Globalization, Collaborative and Social Networking Technologies

Wikinomics explores how some companies in the early 21st century used mass collaboration also referred to as peer production and open-source technology such as wikis to be successful. Don Tapscott says that "The new art and science of wikinomics is based on four powerful new ideas: openness, peering, sharing, and acting globally."

Openness/transparency is the openness of an organization with regard to sharing information about how it operates. Transparency is enhanced by using a process of two-way, responsive dialogue. Corporate openness may create opportunities to better understand and respond to the needs and concerns of stakeholders, as well as increase stakeholders’ understanding of the business.

About 25 years ago, seven people died after ingesting TYLENOL® capsules that had been poisoned with cyanide by an unknown criminal. Overnight, Johnson & Johnson was faced with a crisis of overwhelming proportions. Public trust in the company and its products was obviously hanging in the balance. The first critical decision was to adopt a policy of full disclosure. The public were immediately alerted and TYLENOL® capsules were removed from the marketplace. Throughout the crisis, Johnson & Johnson worked closely with news media, and in addition, the chairman and CEO of Johnson & Johnson, as well as other top executives made themselves personally available to answer questions. Johnson & Johnson’s approach to dealing with these events has been cited by many as setting the standard for crisis management. The company has been widely recognized for its openness throughout the crisis and for putting the interests of the public before its own. Consumers eventually went back to TYLENOL®, and the product regained its superiority in the marketplace.

Peering refers to what happens when masses of people and firms collaborate openly to drive innovation and growth in their industries. In peering, the individual is valued based on their ability to contribute to the greater good. People often equate this to socialism but in reality it is something much different. It has more to do with removing barriers and letting ideas form in a more natural way through collaboration. What might this look like inside the classroom? At the elementary levels how willing are teachers to relinquish the reins and allow students to drive their own education? Can this be meshed with standards? This idea has taken root and is evolving in the field of education. Teachers are being taught to guide, facilitate and support learning. Collaborative teams replace individual projects and students are encouraged to discover, share and present understanding in many different ways.

Sharing opens the corporate door to external stakeholders and embraces their interactions. It is less to do with proprietary approach to products, intellectual property, bandwidth and scientific knowledge. Traditional wisdom holds that you protect your own, hold your cards close to the vest, and maintain company secrets. In this instance, all that goes out the door. If you own a MP3 player you may participate in music sharing in one way or another. Popular companies include “C/net - Download.com”, “Yahoo - Yahoo! Music” and “Apple- iTune”. All these applications allow us to share music (legally) without boundaries.

Acting globally involves embracing globalization and ignoring "physical and geographical boundaries" at both the corporate and individual level. Acting globally is bringing a new meaning to the international corporation that traditionally pushes its messaging around the world, recognizing that business is borderless. Global competition includes using the innovative thinking from talent in all corners of the world to create what the market demands. In the 1950s, the two main type of music in Jamaica were called ska and rocksteady. Reggae was born from this in the 1960s. Reggae moved global in the 1970s. Since then Reggae music is one of the most played music genre in the world. Since then there has been many variations (Dancehall, Reggaeton and hip hop) you can certainly tell the difference. Globalization of Reggae music has added to the recognition of Jamaica and added to marketability of the country in general.

The use of mass collaboration in a business environment, in recent history, can be seen as an extension of the trend in business to outsource: externalize formerly internal business functions to other business entities. The difference however is that instead of an organized business body brought into being specifically for a unique function, mass collaboration relies on free individual agents to come together and cooperate to improve a given operation or solve a problem.

E-Government and e-Governance

E-Government refers to the use by government agencies of information and communication technologies (ICT), such as web-based Networks, the Internet, and mobile computing, that have the ability to transform relations with citizens, businesses, and other arms of government. These technologies offer, better delivery of government services to citizens, improved interactions with business and industry, citizen empowerment through access to information, or more efficient government management. The resulting benefits include less corruption, increased transparency, greater convenience, revenue growth, and/or cost reductions. E-government is not only used in developed countries. Some of the most innovative uses of the Internet in governance are being successfully used in the developing countries, as well.

E-governance is not just about government web site, e-mail, service delivery over the Internet, digital access to government information or electronic payments. The strategic objective of e-governance is to support and simplify governance for government, citizens, businesses and its employees. The use of ICTs can connect all three parties and support processes and activities. It will change how citizens relate to governments as much as it changes how citizens relate to each other. It will bring forth new concepts of citizenship, both in terms of needs and responsibilities.

The key to e-government is the establishment of a long-term, organization-wide strategy to constantly improve operations with the end in sight of fulfilling citizen needs by transforming internal operations such as staffing, technology, processes and work flow management.

Thus, e-government should result in the efficient and swift delivery of goods and services to citizens, businesses, government employees and agencies. To citizens and businesses, e-government would mean the simplification of procedures and streamlining of the approval process. To government employees and agencies, it would mean the facilitation of cross-agency coordination and collaboration to ensure appropriate and timely decision-making.

The Internet is indeed the most powerful means for delivering e-government. However, it is not the only, or the most appropriate, means. Developing countries in particular need to take some constraints, from the infrastructural to the financial, into account when considering the best strategy for adopting e-government. Existing electronic service delivery channels must be put to use to provide the broadest access possible.

References

1. Sheridan, William Comparing e-Government Vs. e-Governance. Retrieved October 22, 2007, from GIS Development Web site: http://www.gisdevelopment.net/magazine/years/2006/aug/46_2.htm
   


2. United Nations, Compendium of Innovative E-government Practices Edition I Economic & Social Affairs
   


3. United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs Compendium of Innovative E-government Practices

Sustainable Development

How important is it to understand data?
Knowing your data is vital to preservation. Data allows us to analyze our past our present and possible future position. As cited in Hans Rosling’s presentation pointed out that overtime, well maintained data can highlight our past, present and future existence. As well as, this data if analyze correctly shows the progress and lack thereof of humanity.

What does sustainable development mean to you?

Just as a prism displays different colors when you turn it, so too, does sustainable development. Its colors are environmental, economic and social.

I think that sustainable development is a development pattern in which the choices of present generation are inflated without restricting the choices of future generations. In essence sustainable development highlights the need for meeting the needs of the present generation, without compromising the ability of future generations to do so. Sustainable development implies that:

• Enlargement of human choices at any point would depend on economic, political, social, institutional and environmental contexts. Thus sustainability encompasses more than environment.
• The concept of sustainability is a dynamic inter-generational notion
• The abstract concept of sustainable development needs to be operational, which requires, among other things, measurable indicators and quantifiable targets, a framework for inter-temporal cost benefit analysis.

Development becomes sustainable if it is sustained on several fronts, social, economic, and environmental. And it is the interaction of all these dimensions that makes sustainability real. Sustainability can be linked to all forms of capital, natural, economic and social, and their reproduction. Natural resources and their reproduction is a key to environmental sustainability. Economic capital, e.g. labor and its reproduction is needed for economic sustainability and social capital, i.e. bondage, interaction and relationships among human beings within a society, is also a prerequisite for sustainability.

How can you measure sustainable development?

Sustainable development can be measured by what is called indicators. An indicator is something that helps you understand where you are, which way you are going and how far you are from where you want to be. A good indicator alerts you to a problem before it gets too bad and helps you recognize what needs to be done to fix the problem. Indicators of a sustainable community point to areas where the links between the economy, environment and society are weak. They allow you to see where the problem areas are and help show the way to fix those problems. I must say that indicators of sustainability are different from traditional indicators of economic, social, and environmental progress. Traditional indicators, such as stockholder profits, asthma rates, and water quality, measure changes in one part of a community as if they were entirely independent of the other parts. Sustainability indicators reflect the reality that the three different segments are very tightly interconnected, as shown in the figure above.
In order for an indicator to be effective, they must be relevant, easy to understand, reliable, based on accessible data.

Do you think it is important in terms of address the eight goals of MDGs? Explain.

If the world can halve extreme poverty, adequately feed its people, ensure universal access to safe water, reduce child mortality and maternal mortality by two-thirds and three-fourths respectively, can enroll all its children in school, can reverse environmental degradation and onslaught of HIV/AIDS, it will ensure sustainable development.

Meeting the MDGs, a country will need political, socio-economic and environmental sustainability. For example, legal discrimination towards certain groups in society that prohibits them from having access to safe water will make the goal of halving people without access to safe water by 2015 difficult, if not impossible. Persistent gender discrimination can also make several MDGs beyond reach of the society. Unequal access to productive resources will hold back a society from achieving the goal of halving extreme poverty. Systematic environmental deprivation in any society would not allow it to reach the goal of reversing loss of environmental resources.

Sustainable development and achievements of MDGs are thus mutually reinforcing. They represent a two-way relationship – where achievement of MDGs helps achieving sustainable development and where the presence of sustainability in its various dimensions is needed for achievement of the time-bound MDGs.

References
http://www.womensgroup.org/SUSD.html
http://www.sei.org/sustainable_development.html
http://www.oecd.org/topic/0,2686,en_2649_37425_1_1_1_1_37425,00.html

Millennium Declaration Goals (MDG) and Information Communication Technologies (ICT) - What can be done?

In September 2000, during the United Nations Millennium Summit, the world’s leaders agreed to a remarkable document, the Millennium Declaration. This was a historic achievement, not just because of the scope of the issues the Declaration covers, or its evaluation on developmental issues, but because it committed the global community to a specific agenda for human development. Rather than simply agreeing that development should continue along much the same lines as before, or call for general improvements, the Declaration demanded that the world set its sights higher and aim for 8 specific goals, set to be achieved by 2015 and for which there are now 18 targets and 48, mostly numerical, indicators.

What subsequently came to be known as the Millennium Development Goals are:
1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
2. Achieve universal primary education
3. Promote gender equality and empower women
4. Reduce child mortality
5. Improve maternal health
6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
7. Ensure environmental sustainability
8. Develop a global partnership for development

Progress towards the goals has been mixed. Some countries are on track for some goals but it seems almost impossible that these goals will be achieved at the current rate of global progress. Reasons for this include inadequate and inefficient public spending, crippling debt burdens, insufficient market access in developed countries, and declining official development assistance. As computers and the Internet have continued to transform the economy and society, the role of information and communications technologies (ICTs) in fostering development has become more generally recognized.

“Recent developments in the fields of communications and information technology are indeed revolutionary in nature. Information and knowledge are expanding in quantity and accessibility. In many fields future decision-makers will be presented with unprecedented new tools for development. In such fields as agriculture, health, education, human resources and environmental management, or transport and business development, the consequences could be really quite revolutionary. Communications and information technology have enormous potential, especially for developing countries, and in furthering sustainable development.” UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan (1997:1)

ICT has become a crucial tool in the fight against world poverty. ICT provides developing nations with an unprecedented opportunity to meet vital development goals such as poverty reduction, basic healthcare, and education, far more effectively than before. Those nations that succeed in harnessing the potential of ICT can look forward to expanded economic growth, dramatically improved human welfare and stronger forms of democratic governance.
“Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish; and you have fed him for a lifetime.”—Author unknown.

It must be said that bringing connectivity and technology alone without making them relevant to the livelihood of the people is unrealistic. Linking ICT and the alleviation of poverty successfully is a very complex process. In order to improve the livelihood through technology, one must improve access to information and knowledge of the poor. Also the delivery mechanism is also important as a poor farmer, often illiterate, will not use a computer herself/himself, and most importantly, will not be able to afford it. Despite the dissemination of mobile phone not all poor people will be able to afford a personal mobile phone in near future.

It goes without saying; poverty is not limited to any one Country or Continent. Poverty is everywhere and affects each of us in one way or another. Did you know, today while living one of the richest and most powerful nations on earth, approximately 37 million Americans, that is 1 in 6 children are struggling in poverty? These families are faced with hard choices between foods, health care, heat and rent, the basic material necessities of life. The fact that this powerful economy is leaving so many behind is a sign that that something in our social and economic system is seriously broken.

What can we do? There is so much that we can do to help. Educate our children, vote, volunteer our time, and donate to meaningful charities. It might be said that asking a family to add another bill (education) to the list of bills that they already have might seem harsh, however I believe education is the one true way of getting ahead. Also all parents want their children to live a better life than they did and as such will make the additional sacrifice to get them their.

References

1. Nishimoto, Lal, S, R (2005). Development divides and digital bridges: why ICT is key for achieving the MDGs. Commonwealth Finance Ministers Reference Report 2005. 1-4.
2. PDF (08/2003).Tools for Development Using Information and Communications Technology to Achieve the Millennium Development Goals. United Nations ICT Task Force.
3. Raihan, Hasan, A, M (2005). Peoples’ Report on MDG: Bangladesh Information and Communication Technology. D.Net (Development Research Network). 1-17.
4. United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved September 20, 2007, from January is “Poverty in America Awareness Month” Web site: http://www.usccb.org/cchd/povertyusa/povamer.shtml