Electronic
Business Strategies

California Association of Realtors

County Economic Profile Subscribers Database

    Converted a number of separate existing files into a consolidated Access database to streamline tracking of subscribers to California CEP reports, resulting in faster management reporting, better control of costs and expenses, and improved customer services. Provided staff training in Access and PowerPoint.

Median Home Price Press Release

    Converted an existing DBase III database for all reporting California counties and consolidated information into an Access database for faster turnaround of monthly press reports and special responses to media inquiries. Provided staff training in Access and PowerPoint.

Trends Newsletter

    Replaced a manual data entry process with an automated input and re-calculation program. Re-formatted monthly real estate trends data for both newsletter print layout and for Web page online retrieval. Provided staff training in Excel, PowerPoint, and Access.

International Real Estate Web Page

    Design and development of a members-only Web page and Bulletin Board System (in collaboration with Dara Ghahremani) to provide international real estate professionals with news, online consultant roster, statistics, meeting/conference, global business conditions, and a market information exchange network. Provided staff training to facilitate independent maintenance and update of their own Web pages.

County Economic Profiles

    Converted 24 California County Economic Profiles, plus state and national profiles, from Harvard Graphics to Microsoft PowerPoint, provided staff training for future updates and maintenance.

Corporate Training

    Provided staff training for Economists, Marketing, Public Policy and Administrative support personnel in public and private data sources on the Web, key search engines and how to interpret search results. Assessment and recommendations for re-work of the corporate Web site.

Date: May 1997 to 2000
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Client: California Association of Realtors
Contact: Leslie Appleton-Young, Chief Economist; G.U. Kreuger, Assistant Economist


The Internet -- Your Roadmap to the Information Superhighway

Elizabeth Ghaffari, as president of Technology Place, was invited to participate in public panel, sponsored by KNX 10.70 Newsradio, the Los Angeles Times, and the City of Los Angeles Library, on the topic of "The Internet: Your Roadmap to the Information Superhighway". Held at the Mark Taper Auditorium of the L.A. Downtown Central Library in March 1995, the panel included experts from U.S.C.'s Information Sciences Institute, the L.A. Times' TimesLink/Prodigy project, and the City of Los Angeles' Information Services offices.

Ms. Ghaffari's role in the panel was to present the Internet from the perspective of the business person or the average consumer trying to select from available electronic options. In that capacity, she provided a layman's introduction, translating the media's marketing hyperbole which dominates the presentation of the Internet world.

Date: March 1995
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Client: KNX 10.70 Newsradio, CBS Radio
Contact: Bob Scott, Panel Moderator, and Monica Marotte, Asst. Director, Community Services


Imagine The Future: Commuting on the Information Superhighway

Elizabeth Ghaffari served on a panel of consultants in the TDM field at the April 1995 ACT Western Regional Conference, on the topic of which technologies might be appropriate to complement other aspects of a business trip reduction program. Specifically, she presented an overview of how access to the Internet resources might be valuable for employee transportation coordinators, employers, and commuting employees.

Ms. Ghaffari gave several examples of how she and her business clients use the Internet resources for business research gathering purposes and to avoid making trips. She provided examples of the power of electronic mail in expanding business reach through effective use of online communication. Finally, she focused on the key business questions that needed to be answered in the development of business-to-business or business-to-consumer products and service on "the 'net".

Date: April 1995
Location: Anaheim, CA
Client: Association for Commuter Transportation, Southern California Chapter
Contact: Aaron Hanson, Panel Moderator


Online TDM Information Resource Distribution System

Technology Place's participated in a multi-member project to provide Technical Assistance to California Transportation Management Associations (TMAs), with COMSIS Corporation, for the California Department of Transportation (CALTRANS). Technology Place is assisting the project in the design and development of online electronic information sharing techniques.

Technology Place provided technical assistance to support the introduction of online information access services to the over 50 transportation management associations (TMAs) located throughout California. The firm's charter was to evaluate, recommend, and implement an online information resource which would make available to statewide TMAs a database of 650 document citations and original material covering the spectrum of TDM literature and TMA formation and operations.

The project included efforts to demystify online information resources for average business people (the executive directors), assemble a wealth of information from the field (from CALTRANS' District offices, consultants, and local and municipal transportation resources), organize the data into a logical menu structure, evaluate and recommend cost effective online information network access methods to be used during the project period.

By year end, over one-third of the clients were online and receiving training and other educational or support material to facilitate their use of available resources.

Other project features included wider access to other Internet conference areas developed and supported by local, regional, national, and international counterparts in related professions.

The database of TDM material was later incorporated into the CALTRANS statewide customer information delivery system as chartered by the Strategic Marketing Plan.

Date: 1994-1995
Location: Sacramento, CA
Client: California Department of Transportation, Office of Traffic Improvement
Contact: Michael Seaman
Prime: COMSIS Corporation
Contact: Lori Diggins


Permitting Research and Survey

Technology Place, on assignment from The Planning Center, provided support technical review and analysis regarding a survey project for Pacific Bell Mobile Services, the California wireless communications service subsidiary of Pacific Telesis Corporation. PBMS was interested in expanding cell site locations throughout its California service area. To streamline that process, the telecommunications departments of all municipalities, and the county of Los Angeles were surveyed and their requirements for review and approval of cell site locations documented. Additional plan and procedures data and information were assembled through extensive telephone surveys conducted by the staff of The Planning Center.

From this large collection of research data, Technology Place extracted the patterns of high level strategic decision-making criteria that would guide the specific locational choices. Seven general criteria were found to be significant concerns across the bulk of interviewed city and county telecommunications representatives. In addition, another seven specific decision criteria were described in detail as the common denominators among jurisdictional issues cites by those cities with practical experience in actual site review and evaluations.

Using this information, the client was able to develop a streamlined site selection process and prepare a comparative scoring scheme to guide its staff in their review of possible locations within each targeted jurisdiction.

Date: 1994
Location: Irvine, CA
Client: Pacific Bell Mobile Services
Prime: The Planning Center
Contact: Susan DeSantis


System Software Managers Online Information Network

Elizabeth Ghaffari, while in charge of Project Management of the Production Services Department, First Interstate Services Company, established the online information server used to support System Software departments in 7 data centers serving 11 western states. She was responsible for the assembly, organization, and dissemination of information among system software managers in the remote data centers with an emphasis on technical data covering the product evaluations, contracts, and implementation recommendations for IBM MVS and VM mainframe operating system software.

She provided systems support, coordination and communication among systems software technicians, corporate contract and vendor representatives. She made executive-level presentations to key senior Production Services management at the top operating levels of each of the Service Company's separate and independent data centers.

She drew from her prior 6 years' experience as a timeshare consultant and information systems professional, responsible for technical support and problem resolution regarding an ever-increasing variety of mainframe and microcomputer software products to support the banking enterprise's clientele.

Date: 1988
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Client: First Interstate Services Company
Contacts: Kevin O'Byrne, Resource Management and Lew Gruber, Corporate Contracts


Multi-Media Video - Career Development Foundation of Oman

Technology Place was the prime contractor and principal producer of a multi-media video for the Career Development Foundation of Oman. The international project was handled as a pure "telework" endeavor: the client communicated all project requirements and feedback electronically or through transmitted written instructions to the project production team located around the world.

The Foundation had just completed design of its innovative training program, serving the Omani population in their pursuit of future technical employment opportunities. In January 1992, the Foundation scheduled an international introduction of their marketing strategy to promote the training program to corporate firms based in Oman. The client wanted to include a computer-based multi-media presentation in their inaugural event. In addition, they wanted a video of the presentation which could be used by their marketing staff in promotional sessions at client locations.

Technology Place developed the storyboard, script, presentation format, and coordinated the work of sub-contracting designers and production staff at HSC Software in Santa Monica, CA. Together, the team directed and produced a 10 minute PC-based computer presentation and a video which were highlighted at the inaugural ceremonies, opening the latest of the Foundation's training facilities.

In addition, Technology Place (working with TLC Media Works of Los Angeles) prepared the Foundation Director's Opening Statements, welcoming corporate leaders and dignitaries from around the world.

This project represents a very early instance of multi-media development projects at a time that sound and video graphic cards were just being introduced. For this reason, the partnership between the Foundation and its international contractors was seen as evidence of all of the organizations' ability to use, effectively, the very latest available technology.

Date:1991-1992
Client: The Career Development Foundation of Oman; Ruwi, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman
Contact: Sheila Diwakar
Sub-contractor: HSC Software, Santa Monica, CA
Contact: Thomas C. Chesney
Sub-contractor: TLC Media Works, Los Angeles, CA
Contact: Laurence Dean Cohen



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