CHAPTER 10

VIGNETTE “Problems with Suppliers” CHAPTER 10

Questions to Consider:

1.) How can organization ensure that all the members of its supply chain will behave ethically?

Employers in an organization are increasingly turning to nontraditional sources to find workers with skills that meet their needs. They should have people which has a background experience and that they were already trained. Recruiting now and more skilled workers or to develop their own staff to meet the needs of their business.

2.) What responsibility does an organization have to ensure that its supplier behave ethically?

They should assure that their supplier was fair and trustworthy. Be wise and maybe, being true to them is your key for them to also have confidence in you. Also, the sign of being careful and being safe in all areas, fairness, environmental responsibility and business efficiency can ensure that your supplier or business partner behave ethically.

CASE STUDY “Manufacturer Compete on Green Computing”

Discussion Questions:

1.) How have green computing efforts lowered the total cost of computer ownership?

A hardware companies must also reduce the amount of hazardous materials used & increase the amount of reusable or recyclable materials used. The manufacturers must help consumers dispose of their products in environmentally safe manner at the end of their useful life.

2.) Which approach can yield greater benefits—building greener computers/ implementing programs?

I prefer building greener computers that yield greater benefits. By its definition, one that uses less electricity to run than the computer standard; thus, its carbon footprint on the planet is smaller than implementing programs that sometimes it may unwillingly to obey and may taken for granted.

3.) Do research (www.epeat.net) & determines which computer manufacturer currently has the best green computing ratings.

Organization: Nokia; July 2009; Rating: 7.45

CHAPTER 9

VIGNETTE “Twitter Emerges As News Source For Iran Protesters” 

Questions To Consider:

1.) Many people question the value of Twitter’s goal of helping people stay connected in real time. Do the events in Iran illustrate the potential value to society of social networking tools such as Twitter? Are there other ways that Twitter and other social networks could be used by people and organizations to add real value?

        The value of social networking such as Twitter is an important means of expressing one's idea's and your opinions to a certain event's. The events in Iran illustrate the value of Twitter in the society. They use Twitter to declare that they were against and that they were planning to have a protest and rallies against the presidential election.

2.) How trustworthy is the information one gleans from social networks such as Twitter?

        Since, we get information and maybe facts in Twitter, for me, I can say that it's trustworthy enough. Because, its coming from the mind of a person and they’re answering the question “What are you doing?” Its a way also to know one's personal opinion and how they react about a situation.

CASE STUDY 3 “Social Networking Disaster For Domino's” 

Discussions Questions:

1.) Some observers believe that if an organization does not respond to an attack on its brand within the first 24 hours, then the damage has been done—lack of management response is judged as an admission of guilt. Others feel that some time is required to gather facts and figure out what happened before responding. With the advantage of 20/20 hindsight, how might Domino’s have reacted more effectively?

        They should take an action as fast as they could and prove to all their customers that those were just a joke. But before taking an immediate action or response, they should know first what really happened and what's the issue is all about before making a conclusion and respond to this.

2.) Do you find it unusual that Domino’s response was primarily through the online media rather than the usual printed press releases? Does this seem an effective and appropriate way to respond under these circumstances? Why or why not? Does Domino’s use of the online media set a precedent for others to follow in the future?

 

        I find it inappropriate because, yes they respond about their issue but it's not suitable that they response just through online media rather than printed press. Since, it's a usual way or practice that through printed press should we response, they should not just sue online media but also through releasing it in press. It's disrespectful for me to the part of their customers.

3.) Identify three lessons that other companies could learn from Domino’s experience.

        First, if having an issue or problem, the company should take an immediate action . Second, they should response not just only through online media but also via printed press. Lastly, employees or even the employers should be careful in doing things that might lead people to misinterpret or to have an issue that might cause your company to fall.

CHAPTER 8

VIGNETTE “Western Cape Striving To Eliminate The Digital Divide” 

Questions To Consider:

1.) How importance is access to ICT in children education?

        It is very important for the children education to have access to ICT because, its their way of getting involved in the digital economy. Also, having access to internet can somehow make the students less complicated in terms of there paper works at school. Also, they can learn or gain information and facts through internet, not just in books. But some schools cannot afford to have PC's connected via internet, that why their making a solution about this problem.

2.) What are the barriers that stand in the way of universal access to ICT for everyone who wants it?

        Mostly, many regions is poor and many schools were having difficulties in providing personal computers for their students and that they cannot afford information and communications technology ICT. That is why, some students were ignorant in talking about digital stuff & not just students but also certain people don't know how to use computers or they don't just have knowledge about it.

CASE STUDY 3 “Technological Advances Create Digital Divide in Health Care” 

Discussions Questions:

1.) Can you provide examples that either refute or confirm the idea that a gap exists between the kinds of health care services available to the wealthy and the poor in the United States?

        Patients who cannot pay for those new technologies fall through the gap of the healthcare systems very own “digital divide”. The success of programs such as health Buddy depends not only weather they avoid health crises & decrease medicine expenses but also on whether they lower patients costs. Also the irony of technological advances in medicine is that while they can prolong quality of life, they create new standards which could either push the healthcare system toward financial crisis increase the disparity but rich and poor.

2.) Should healthcare organizations make major investments in telemedicine to provide
improved services that only the wealthy can afford?

        I disagree making major investments in telemedicine because the fact that only rich or wealthy persons can afford it but also, poor people cannot avail these services. Yet, I know its a big help to those patients but the irony is that it can cause disparity between the poor and the rich. There's should be quality between the state of living of each individual.

3.)What are the drawbacks of telemedicine? What situations might not lend themselves to
telemedicine solutions?

        The situations that might not lend to telemedicine solutions is that, there goal is to avoid health crisis & reduce total expenses, but how will affect the medical expenses of the individual participants? Will the system increase/decrease annual patient costs. The success of programs depends not only whether they avoid health crises & decrease medicare expenses but also whether the lower patients costs.

CHAPTER 7

VIGNETTE “Boeing Dream liner Faces A Few Bumps in the Road”

Question to Consider:

1.) Is this example of software problems holding up the introduction of a major new product and impacting a firm’s customers and suppliers unusual, or is it a common occurrence?

        For me, this example of software problems is a common occurrence because, we cannot avoid having problems in our certain products or delaying the schedule it was being made. In some instances, company must also be responsible and be as fast as they can in fixing those problems, so that their customers will not be angry about their delayed products.

2.) What can organizations do to reduce the negative consequences of software development problems in the production of their products and the operation of their business processes and facilities?

        Organizations as well as developers must define and follow a set of rigorous engineering principles and be committed to learning from past mistakes. Also, they must understand the environment in which their systems will operate and design systems that are as immune to human error as possible in order to meet the needs of their customers or users.

CASES STUDY 3 “Patriot Missile Failure” 

Questions To Consider:

1.) With the benefit of hindsight, what steps could have been taken during development of the Patriot software to avoid the problems that led to the loss of life? Do you think these steps would have improved the Patriot’s effectiveness enough to make it obvious that the missile was a strong deterrent against the Scud? Why or why not?

        I would recommend that, first they should check the software first and be assured that it's safe to use or so whatever. Second, maybe they should think that detailed guidance is a must and required. Lastly, maybe they should not operate continuously for so many hours the Patriot missile defense system. So that, they could accurately track and intercept an incoming scud.

2.) What ethical decisions do you think the U.S. military made in choosing to deploy the Patriot missile to Israel and Saudi Arabia and in reporting the effectiveness of the Patriot system?

        Since, the army of U.S doesn't have the luxury of collecting definitive performance data in Saudi Arabia & Israel. After all they were operating in a war zone, not a test range. As a result, there was insufficient & sometimes conflicting data on the effectiveness of the Patriot missile.

3.) What key lessons from this example of safety-critical software development could be applied to the development of business information system software?

        When developing safety critical systems, a key assumption must be that safety will not automatically result from following an org. standard development methodology. Safety critical software must go through a much more rigorous & time consuming development process than other kinds of software.

CHAPTER 6

VIGNETTE “RIAA Fights Music Privacy” 

Questions To Consider:

1.) Is the RIAA’s strong stand on copyright infringement helping or hurting the music recording
industry?

        The strong stand on copyright infringement of RIAA is helping the music recording industry. They are against for those people who are illegally downloading or showing music via Internet. The RIAA also strongly justify anti-piracy efforts in protecting the ability of the recording industry to invest in new artist and new music and giving legitimate on music online sharing services a chance to be successful.

2.) Could an ISP’s implementation and enforcement of the RIAA’s multitier strategy have a
negative impact on the ISP?

        Since, ISP are the one who made a decision to implement those things. And of course, in implementing things, it should be done in a thorough way of thinking. So I guess, ISP knew the consequences and negative impact of their decision. But for me, I think there's no negative outcome instead it can help RIAA against copyright infringement and they can notify it's customer about it.

CASE STUDY 3 “Lotus v. Borland” 

Discussions Questions:

1.) Go to your school’s computer lab or a PC software store and experiment with current
versions of any two of the Quattro, Excel, or Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet programs. Write a brief
paragraph summarizing the similarities and differences in the “look and feel” of these two
programs.

        The similarities between Lotus 1-2-3 and Quattro is that, they were began as a DOS program. Both a spreadsheet program. But they have differences and that was Lotus offered charting database operations. Data features include sorting data in any defined rectangle. Justifying text in range programs allowed to be used as primitive word processor. While, Quattro used first tabbed sheets.

2.) The courts took several years to reverse their initial decision and rule in favor of Borland.
What impact did this delay have on the software industry? How might things have been
different if Borland had received an initial favorable ruling?

        The case about Borland was significant for the software industry which had been riddled with infringement lawsuits due to ambiguities in copyright law. The ruling made it clear that software copyrights could be successfully challenged, which further discouraged the use of copyright to protect software innovations.

3.) Assume that you are the manager of Borland’s software development. With the benefit of
hindsight, what different decisions would you have made about Quattro?

        If I were the manager of Borland's software development, maybe, I would change all the execution commands in Quattro. It will not be the same as the Louts 1-2-3 interface. But I know, it's not an easy way to do. Since, I have been publicly released Quattro wit it's capability same as the Lotus 1-2-3. Still, if I was the manager , I would prefer or decide to get out of the spreadsheet business and sold it to Novell Inc. same as what Borland did in March 1994.

CHAPTER 5

VIGNETTE “Sexting” 

Questions To Consider:

 

1.) Does sexting represent a form of expression that is protected by the First Amendment?

        No, it was because, according to the supreme court the following types of speech are not protected by the First Amendment and may be forbidden by the government: perjury, fraud, obscene speech and etc. and since sexting belong to one type of speech which is obscene speech. So, therefore, they are not protected but through the years, the courts have made many decisions regarding what kinds of communication are abscene and whether or not they are protected by our First Amendment.

 

2.) What can be done to protect people from the dangers of sexting while still safeguarding our First Amendment rights?

        In Montgery County, Ohio, authorities have created a program for teens arrested for sexting. This program will protect or prevent some first-time offenders from being registered as sex offenders-a designation that can stay with them for up to 20 years. Also, to avoid in the dangers in sexting, we should never take nude or semi nude photos of us or if we have this, never send it to your friends or even in your trusted boy/girlfriend. No matter how true he/she to you, it is much safer to keep it as private.

CASE STUDY 3 “The Electronics Frontier Foundation(EFF)” 

Discussions Questions:

1.) Visit www.eff.org and develop a list of it's current “hot” issues. Research one EFF that intercepts you and write a brief paper summarizing EFF's position. Discuss whether you support this position and why?

        I choose this issue NY Twitter Decision Fails to Recognize Content and Location Data Require a Warrant. This was about Malcolm Harris, his loss ownership about his tweets that were posted and also according to Twitter's law agreement guidelines, they required a search warrant to access information. The government was allowed for admission of information without search warrant decided by the court. And according to to what I’ve read, this case was not just about a person's location. The real reason why NYC prosecutors wanted this information about workings of the Occupy Wall Street movement and it's members. That explains why Harris singled out: he had 1,500 followers and 7,200 tweets and outspoken about his involvement in Occupy movement.

 

2.) What reasons might a firm give for joining and supporting EFF?

        A certain firm make a decision of joining and supporting EFF because, EFF can protect fundamental civil liberties relating to the use of technology, including free speech, privacy, innovation and consumer rights. It also advocates of preserving individual rights. Also, they were aware that EFF’s mission includes educating the press, policy makers and the general public about civil liberties.

3.) The vice president of public affairs for your midsized telecommunications equipment
company has suggested that the firm donate $10,000 in equipment and services to EFF and
become a corporate sponsor. The CFO has asked if you, the CIO, support this action. What
would you say?

        I would say that as a CIO of the company, I would support and agree in donating $10,000 in equipment and services to EFF and be a corporate sponsor. Since EFF has a good mission and their goals is a better help and can protect our individual rights. So maybe, there’s no need for me to hesitate in making my decision about this action.

CHAPTER 4 VIGNETTE “Privacy Concerns Abound with New IRS Systems”

1.)     What information about you is being held, who is holding it, and what is this onformation being used for?

Since, many individuals are paying federal taxes and file private information with the IRS annually. And IRS are collecting data that includes address, and names and also Social Security numbers and financial information. This is being the target also of the Identity Thieve. Theefore as a result, the federal government  has issued stringent security requirements for storing, accessing, and manipulating this data.

2.)     What measures are being taen to safeguard this information and what happens if it is inadvertently or deliberately stolen?

If the data collected by IRS are being stoln by the Identity Thieves and the funds or money that the IRS collected, this might disrupt the tax payment and processing of tax returns might affect the economy of the nation. That is why, federal government issued strict security requirements for accessing and manipulating data.

CASE STUDY #3 “Is Google Watching You?”

Discussions Questions

1.)     How does Google’s business model use personal data?

Google uses tis information to fine-tune advertising to the user’s needs and preferences. In this way, Google can target their clients advertisements to a very specific demographic within a population. It also stores information in a Google database.

2.)     What do you think are the major privacy concerns raised by Google’s business model and applications?

First, is that Google will share the ingormation it collects with other sources. Some critics fear what would happen if the government gained access to Google’s database. Second, Google contented that in handling this data, the company would be forced to reveal trade secrets regarding its search technology.

3.)     Do you think Google has taken adequate measures to protect its users privacy?

Im not satisfied to Google in protecting each user’s personal data or its privacy. Somehow, we may not know how long this Google database would store or protect our privacy inhandling our own data. I am not being secured and assured that Google can prevent against those people who would try to reveal or steal our data as a person.