RC TOM Challenge 2018

November 13, 2018

Read The Full Prompt

The TOM Challenge provides an opportunity for you to continue exploring organizational learning and innovation through the lens of process improvement and/or product development, the focus of RC TOM’s second module. In this challenge, you will investigate how an organization is grappling with machine learning, additive manufacturing, or open innovation. These megatrends are likely to significantly affect how organizations manage process improvement and product development in the coming years of your career. The TOM Challenge requires you to (1) conduct research and write an essay that examines how one organization is facing a particular aspect of one of these megatrends, and (2) write six comments that share your reflections on some of your section mates’ essays.

Your essay should address four questions in the context of the organization you choose:

  1. Why do you think the megatrend you selected is important to your organization’s management of process improvement and/or product development?
  2. What is the organization’s management doing to address this issue in the short term (the next two years) and the medium term (two to ten years out)?
  3. What other steps do you recommend the organization’s management take to address this issue in the short and medium terms?
  4. In the context of this organization, what are one or two important open questions related to this issue that you are unsure about that merit comments from your classmates?

Your essay should convey facts, analysis, and your recommendations. It should focus on a single organization (e.g., a single company, non-profit organization, or government agency) and a concern related to one megatrend. It is fine if the concern you choose relates to other megatrends that the organization is facing, but that’s not required. Roughly a third of your essay should be dedicated to each of the first three questions, with just a few sentences dedicated to the fourth question. Your essay should be at least 700 words but no more than 800 words, and must conclude with a word count in parentheses (such as 778 words).

When posting your essay to Open Knowledge, be sure to enter “Machine Learning”, “Additive Manufacturing”, or “Isolationism” in the Topics field.

More details on research, sourcing, deadlines, and other matters are provided in the RC TOM Challenge: 2018 note.  For assistance with the Open Knowledge platform during business hours (9:00 am – 5:00 pm M-F), email openknowledge@hbs.edu. A short video with instructions on how to post an essay to this platform is available at https://aiinstitute.hbs.edu/platform-rctom/how-to/.

Submitted (926)

The long awaited tech disruption of the legal sector
Geek Squad
Last modified on November 13, 2018 at 8:00 pm
Artificial intelligence, specifically machine learning, is not a new topic. IBM’s Deep Blue beat world chess champion Garry Kasparov over a series of chess matches in 1997. Since then, artificial intelligence has drastically improved in performance and is utilized across [...]
Returns – Climbing out of the e-commerce landfill.
Hermione Granger
Last modified on November 13, 2018 at 5:05 pm
The intersection of big-box retailers and saving the planet - Optoro uses machine learning to optimize return logistics both for organizations' bottom line and the environment.
12 Things You Didn’t Know About BuzzFeed and Machine Learning
Berk Demarzo
Posted on November 13, 2018 at 6:03 pm
How BuzzFeed competes in a changing digital media landscape.
Volkswagen: Additive Manufacturing as a Tool for Success
jlaydon
Posted on November 12, 2018 at 6:17 pm
Can Volkswagen shake-up the status quo and use additive manufacturing to break into the tooling industry?
Autonomous Stock Replenishment at Online Retailer OTTO
J. Jotta
Posted on November 13, 2018 at 7:57 pm
How a leading German E-commerce player has employed machine learning algorithms to forecast with 90% accuracy what SKUs will be sold over the next 30 days and reduce inventory levels by 20%.
Is Crowdsourcing a Sustainable Value Proposition For Innovation: A Unilever Case Study
Robert Alexander
Last modified on November 13, 2018 at 2:59 pm
Point of view on the impact of open innovation on Unilever's sustainability agenda
Three-dimensional bioprinting and the future of organ transplants
MBATOM
Posted on November 13, 2018 at 6:18 pm
3-D printing of cellular structures is changing the way we trial preclinical pharmaceuticals and consider the future of organ transplants.
Burberry: Digitizing Luxury Retail with Machine Learning
Charlotte Chang
Last modified on November 13, 2018 at 6:09 pm
Advances in machine learning (ML) are tilting the playing field in consumer retail. On the one hand, tech-savvy pioneers like Amazon and Glossier are leveraging ML to captivate Millennials and Gen Z consumers with ever more engaging and personalized online [...]
Facebook, Fake News, and AI: Yet Another “HUGE” Problem in the Digital Era
Ty
Posted on November 13, 2018 at 5:21 pm
The proliferation of misinformation, or fake news, on social media platforms has become a serious problem. Facebook - largely considered to be the main culprit in this controversy - is leaning heavily on machine learning to fight off this issue.
Moley the Robotic Chef: The Future of Cooking or An Expensive Toy?
Energy
Posted on November 12, 2018 at 10:48 pm
Moley Robotics has launched a robotic chef that can make dishes resembling the skills of a MasterChef. Is Moley starting a revolution in the kitchen or is it an expensive robot with limited usability?
Drugs – can machine learning cure the world faster and also save Billions?
Kriti
Posted on November 13, 2018 at 5:35 pm
How machine learning is revolutionizing the drug discovery process and saving $$$
AI on the Frontline: The Future of Warfare
Cantab
Last modified on November 13, 2018 at 7:42 pm
What does the future of warfare look like? What boundaries need to be implemented as AI is introduced to combat environments? Explore how machine learning is helping the US military adapt to the modern battlefield.
Darktrace: Can Artificial Intelligence lead the fight against Cyber Crime?
Maham Syed
Posted on November 13, 2018 at 2:31 pm
Rapidly increasing frequency of cyber crime In 2017, more than 4000 daily ransomware attacks were recorded in the United States, up from a daily average of 1000 in 2015. According to a survey of 254 companies in 7 countries, an [...]
Ellevest: Can machine learning reverse gender biases in investment management?
Tom_Student
Posted on November 13, 2018 at 3:24 pm
Ellevest is developing a robo-advisory platform designed to meet women’s unique financial needs.
How can ML help Fox predict box office performance?
Miguel Dysenhaus
Last modified on November 12, 2018 at 5:06 pm
Fox is introducing machine learning to try to estimate box office performance and make business decisions on their movies. Can an algorithm understand something as subjective as whether movie goers enjoy a film?
Google Earth Engine: Organizing Geospatial Data to Save the Planet
Frasier
Last modified on November 13, 2018 at 7:24 pm
Google Earth Engine uses open access platform to develop content and applications to make their platform the dominant form in geospatial analysis
Predicting your casualties – how machine learning is revolutionizing insurance pricing at AXA
Talitha Kirchner
Last modified on November 15, 2018 at 5:36 pm
Insurance giant AXA, frequently classified as ‘archaic and static’, is now embracing machine learning and real-time driver data collection to determine individual car insurance premiums.
Can Yelp use AI to Disrupt its Business Model?
Yelp Elite '20
Posted on November 14, 2018 at 3:49 am
Can Yelp use AI to Disrupt its Business Model?
Under Pressure: How machine learning can help tackle leakage in European water distribution
Colm Farrell
Last modified on November 13, 2018 at 7:18 pm
What if I told you 3 billion liters of water is leaked into the ground every day in the UK? Exploring how United Utilities is innovating on this issue.
Additive manufacturing – Will the world’s next mega city drop out of a 3D printer?
Adebodun
Last modified on November 13, 2018 at 7:37 pm
Can you imagine building your next house from the push of a button? Will, you feel safe driving over a bridge if it was built by a giant printer? In this age of digital technology disruption, we as a society [...]
General Electric and Nozomi Networks: Defending Industrial Control Systems using Machine Learning
Section J Student
Posted on November 13, 2018 at 6:19 pm
General Electric has partnered with Nozomi Networks, a company well known for its cybersecurity and artificial intelligence capabilities, to protect the energy and industrial sector.
Resurging Queen: Singapore Airlines and Its Open Innovation Scheme
Ahcaros18
Posted on November 13, 2018 at 5:54 pm
Can crowdsourcing launch Singapore Airlines into the digital age amid competitors closing in?
Revolutioning the seas: Rolls-Royce and Intel to build fully autonomous ships
Leonardo Hugo Lujan
Last modified on November 10, 2018 at 6:15 pm
As global commerce pushes for a more efficient and effective supply chain, Rolls-Royce is promising to disrupt the main transport mode for long-distance trade: maritime shipping. The implications of Machine Learning developments to deploy autonomous unmanned ocean-going ships by 2035.
Canada: Flexport’s next AI-first office? 
GGL
Last modified on February 2, 2026 at 11:10 am
Flexport, a software-powered freight forwarding company, needs to build an AI-first office in Canada in order to improve its product development and global operations.
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