safeguard itself from people is by creating and sharing its
information security plan. A companys information security policies identify the rules required
to maintain information security; the increasing need for better authentication methods against
hackers has called for the use of the biometric authentication method to guard unauthorized
access into the systems (Yusuf, Marafa, Shehu, Mamman &Maidawa, 2020). At Mobile
Registrations, Inc., we reiterate that prior to any person being given access to the system,
adherence to established security policies such as information privacy policy, acceptable use
policy and workplace monitoring policy should be reviewed.
As part of their due diligence, companies should consistently and constantly monitor their
systems security to quickly identify and respond to any possible breaches by reviewing system
activity logs, unsuccessful access attempts and/or failed log ins (Lee, Ghapanchi, Talaei-Khoei
and Ray, 2015). Our organization should have a response plan to address any possible security
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breaches. The plan should include all relevant information regarding follow-up required and the
immediate plan to decrease the possibility of additional harm. Business continuity needs to be
properly planned, tested and reviewed in order to be successful (Timms,2018).
Conclusion
The COVID-19 pandemic has upended countless lives and the delivery of healthcare. In
times of crisis, strategic priorities like digital transformation will often take a back seat to more
pressing imperatives. COVID 19 has forced healthcare organizations to consider how to position
for success in recovery and beyond. Mobile Registrations, Inc. is a clear leader in providing
technology that can help drive innovation solutions in todays changing world that uses digital
transformation to achieving the business outcomes that will enable healthcare organizations to
thrive. Its time for healthcare stakeholders to reevaluate what they offer to patients in terms of
shopping for care, delivering care and interfacing with providers before, during and after care.
Patients are going to get convenience; the question is whether theyre going to get it from you.
At Mobile Registrations, Inc., we set ourselves apart by adopting virtual patient intake
functionality that will lighten the load of both patients and caregivers.
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References
AIDI.F. (2019). A Quantified Trust-Risk Assessment Approach for Enhancing Firewalls-
Filtering Services. Journal of Information Assurance & Security, 14(2), 30-39.
Akbolat, M., Bostan, S., Kaya, A., Ozata, M. and Gunes, D., 2020. Assessments of Anxiety
Levels and Working Conditions of Health Employees Working in COVD-19 Pandemic
Hospitals. Electronic Journal of General Medicine, 17(5), p.em246.
Attri, R. and Grover, S., 2017. Modelling the quality enabled factors in initiation stage of
production system life cycle. Benchmarking: An International Journal, 24(1), pp.163-
183.
Ba, S. and Nault, B., 2016. Emergent Themes in the Interface Between Economics of
Information Systems and Management of Technology. Production and Operations
Management, 26(4), pp.652-666.
Black, J., Hulkower, R., Suarez, W., Patel, S. and Elliott, B., 2019. Public Health Surveillance:
Electronic Reporting as a Point of Reference. The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics,
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Deokar, A. and Sarnikar, S., 2014. Understanding process change management in electronic
health record implementations. Information Systems and e-Business Management, 14(4),
pp.733-766.
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References (continued)
Dhiman, G., Amber, K. and Goodman, K., 2015. Comparative outcome studies of clinical
decision support software: limitations to the practice of evidence-based system
acquisition. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 22(e1), pp.e13-
e20.
Gao, L., Tang, S. and Bai, Y., 2019. A New Approach for Wi-Fi-Based People Localization in a
Long Narrow Space. Wireless Communications and Mobile Computing, 2019, pp.1-8.
Green K. [emailprotected] The Universe in the Palm of Your Hand. How a
Universal Electronic Health Record System Could Improve Patient Safety and Quality of
Care. DePaul Journal of Health Care Law. 2017; 19(2): 1-21
Hammack-Aviran, C., Brelsford, K. and Beskow, L., 2020. Ethical Considerations in the
Conduct of Unregulated m Health Research: Expert Perspectives. The Journal of Law,
Medicine & Ethics, 48(1_suppl), pp.9-36.
Heroux, S. & Fortin, A. (2013). Exploring Information Technology Governance and Control of
Web Site Content: A Comparative Case Study. Journal of Management and Governance.
17(3),673-721. https://doi.org/https://link.springer.com/journal/volumesAndIssues/10997
Ho, C., Ali, J. and Caals, K., 2020. Ensuring trustworthy use of artificial intelligence and big
data analytics in health insurance. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 98(4),
pp.263-269.
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mailto:[emailprotected]
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References (continued)
Khalil, S. and Belitski, M., 2020. Dynamic capabilities for firm performance under the
information technology governance framework. European Business Review, 32(2),
pp.129-157.
Lee, T., Ghapanchi, A., Talaei-Khoei, A. and Ray, P., 2015. Strategic Information System
Planning in Healthcare Organizations. Journal of Organizational and End User
Computing, 27(2), pp.1-31.
McNutt, T., Bowers, M., Cheng, Z., Han, P., Hui, X., Moore, J., Robertson, S., Mayo, C.,
Voong, R. and Quon, H., 2018. Practical data collection and extraction for big data
applications in radiotherapy. Medical Physics, 45(10), pp.e863-e869.
Tambo, T. and Filtenborg, J., 2019. Digital services governance: IT4IT for management of
technology. Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, 30(8), pp.1230-1249.
Timms, P. (2018). Business continuity and disaster recovery-advice for best practice. Network
Security. 2018(11), 13-14. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1353-4858(18)30113-2
Yusuf, N., Marafa, K., Shehu, K., Mamman, H. and Maidawa, M., 2020. A survey of biometric
approaches of authentication. International Journal of Advanced Computer Research,
10(47), pp.96-104.
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