Nucor Steel

Nucor Steel

The Nucor Steel philosophy incorporates
the knowledge spiral framework and
interprets such with human capital.
The social, internal, external and
combination which takes tacit knowledge
and converts it to explicit knowledge
is the key to a profitable business
venture.

The "knowledge is power" ideal is still
prevolent because people will take
advantage of their position to maintain
relevence. Sharing of knowlwdge is a
noble but unrealistic concept. Only 29%
believe in this ideal. Knowledge creation,
aquisition, retention, identification,
outflow, transmission and inflow are key
for the upward spiral of knowledge to
provide company growth. This concept can
boost the competitive advantage but it
is an idealistic point of view.

The social ecology concept tries to raise the
bar for a new standard in knowledge sharing.
The thought of incorporating slack time along
with a sandbox aproach is admirable but unless
you have the right work force, this is only
a pipe-dream.

Separating what is real and what is ideal
creates a conflict with many companies due to
existing corporate cultures. Knowledge can
be obtained via many avenues. Many of these
are hard to measure. Nucor Steel's structure,
millmining, raw material, location, distibution
and market power shows no need for external
factors. They took advantage of human capital
to sustain their competitive stance. The
accumulation of knowledge (created, aquired and
retained) creates a solid foundation. For many
companies, this is a hard sell. Most people
will not give away their knowledge (power) to
a company unless there are some type of incentives.

The elimination of knowledge hoarding can only
be achieved by an incentive program. The upward
spiral which Nonaka refers to can only work
in a team enviroment of human capital. People
need to know they are valued.

It's the transition from tacit to explicit
knowledge which transforms a thought to reality.
Corporations need to understand that there is a
fine line between idealistic thought and real
achievable goals. Knowledge management skills
should transform the way most companies approach
their goals but I do not see this philosophy
taking hold as quickly as many would wish.

Greg Burrow

MEDecision

MEDecision

MEDecision has been in business for over 20 years
designing collaborative healthcare management
solutions. They design their systems around a
patient-aware health management philosophy. They
help payers and providers get real-time information
to provide the best clinical decisions which in
turn improve health outcomes. This information is
transmitted throughout the healthcare ecosystem
which enables a better understanding of their
patients needs and reduces medical costs.

The MEDecision (www.medecision.com/) product line
consists of Alineo, Nexalign and InFrame. Alineo
provides a platform that provides outcome-driven
case management, disease management and utilization
management. Nexalign supports and designs systems
to improve the relationships between patients, payers
and providers. This allows for better clinical
solutions. InFrame is a health information exchange
(HIE) which connects care delivery organizations to
each other and their patients. This improves efficiency
and effectiveness which reduces costs.

Press releases dated Feb. 7, 2011 (according to the
website) state that the Office of the National
Coordinator for Health Information Technology awarded
two contracts to monitor and track electronic health
record adoption. The Direct Project has been launched
in Rhode Island and minnesota. This project is designed
to extend health information exchange between physicians
and smaller practice facilities that may not have
adequate resourses to meet healthcare management
requirements. Five other states are slated to adopt
this system, including Tennessee, New York and California,
later this month.

Greg Burrow

Predictably Irrational

Predictably Irrational
By Dan Ariely

Dan's multiple Experimental Methods were quite
amusing. The Visual Illusion method distinguished
the fact that reality and illusion are often blurred.
The Decision Illusions method illustrates that
diferent cultures may complicate or JAM issues
which skew the line between being rational or
disillusioned. The Knowing Preferences or Not
theory showed that assymetric dominance can result
in a desired outcome. (Online or Print)
The Cheating Theory shows that the probability of
risk vs. return can be a factor because of each
individuals need to feel good about themselves.
This Fudge Factor comes into play with people
questioning their moral and ethical aptitude.
Altogether he showed that physical and mental
limitations may keep us from building a better
world. But in his own words "people get things
wrong."

Greg Burrow

EA Sports

INFS3500 Greg Burrow Assignment 1
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 26, 2011
EA Sports Corporate Culture
EA Sports Corporation
Redwood Shores, California

While researching EA Sports Corporation I found it hard to believe the extent to which this company strives to meet the needs of it's employees. They recognize that their greatest asset is their people. They are a global dynamic which crosses over to multiple cultural entities. Satisfying so many diverse people would seem to be a monumental task in itself. They pride themselves on creating a productive workforce while simulating a family atmosphere within a professional enviroment.

As explained by a letter from Gabrrielle Toledano, Executive Vice-President, Human Resources, they have a straight forward mission plan with defined objectives for continued growth.(www.insideea.com/working-at-ea/) They take pride in hiring good managers that stay up to date with effective people management skills which include clear, transparent communication skills. These skills run both ways and is always key for a good working enviroment. Praise and reward are also crucial for a successful working relationship. They also realize that diversity is a critical aspect for maintaining and exceeding growth objectives. EA Sports strives, like all companys, to hire the best employees available, but during my research, I have come to the conclussion that they also want family oriented individuals with vision. They go out of their way to create an enviroment in which
work and family can co-exist without losing productivity.

EA Sports describes itself as a company of People, Games & Opportunities. (www.insideea.com/locations/) Working together as a team from so many different locations is imperative to the success of their products as well as their people. They also put great emphasis on individual growth. The opportunity to work across multiple platforms and specialties can certainly result in more productive employees. One EA employee compared working at EA Sports to sitting at home in the living room playing games. The facilities available to EA Sports employees are truly amazing. These consist of preschool daycare, weight room, pool, soccer field and basketball court. (Just to name a few.) Surely this is an incentive to maintaining a happy and healthy workforce.

My last reference refers to the seven reasons that are stated as to why you would want to consider working for EA Sports. (www.insideea.com/applying-for-jobs-at-ea/)
1. Work on world class games from day one.
2. Work with the best people and share ideas.
3. Philosophy that one person can make a difference.
4. Global company that provides multiple career opportunities.
5. Highly ambitious company.
6. Provides opportunities for career development.
7. Opportunity to entertain millions of people.

To conclude, I can only say that conducting research on EA Sports has perhaps been a glimpse into the future for businesses that wish to adapt a first class model for success. Employees are a company's greatest asset. Work and fun can co-exist without hurting productivity, and emplyee incentive can result in a successful enterprise.

Greg Burrow