Question

In the Project Based Information Systems Part I overview, I say that the Keys to Managerial Effectiveness are:

• Efficiency - doing the right things
• Effectiveness - doing the right things right
• Transformation - using IT to change the way you do business

Provide an example from either your experience or research on how a company used IT to Transform they way they do business

Answer 1

In fact, the three keys to success of a business are:

1. Efficiency

2. Effectiveness

3. Transformation

From my research on small business and startup's, I found out the story of a small technology based company called "Bandicoot" in India that cleans sewages around the cities and towns in India. I would like to explain how the company has developed by using a technology based solution that enables cleaning sewage treatments in India. This is the story.

About BandiCoots:

Basically, Bandicoots is a robot that replaces human manual scavengers and the robot itself will do the scavenging process. It was started by a group of Machine Learning Engineers at Trivandrum in Kerala.

INSPIRATION FOR THE IDEA:

The main inspiration for the engineers to set up the startup was to create a automatic scavenging robot like thing that can remove manual scavengers from the scene. In India, many people belongs to poor and underprivileged society performs manual scavenging. Moreover, they are less paid for their work also. The hardship while doing manual scavenging is also high. They have to smell the dirt, take out the dirt and has to work in extreme untidy situations. This makes the work of manual scavengers very difficult. In addition, in many regions of India manual scavengers are even considered to be a job to be done by people belonging to a particular family or caste .etc.

This made a sparkling idea on the heads of engineers to set up a manual scavenging robot that could replace manual scavengers from the scene and set up a startup.

HOW IT BOOSTED THIS STARTUP:

Now, I would like to explain how Information technology has boosted this startup in terms of efficiency, effectiveness and transformations.

• EFFICIENCY:

        As efficiency means doing the right things. The company was set up in the motive of replacing human sewage cleaners with robotic automatic cleaners. Actually, the right thing to do here is that to replace machines with humans. The reason for such an approach is because, this job of manual scavenging and cleaning is tough to do for a human. How about a robot that could do this project by replacing humans in the picture?

• EFFECTIVENESS:

As the effectiveness of the model depends on how good is the robot in cleaning the sewage. It means to say that it can perform the assigned task well. In India, the company has already installed thousands of similar robots and deployed in real time work environments. It is an automated system that is efficient enough to find the dirt and gives dynamics notifications to an admin and obeys the instructions as given by the admin to clean the sewages. Further, it is already being deployed in very harsh environments and capable of setting up the work in busiest unclean towns also.

• TRANSFORMATION:

It was an interdisciplinary business comprising of electronics, mechanical and computer science (Information Technology) in it.

HOW IT TRANSFORMED THE BUSINESS?

1. USING IoT:

Internet of Things (IoT) enables the robots to have sensors installed in it. The robots has a human like appearance. It has artificial hands and legs in it. Moreover, it has sensors installed in its hands and legs also.

The sensors are capable of capturing the air, temperature contents in the atmosphere. Moreover, the robots also has eyes similar to that of humans. This is done to capture the things that are happening in front of it. So, the sensors will capture whatever comes in-front of it.

1. USING Embedded Programming:

Simple Arduino based chip level programs enable the robots to do a certain task. The data that is captured by the sensors is then given as arguments of functions to the programs in embedded programs. Moreover, the programs will be written according to the task a robot has to do in a particular situation.

1. Using Data Analytics and Machine Learning:

The latest technologies of ML and data analysis makes the business value of this project to a high next levels. This is due to the fact that the robots will perform a task according to the programs that are written on it. It makes use of the training data and performs functionalities responsible for cleaning. The advanced reinforcement and deep learning algorithms are being deployed in it.

BUSINESS VALUE OF THE PROJECT:

Since this technology based solution is capable of replacing manual cleaners from the picture, the government and other stakeholders are taking great initiatives in funding and supporting BANDICOOTS. THE MORE THE BANDICOOTS ARE DEPOLYED, THE LARGER THE PROFIT FOR THE COMPANY.