Name
Institutional Affiliation
Managing the Human Cloud
Question 1
In the discussion, there were clear contributions of the human cloud to the performance and development of service delivery. The main contribution of the human cloud refers was the involvement of a middleman who in return involves a broad range of virtual online workers. The workers are engaged in a task without having an eye contact with the client they are giving the services. It is a job involving a high risk of the customer and the person providing the services function with utmost good faith. According to Kaganer et al (2013) there are four types of personal cloud. These are the facilitator, the arbitrator, the aggregator and the governor.
There was the great contribution of the system because the facilitator connects the suppliers and buyers directly through a bidding process. The providers of services can work for any service. They supply a broad range of personal information and, therefore, the clients have a rough idea of the person they are dealing with (Kaganer, et al, 2013). They are plenty in supply, and it is easier to access them online. The arbitrator engages miscellaneous supplies through competitions. They get involved in a bidding process whereby the client chooses the best quality. The task requires an expert and, therefore, the consumers opt to select the most qualified person to carry out the work. The tasks are specific, and they include logo design and idea generation among others.
Another importance of the system is that the aggregator aggregates hundreds or thousands of micro-tasks performed by multiple suppliers (Kaganer, et al, 2013). The tasks do not necessarily require an expert. The tasks are majorly of the minor category. The benefit the client gets is that they can acquire the tasks completed quickly and standardized. The governor provides project governance and certifies the supplier quality. They are involved in the management and the coordination of the compound projects. They ensure high quality of services provided to clients. They aim at satisfying the needs of the market through a supervised class.
While the contributions of the system are highlighted, there are risks involved in operating with the human cloud. There are two major risks involved. These are the lack of completion of the task and also the management of the task (Kaganer et al, 2013). There is a risk of incomplete task since the clients do not have enough information about the supplier. Therefore, the supplier may fail to complete the task in time intentionally or by accident. The managing of the human cloud may also be difficult. The human cloud may be unreliable in some cases. Therefore, since there is a lack of direct contact then there may be elements of arrogance from one party. However, working under the influence of utmost good faith enhances partnership and trust.
The main contributions are clearly observed in the four major faces involved in ensuring proper management. They are the architectural phase, engagement face, operational face and ensuring quality control (Kaganer et al, 2013). At the structural phase, there is an interaction between the client and the supplier. The buyer informs the provider about their choices. The provider takes note of the number of the clients and the degree of interdependence. After the extensive interaction, then there is engagement phase. Within this sourcing phase, the buyer chooses the person to operate with (Kaganer, et al, 2013). Having already explained their choices, they can now choose the most qualified suppliers who will manage to offer the best quality. In this phase, the facilitator method is the most appropriate as the vendor provides bids and the client chooses.
The operation face follows the engagement face. In this phase, the buyer and supplier have already negotiated and agreed to the terms. The customer waits patiently for the completion of the task as the vendor tirelessly focuses on completion of the work. The supplier aims at providing a quality function and ensuring that the work is completed in time. It is during the operation phase that the final stage takes place. The step is ensuring quality control. In as much as the supplier aims at providing quality work, the buyer is in charge of moderating the quality of the product and services offered. They are required to provide appropriate instructions and guidelines on the quality they need.
Question 2
A wide range of companies or business sectors can apply the findings about the personal cloud. These are the consulting firms, data management companies, sales and marketing companies and design and creative firms. These sectors and types of firms can apply the findings because they involve tasks that do not necessarily require direct supervision, also for the tasks that are seasonal yet they need an expert. At the same time, the companies that require quick and standardized services can source help from the human cloud. The facilitators can provide any service. They need the buyer to air their needs, and then they connect them with the appropriate suppliers. A good example is the companies that require the designs or even online marketing, and they can get someone to carry out the task. Other companies include mobile phone companies. They can rely on the human cloud for marketing as well as the provision of future model designs. Other enterprises and institutions may need website designs for the purpose of information.
The findings can help these types of companies in acknowledging the phases that are required to manage a personal cloud. Given that it is a high-risk service task, then the buyer and the supplier need to be very careful with the people they deal with. The guidelines are important for the people who intend to get involved in the personal cloud as well as those whose operation has failed before. They are able to identify the appropriate category of human cloud and the steps necessary for operating with the personal cloud. They can, therefore, learn from their past mistakes and have a successful engagement in the future.
Reference
Kaganer, E., Carmel, E., Hirscheim, R. and Olsen, T (2013): Managing the human cloud, MIT Sloan Management Review, 2013, Vol.54, n.2