The Importance of Information Flow in The Digital Age According to Bill Gates

Bill Gates main point is to show the importance of information flow as we enter the digital age. Gates discussed how technology and business are integrated together. We should think of every company having a digital nervous system where technology will allow businesses to react and respond instantly to any situation. Using technology effectively to help control the flow of information is crucial for a company to succeed.

Bill Gates made several arguments to show good information flow is necessary in the future.There are so much competitors and the best way to separate your company from competition is by how your company manages information. He says “How you gather, manage, and use information will determine whether you win or lose” (Gates,3). He predicts that successful companies will be the ones who develop the best digital nervous system.Gates gives an example of Sloan helping out G.M managing their data better. Good information flow is the most important thing because it enables you to get the most out of your employees and constantly learn what you need to fix.

I agree with Gates. Information is very important to a company's success and it should be their main focus.We are in the digital age where speed is everything. Today everybody depends on the internet to get their information. We want to stay connected all the time and get information when we need it. Companies that can provide an efficient flow of information to their consumers will be the most successful.

Bill Gates point is to explain why companies need to start creating a paperless office as we enter the digital age. Gates decided to test a paperless office in his own company Microsoft in 1961 .He replaced all unnecessary paper in his company with electronic forms and improved their online system. The result is it saved at least 40 million dollars within 12 months. Also Gate’s gives an example of a hypothetical new employee named Sharon. S Her paycheck automatically gets deposited in her checking account and does not have to deal with cash. Buying plane tickets became an instant process. Also using an online tool, Sharon can track her marketing budget with ease and help her do her job more efficiently.haron's life became much simpler with electronic processes rather than using paper.

Bill Gates predicts the workplace will be paperless within the 21st century. There has been talk about a paperless office for a long time, but the technology we have today is advanced enough make that become a reality. A Paperless office will make a business run much more efficiently. Routine processes done with paper can be done way faster electronically. Workers would be freed up to do more productive work instead of wasting time with manual work.

I think that going paperless is a great idea. Businesses can save a ton of time, space and money each year by going paperless and it frees up workers to do more productive work. It is also more ethical to go paperless since the use of paper contributes to global warming. Although I think paper use will drastically decrease in the 21st century, I don't think that we will ever reach a point where paper will be totally eliminated from the workplace. Some people are not as comfortable with technology and would prefer using paper. Also with a digital system comes with the fear of identity theft and credit card fraud. Confidential information may be vulnerable to hackers or viruses if security is weak.

The central point Bill Gates made is that businesses should be prepared to adopt a web lifestyle to be successful in the future. The internet is becoming bigger every year that passes. And within the next decade, it will change how we do everything such as shopping, paying bills, communication and entertainment. Most transactions between consumers and businesses soon will become all digital. Customer service will be more important and businesses will need to adapt to the customers needs.

Gates predicts that within a decade the world will adopt a web lifestyle. Technology is becoming more and more powerful at a lower costs. This will make electronic devices prevalent in society. People will turn to these devices to stay connected with the world. Everyone's main source of news, entertainment and communication will be coming from the internet.

Gate’s prediction has already been true for a while now. Nowadays, everyone has a smartphone and it has even come to a point where it has become an obsession to lot of people. It keeps us connected with the world. The web lifestyle has been very beneficial for consumers. It made a lot of things we do a lot more efficient than before. Communication is made easier than ever. You can keep in touch with friends and family all over the world. Consumers have more options to buy anything they want online and have it shipped to their house.

In Chapter 15 Bill Gates main point is to show that to win big sometimes you have to take big risks. He gives an examples of companies taking big risks. The cars and planes industry went through radical changes before it Boeing is a company that got its success from taking lots of big risks on aviation products. Genetic research is also a high risk field. Companies can spend lots of time and money without any success from it. But this is something that is necessary to make breakthroughs in its field.

Gates made several arguments that to show why risk taking is needed to win big. He says “You can't look at just the past or current state of the market. You have to also look at where it's likely to go…” (Gates, 262). Risks taking is important for a company in an emerging industry to succeed and make breakthroughs. Failures can also happen as a result of taking risks. But Gates believes failures can be a good thing too. He took the failures he made in Microsoft as lessons and it helped realize the changes he needed to make.

I agree with Gates point that sometimes you have to take big risks. I see this today with the company Tesla. Elon Musk was thinking about the future when he created his all electric car company. He wanted to create a car that is affordable and sustainable. He innovated the automobile industry because he was not scared to take risk and break out of their shell. I can see why some companies might not take risks today. Big risks comes with a possibility of big failures. And smaller companies can not afford to have major failures or else it may go bankrupt.

The central point of this chapter is to show that the healthcare system needs to change. The healthcare industry has been known to handle information poorly. Gates uses the medical events of Mrs Jones life to show the flaws of American health care. Poor communication between her doctors led to the wrong amount of medication she took. Also a year late, the doctors confused her with another patient which costed her $25,000.

Gates predicts that our medical organizations will be forced to handle information better in the future. Patients are recognizing the current healthcare does not provide efficient care. The huge amount of paperwork are unorganized and often leads to errors. An improved online medical system can enable patients to better health care. Patients can find out more about their health. And it will prevent doctors from making so much mistakes. It will allow doctors to access information about the patient when they need it so less mistakes are made.

I agree with Gates that health care system needs to be improved in the digital age. They are still inefficient with managing information today. Millions of people depend on healthcare every day. I always hear stories in the news of people dying due to mistakes from doctors. I was shocked to find out that medical errors are still the third leading cause of death in the U.S today. Our technology is so advanced today, yet our healthcare system is still not at the point that it needs to be.

Bill Gates emphasizes the importance of communicating any kind of news quickly and efficiently within a company and reacting quickly to it.You must pay attention to bad news so you can react to it quickly. To achieve a solid digital nervous system type of communication within a company, Bill Gates encourages a flatter corporate hierarchy, which allows employees to take initiative and create an environment for more discussion.

Bill Gates argues that technology has shaped the policy and structure of his company by being the catalyst that helps people exchange information quicker. Bill Gates demonstrates this in Microsoft’s response to the ever growing popularity of the Internet. The push for Microsoft’s response came from a small number of focused people within the company who saw events unfolding and communicated their problems through electronical systems to everyone.

I think that Bill Gates’ emphasis on a flat organization is very important to the development of a company. This system creates and encourages workers to have personal initiative and responsibility to thrive. Technology is the platform which great employees communicate but without a solid foundation it doesn't matter how quickly news travels if there is no teamwork to act upon a solution.