ECOM-500: Business and IT

Module 04: Critical Thinking Assignment

IT Concepts to Business Decisions (15 Marks)

Case 4.2 Business Case: Carnival Seeks to Keep Passengers Happier at Sea with IoT, NFC and Edge Computing

A case study is a puzzle to be solved, so before reading and discussing the specific case questions below, develop your proposed solution by following these five steps:

1. Read the case study to identify the key issues and underlying issues. These issues are the principles and concepts of the course module which apply to the situation described in the case study.
2. Record the facts from the case study which are relevant to the principles and concepts of the module. The case may have extraneous information not relevant to the current course module. Your ability to differentiate between relevant and irrelevant information is an important aspect of case analysis, as it will inform the focus of your answers.
3. Describe in some detail the actions that would address or correct the situation.
4. Complete this initial analysis and then read the case study questions that follow here. Typically, you will already have the answers to the questions but with a broader consideration. At this point, you can add the details and/or analytical tools required to solve the case.

Case Study Questions:

1. Why did Carnival Cruise Line think the OceanMedallion would help increase their cruise sales?
2. What is the services component of the OceanMedallion called and what technologies does it use?
3. On how many Carnival cruise ships is the OceanMedallion used?
4. What services does the OceanMedallion Class offer to passengers?
5. What benefits do passengers enjoy from using an OceanMedallion?

Your well-written report should be 4-5 pages in length, not including the title and reference pages. To make it easier to read and therefore grade, make sure you clearly delineate each section of your answer so it can be matched with the relevant question. Use Saudi Electronic University academic writing standards and APA style guidelines, citing at least two references as appropriate. Review the grading rubric to see how you will be graded for this assignment.

Sample Answer (Preview)

The following is a partial sample answer showing the approach, structure and referencing expected for this brief. It covers approximately 30% of the full 4–5 page (about 1,250-word) report.

Introduction: Key Issues in the Case

Carnival Corporation’s OceanMedallion shows how Internet of Things (IoT) concepts can be turned into a business decision about customer experience. The key issue in the case is not the device itself but the friction passengers faced on board: swipe cards, keys and separate systems for each ship service slowed down boarding, payments and access (Turban et al., 2021). The underlying issue is how a cruise line can use real-time data to personalise service while keeping technology unobtrusive and secure. The module concepts that apply are IoT, near-field communication (NFC), Bluetooth, edge computing and two-factor authentication.

Question 1: Why did Carnival Cruise Line think the OceanMedallion would help increase their cruise sales?

Carnival’s reasoning rested on the link between satisfaction and revenue. A coin-sized wearable that unlocks the stateroom, verifies the guest at boarding and connects to kiosks and casino games removes many small delays that frustrate passengers (Horowitz, 2019). When those delays disappear, guests spend more time enjoying the ship and, in the words of John Padgett, can “consume more experiences” on board, which raises spending per passenger (Turban et al., 2021). Personalisation matters as well: a network of about 7,000 sensors and 4,000 digital interaction points lets Carnival recommend services to each guest in real time (Marr, 2019). Porter and Heppelmann (2014) argue that smart, connected products create value by generating data that improves both the product and the customer relationship. For Carnival, happier guests are more likely to rebook and recommend Princess Cruises, so the OceanMedallion was expected to lift both repeat and new bookings.

Question 2: What is the services component of the OceanMedallion called and what technologies does it use?

The services component is MedallionClass, a new service tier built on the OceanMedallion’s IoT architecture. The Medallion’s micro-antennae use Bluetooth and NFC to communicate with sensors, readers and kiosks across the ship (Turban et al., 2021). MedallionClass is also an example of edge computing, because data is processed on board, close to where it is created, rather than being sent to a central cloud database. Shi et al. (2016) explain that this design reduces latency and network traffic, which…

[End of preview] The remaining sections are included in the full solution, which is available on order. They cover the rest of Question 2 (edge computing and two-factor authentication), Question 3 (the ships using the OceanMedallion), Question 4 (MedallionClass services), Question 5 (passenger benefits), the recommended actions and the conclusion.

References

Horowitz, B. T. (2019, September 7). Carnival looks to keep passengers happier at sea with IoT. PCMag. https://www.pcmag.com/news/carnival-looks-to-keep-passengers-happier-at-sea-with-iot

Marr, B. (2019, March 22). The amazing ways Carnival Cruises is using IoT and AI to create smart cities at sea. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2019/03/22/the-amazing-ways-carnival-cruises-is-using-iot-and-ai-to-create-smart-cities-at-sea/

Porter, M. E., & Heppelmann, J. E. (2014). How smart, connected products are transforming competition. Harvard Business Review, 92(11), 64–88. https://hbr.org/2014/11/how-smart-connected-products-are-transforming-competition

Shi, W., Cao, J., Zhang, Q., Li, Y., & Xu, L. (2016). Edge computing: Vision and challenges. IEEE Internet of Things Journal, 3(5), 637–646. https://doi.org/10.1109/JIOT.2016.2579198

Turban, E., Pollard, C., & Wood, G. (2021). Information technology for management: Driving digital transformation to increase local and global performance, growth and sustainability (12th ed.). Wiley.