Convenience

TOUGH TIMES, TOUGH CHOICES (Continued)
executive support
system (ESS)
A quick-reference,
easy-access
application of
information systems
specially designed
for instant access by
upper-level
managers
artificial intelligence
(AI)
The construction of
computer systems,
both hardware and
software, to imitate
human behavior—
that is, to perform
physical tasks, use
thought processes,
and learn
Chapter 12:
Communication in Organizations
3 7 3
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problems, such as the judgments a physician makes in diagnosing illnesses. In effect,
expert systems supply everyday users with “instant expertise.” A system called
mainte-
nance operations center advisor
(MOCA), by imitating the thought processes of a main-
tenance manager, schedules routine maintenance for American Airlines’s entire fleet.
Intranets
, or private Internet networks, are accessible only to employees via entry
through electronic firewalls. Firewalls are used to limit access to an intranet. Ford’s intra-
net connects over 100,000 workstations in Asia, Europe, and the United States to thou-
sands of Ford websites containing private information on Ford activities in production,
engineering, distribution, and marketing. Sharing such information has helped reduce
the lead time for getting models into production from 36 to 24 months. Ford’s latest
project in improving customer service through internal information sharing is called
manufacturing on demand
. Now, for example, the Mustang that required 50 days’ deliv-
ery time in 1996 is available in fewer than 2 weeks. The savings to Ford, of course, will
be billions of dollars in inventory and fixed costs.
Extranets
allow outsiders limited access to a firm’s intranet. The most common appli-
cation allows buyers to enter the seller’s system to see which products are available for
sale and delivery, thus providing product availability information quickly to outside
buyers. Industrial suppliers, too, are often linked into their customers’ intranets so that
they can see planned production schedules and make supplies ready as needed for
customers’ upcoming operations.