Discussion replies 2 threads Operations Management 175 words APA format 1-2 sources each

Thread 1

Technological innovation     Collapse          
Definition: Technological innovation “refers to the discovery and development of new or improved products, services or processes for producing or providing them” (Stevenson 2018 P. 250).
Summary: 
In the article by Ed Lazowska, Is technology crucial for innovation?, the writer explains how important the innovation of technology is.  Lazowska sums up the importance of technological innovation in a simple statement: “It’s the forward march of technology that allows us to do more with less, improving our lives in the process” (Lazowska, 2016 PP 2).  This article goes to showcase how advancement in technology can transform a country.  For example, a decade ago Microsft was being implemenented in Mexico, now we are able to communicate through email and skype.  We are also available to others no matter where we are due to a small gadget, the cell phone.  The article also explains the importance of privacy and security.  As technology advances, the privacy and security systems should too.  This is a problem, that if ignored could result in a failure.  There are systems that do not understand nor are they understandable (the computer information or logic cannot be followed, the system simply crunches large volumes of data.  Innovation is needed to understand the logic of the computer system.
Discussion:
Technological innovation is how as a society we grew from sending snail mail to love ones to utilizing a computer and now a phone to send a letter to a love one.  We are now able to do more with less, or we are able to work smarter rather than harder.  This article explains the importance of being technological innovated.  Technological innovation will continue to grow and evolve as we continue to learn.  “In the past, one of the key innovation challenges was gaining access to data; now its turing that data into useful knowledge and then putting it to work in meaningful ways” (Lazowska, 2016 PP 14).  As we are able to understand the data is gathered, we will be able to implement that information into action. 
Work Cited:
Stevenson, W. J. (2018). Operations management (13th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.
 
Lazowska, E. (2016, June 2). Is technology crucial for innovation? Retrieved November 9, 2019, from              https://www.washington.edu/innovation/2016/06/02/is-technology-crucial-for- innovation/.
What is technology? And why is it so important for us in everyday life? (2019, January 15). Retrieved November 9, 2019, from             https://www.voestalpine.com/blog/en/innovation- en/what-is-technology-and-why-is-it-so-important-for-us-in-              everyday-life/.
Chinese automaker GAC to boost technological innovation. (n.d.). Retrieved November 9, 2019, from              http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-11/10/c_138544590.htm.

Thread 2

economics of Scale  Collapse          
Economics of Scale: If the output rate is less than the optimal level, increasing the output rate results in decreasing average unit costs.
The United States has the largest income inequality among any large and developed nation, and it’s also one of the only developed countries that is expected to have sustained population growth over the next several decades. Companies that have large economics of scale have durable advantages over their competitors because they have logistics or price advantages, and therefore attract more customers and solidify their size advantage even more. It creates a feedback loop of success that rivals have a difficult time dealing with. Companies that compete against larger rivals have price and efficiency disadvantages, and usually must sacrifice profitability levels to even stay in the game or must try to change the nature of the game to circumvent the moat.
Since Economics of Scale are defined as the link between the size of a company and that company’s ability to sell its goods and products at the lowest potential cost. Walmart is a perfect example of a big sized company that sells its products at a low cost. Walmart is the largest US supplier of groceries and the largest US general retailer. They can buy in such enormous bulk, and force supplier to accept such low prices, so they can sell at low prices to customers. Since Walmart has such low prices, it targets the millions of low-income Americans and so even with well-performing competitors. The article shows that Walmart will not be dislodged from its position any time soon, In the next ten years, it will likely result in much better returns for Walmart stock than the last ten years. It’s expected that their EPS growth is expected to continue, and the stock is not overvalued as it was ten years ago. Their market capitalization is $203 billion and total revenue is $440 billion. The return on equity is 25% and Dividend Yield is 2.46%.
Alden, M., Faulkenberry, K., Matt, & Squeezer. (2012, January 12). Home. Retrieved from https://www.dividendmonk.com/7-companies-with-unrivaled-economies-of-scale/.