What factors can the factory use to assess supplier performance? Elaborate each in 1-2 lines.

Natural disasters such the Japan tsunami of 2011 can cause great disruptions in the supply chain. Read this article on how the supply chain of technology companies has been affected by this event (click here).

What steps can companies take to prevent such disruptions in supply chains?

List the pros and cons of Netflix’s rental model (charging a fixed fee per month) to that of traditional offline video stores (charging a fee per DVD rental). Is it possible to replicate Netflix’s business model in other industries? Give some examples.

Here are some youtube clips explaining the concept of software as a service (SaaS).

1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGUPSvswmY0

2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXS0BFS6QT4

Expalin in your own words the benefits and challenges of SaaS.

There has been an effort by media moguls (Rupert Murdoch, for one) to put “pay walls” on news site – this essentially means that consumers have to pay before they read a news article on the internet (click here for a related article). While the internet has created unprecedented distribution opportunities for newspapers, companies are still struggling with the proper revenue models to capitalize on.

What do you think? Will you pay for online content such as news? What is your recommendation to Rupert Murdoch on how to leverage the internet in the newspaper industry profitably?

True or False (Give reasons (1-2 lines) in support of your answer)

The main difference between information goods and physical goods (such as televisions, laptops) is that the ratio of fixed costs to marginal costs is very high in information goods.

Multiple Choice Answers (Choose one correct answer. In the exam, no credit will be given for multiple answers or answers which are not clear)

The main difference in Active tags and Passive tags is

a. The tag’s communication speed
b. The tag’s frequency
c. The tag’s power source
d. The tag’s data storage capacity

List some privacy and security concerns about commercial use of RFID applications.

List any three advantages of RFID over bar-code scanning (please read others posts and avoid repetitions).