Site-Wide Activity

Kricket,

Thank you for the great post! Being an iPhone user since I can remember, I’ve always had the urge to try an android just for the shear fact that I’ve never had one. Sadly, all of my devices (Apple watch, mac book, iPad, etc..) are all within the “Apple family”. I’m 100 percent team iPhone as my devices are all connected and intertwined with each other, if they weren’t and I just had an iPhone, I would give Android a try.. Maybe in my next life!

Great post, Kricket! The iPhone vs. Android debate is one that I don’t believe will end anytime soon. My first smartphone was an Android and I hated it so much that I returned it the next day and literally went back to a flip phone for a few years until I could afford to get my first iPhone. Now, I’m the only iPhone user in a family of Android users and while they make fun of the fact that I can’t set a custom ringtone without paying for it, I appreciate the convenience of knowing what I have right away on iOS, rather than having to adjust to the intricacies of each new Android device.

Hey Briana,

This is an incredible accomplishment! How long did it take to implement the new process? Was there any push back from employees who were on the ground working Free Dentistry Days? I can imagine that it takes more time to collect patient’s information electronically; however, there are other inefficiencies that were clearly improved. Do you think additional errors could be avoided if patients were able to pre-register for the event?

Emily,

Great post! In our department, we don’t have a “sales team”, but we do have student influencers who we partner with in reaching out to perspective students who are interested in Temple. While they aren’t sales representatives, this a tactic that we are starting to see a lot of higher education systems use in partnering with student influencers to connect to other students. We just look at it as another tool and tactic in connecting with our target audience (aka students).

Hi Evelyn, you brought up a really good point. A lot of times teams are so wrapped up in their own tasking they forget what other teams/departments are working on or they don’t have a full understanding of what the other teams do. With lack of communication and/or understanding across departments an extra layer of complexity is added to the task. A RACI chart or variation RACIQ (Q for Quality Review) would help. The final review could be completed by department leads which could increase communication across departments.

Hi Evelyn – In my experience most departments forget to notify the “front line” of changes and then they’ve left a gap in customer service. In working in ecommerce I’ve found that communicating effectively with customer service is business critical to the success of the “store”. A poor customer service experience will result in customers leaving your virtual store just as fast as they will a IRL store. In any situation communication is key.

Tesla is an interesting company and there is a lot to think about here, Jerry. They are trying to maintain demand for an unconventional luxury vehicle while at the same time trying to cross over into the mainstream lower-cost market. They’re also disrupting the car dealership sales model while planning to eventually disrupt the entire transportation system with the development of self-driving technology. Maybe they are spreading themselves too thin with all this innovative work!

As for the manufacturing issues, it does sounds like they could benefit from implementing jidoka and poka yoke techniques!

Totally agree Nichole, Tesla’s innovative thinking challenges conventions, and accomplishments are beyond inspiring, and from my humble point-of-view musters great admiration for Telsa and Elon Musk, not just for Tesla Cars but also for Hyperloop and the SpaceX projects. In contrast to the whole auto-industry, and not in a good way – Tesla garnered negative attention when consumers themselves feel neglected after getting behind Tesla’s brand and product when receiving compromised cars, distribution of flagship vehicles with so many issues is not a good look, hence I am with you that poke yoke and Toyota wisdom can benefit Tesla.

This is really interesting, Sarah! I can’t imagine how one change in the public transportation system could affect so many other businesses and processes in NYC. Not only can these improvements help efficiency, like eliminating incidents and delays, but it could also increase safety and improve other areas of the city. For example, the more money that is invested into a system, typically, the higher the level of customer satisfaction. The more customers that choose public transportation over owning a personal vehicle affects other factors, like how late businesses are open, rush hour traffic, and environmental impact. It’s amazing to try to think of all the different places in society these updates will touch, both inside and outside of NYC. I feel some process mapping coming on…