Globalizationand
Information Systems
Richard T. Watson
University of Georgia
Monday, February 2, 2009
Outline
• Globalization
• Fundamental enterprise & individual issues
• Global information exchange
• Information drivers
• looking forward
Monday, February 2, 2009
Globalization
A synergy of Trade & Technology
Monday, February 2, 2009
Globalization
• Skin boats downstream
• Grain, cloth
• Donkeys upstream
• Skins
Bernstein, W. J. (2008). A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World. Atlantic Monthly Press.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Globalization
Bernstein, W. J. (2008). A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World. Atlantic Monthly Press.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Globalization
Bernstein, W. J. (2008). A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World. Atlantic Monthly Press.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Globalization Today
• Synonymous with the fall of Berlin Wall (1989)
• Technologies
• free-market capitalism
• Information and communication technologies
Monday, February 2, 2009
Globalization
• Today’s trade is highly dependent on Information Systems
• Information is the most globalized of goods & services
• Low cost to transport information
• Information work is readily traded
Monday, February 2, 2009
Monday, February 2, 2009
Fundamental enterprise issues
TransnationalTransnationalTransnationalGlobal
Global
coordination
National di!erentiation
Low High
Low
High
International Multinational
Monday, February 2, 2009
Fundamental enterprise issues
TransnationalTransnationalTransnationalGlobal
Global
coordination
National di!erentiation
Low High
Low
High
International Multinational
Monday, February 2, 2009
Fundamental enterprise issues
TransnationalTransnationalTransnationalGlobal
Global
coordination
National di!erentiation
Low High
Low
High
International Multinational
Monday, February 2, 2009
Fundamental enterprise issues
TransnationalTransnationalTransnationalGlobal
Global
coordination
National di!erentiation
Low High
Low
High
International Multinational
Monday, February 2, 2009
Definition
TransnationalTransnationalTransnationalGlobal
Global
coordination
National di!erentiation
Low High
Low
High
International Multinational
• A global information system supports the operations and decision making of an enterprise’s multi-country strategy
Monday, February 2, 2009
Strategies &
Systems
TransnationalTransnationalTransnationalGlobal
Global
coordination
National di!erentiation
Low High
Low
High
International Multinational
Remembering the past
(Databases )
People&
technology
Transactions Data
Preparing for the future
(Business Intelligence)
New business
systems
Handling the present
(Transaction Processing)
Monday, February 2, 2009
Global
• Efficiency
• Highly centralized
• Economies of scale
• The “right” information for each employee to enable global coordination
• Use IS for coordination
TransnationalTransnationalTransnationalGlobal
Global
coordination
National di!erentiation
Low High
Low
High
International Multinational
Monday, February 2, 2009
Global
• Efficiency
• Highly centralized
• Economies of scale
• The “right” information for each employee to enable global coordination
• Use IS for coordination
TransnationalTransnationalTransnationalGlobal
Global
coordination
National di!erentiation
Low High
Low
High
International Multinational
Monday, February 2, 2009
Monday, February 2, 2009
Monday, February 2, 2009
Multinational
• Effectiveness
• Regional units are relatively autonomous
• The “right” product or service for each market
• The “right” information in the “right” format for each customer and employee in each market
• Adapt to culture, economy, infrastructure, language
• Use IS to support national differentiation
TransnationalTransnationalTransnationalGlobal
Global
coordination
National di!erentiation
Low High
Low
High
International Multinational
Monday, February 2, 2009
Multinational
• Effectiveness
• Regional units are relatively autonomous
• The “right” product or service for each market
• The “right” information in the “right” format for each customer and employee in each market
• Adapt to culture, economy, infrastructure, language
• Use IS to support national differentiation
TransnationalTransnationalTransnationalGlobal
Global
coordination
National di!erentiation
Low High
Low
High
International Multinational
Monday, February 2, 2009
Monday, February 2, 2009
Monday, February 2, 2009
Transnational
• Effectiveness & efficiency co-jointly
• Perform functions in the right place for a particular market
• Localization around global platforms
• IS to coordinate and respond
• IS for sharing knowledge
TransnationalTransnationalTransnationalGlobal
Global
coordination
National di!erentiation
Low High
Low
High
International Multinational
Monday, February 2, 2009
Transnational
• Effectiveness & efficiency co-jointly
• Perform functions in the right place for a particular market
• Localization around global platforms
• IS to coordinate and respond
• IS for sharing knowledge
TransnationalTransnationalTransnationalGlobal
Global
coordination
National di!erentiation
Low High
Low
High
International Multinational
Monday, February 2, 2009
Monday, February 2, 2009
Fundamental Individual Issues
• Bounded rationality
• Limited capacity to process information
• Attention Deficit society
• Conscious attention is a scarce resource
Monday, February 2, 2009
Amplify
Monday, February 2, 2009
Attenuate
Monday, February 2, 2009
Definition
• A global information system supports the operations and decision making of a person over space and time
• Amplify & attenuate information exchanges to free up conscious attention
Monday, February 2, 2009
The core goal of an IS
Decision
Knowledge
Information
Data
Conversion
Request Interpretation
Monday, February 2, 2009
Data
• Data exchange
• Standards
• XML
• Data conversion
• SQL
• Business Intelligence software
Monday, February 2, 2009
Information & Knowledge
• Dependencies
• Language
• Culture
• Education
• Context
Monday, February 2, 2009
Language
• A local information system
• English is a global information system
• The language of opportunity
• The corporate language
• The language of science
• Production and consumption disparity
• English writers have a comparative advantage
Monday, February 2, 2009
Native Language
Monday, February 2, 2009
Native Language
873
Monday, February 2, 2009
Native Language
873 Mandarin
Monday, February 2, 2009
Native Language
366
873 Mandarin
Monday, February 2, 2009
Native Language
366
873 Mandarin Hindustani
Monday, February 2, 2009
Native Language
322
366
873 Mandarin Hindustani
Monday, February 2, 2009
Native Language
322
366
873 Mandarin Hindustani Spanish
Monday, February 2, 2009
Native Language
309
322
366
873 Mandarin Hindustani Spanish
Monday, February 2, 2009
Native Language
309
322
366
873 Mandarin Hindustani Spanish English
Monday, February 2, 2009
Native Language
206
309
322
366
873 Mandarin Hindustani Spanish English
Monday, February 2, 2009
Native Language
206
309
322
366
873 Mandarin Hindustani Spanish English Arabic
Monday, February 2, 2009
Machine translation
1. Substitution via a bilingual dictionary
• Naive
2. Lexical analysis
• Analyze the source language and transfer structure to the target language
• Requires expensive linguistic knowledge
• Ambiguity
• Computing intensive
3. Machine learning
• Google translate
Monday, February 2, 2009
Special English
• Developed by Voice of America in 1959
• About 1500 words
• Describe objects, actions, and emotions
• Short, simple sentences with one idea
• Active voice
• No idioms
Books are a high cost of higher education. But the Global Text Project hopes to create a free library of one thousand electronic textbooks for students in developing countries.
The Global Text Project aims to fill a Web-based library with 1,000 booksThe aim is to offer subjects that students may take in their first few years at a university. The books could be printed or read on a computer or copied onto a CD or DVD.
Two professors in the United States are leading the Global Text Project.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Culture
• An information system for defining behavior
• The software of the mind
• National
• Childhood
• Professional
• University education
• Corporate
• What gets rewarded
Monday, February 2, 2009
National cultureCultural dimension High
scoreMid
scoreLow
score
Performance orientation Improvement and excellence
Assertiveness Aggressiveness in relationships
Future orientation Planning and investing for the longer term
Humane orientation Fairness, generosity, and caring
Institutional collectivism Collective distribution of rewards
In-group collectivism Pride, loyalty, and cohesiveness in organizations or families
Gender egalitarianism lack of gender inequality
Power distance Distribution of power
Uncertainty avoidance Reliance on rules and norms to alleviate unpredictable events
AngloConfucian Asia
Middle East Latin America
Germanic EuropeAnglo
Confucian Asia Nordic Europe
Germanic EuropeAnglo
Confucian AsiaMiddle East
Southern AsiaAnglo
Confucian Asia Germanic Europe
Confucian AsiaAnglo
Germanic Europe
Confucian AsiaAnglo Germanic Europe
Nordic EuropeAnglo
Confucian AsiaMiddle East
AngloConfucian Asia Nordic Europe
Germanic EuropeAnglo
Confucian AsiaMiddle East
Source: Javidan, M., Dorfman, P. W., Luque, M. S., & House, R. J. (2006). In the Eye of the Beholder: Cross Cultural Lessons in Leadership from Project GLOBE. The Academy of Management Perspectives, 20(1), 67-90.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Behavior&
Decisions
Behavior&
Decisions
National culture
Professionalculture
Corporateculture
Corporate Global IS
National IS
Monday, February 2, 2009
The Informational & Physical Drivers of
Global IS
Ubiquity
Uniqueness
Unison
Universality
Monday, February 2, 2009
Ubiquity
• Informational
• Access to information unconstrained by time and space
• Physical
• The ready availability of the desired resource
Monday, February 2, 2009
Uniqueness
• Informational
• Knowing precisely the characteristics and location of a person or entity
• Physical
• The capability to tailor precisely a physical resource to one’s particular needs
Monday, February 2, 2009
Unison
• Informational
• Information consistency
• Physical
• Procedural consistency
Monday, February 2, 2009
Universality
• Informational
• Reduce the friction of information systems’ incompatibilities
• Physical
• Reduce the friction of physical differences
Monday, February 2, 2009
U-space
Unconscious/Attenuate(behind or out of conscious awareness)
(extends/enhances awareness)Ultra-conscious/Amplify
Unique(time-space dependent)
Ubiquitous(time-space independent)
Post-humanHyper-real
Node Matrix
Monday, February 2, 2009
• Ultra-conscious & unique
• Remote monitoring
• Enhance interaction
• Extraordinary experience
• Teleimmersion
Hyper-real
Monday, February 2, 2009
Post-human
• Ultra-conscious & ubiquitous
• Permanent enhancement
• Cell phone
• Advanced prosthetics
• Genetic enhancement
• Body change
• The network is always on
Monday, February 2, 2009
Matrix
• Unconscious & ubiquitous
• Move tasks from conscious to unconscious
• Automated consumption
• Congestion pricing
• Smart cards
• Wireless metering
Monday, February 2, 2009
Node
• Unconscious & unique
• reduce the necessity to consciously interact in specific contexts
• Subscription services
• Google alerts
Monday, February 2, 2009
The Critical Global problems
High CO2 emissions
Degradation of the oceans
Declining fresh water supplies
Loss of biodiversity
Monday, February 2, 2009
Green ISThe design and
implementation of information systems that contribute to
sustainable business processes
Monday, February 2, 2009
• Analyzing, designing, and implementing systems to increase energy efficiency
• Collection and analysis of energy data sets
• Optimization of energy distribution networks
• Optimization of energy consumption systems
Energy informaticsEnergy + Information < Energy
Monday, February 2, 2009
Green IS
• IS has been the driver of productivity change for half a century
• Fleet management
• Wireless measurement
• Building management
• Measuring to manage
Monday, February 2, 2009
Global IS
• Global information systems
• Ubiquitous networks
• International standards
• English
• Professional & corporate cultures
• Local information systems
• Culture
Monday, February 2, 2009
Globalization and Information Systems
• Success
• Global information systems furnish goods & services to the developed economies
• Unsolved problem
• Sustainability
• “… meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”
Monday, February 2, 2009
How do we create global information systems that
propel the world to sustainability?
Monday, February 2, 2009
Questions
Monday, February 2, 2009