Blog 1.1 Manipulating Data Case Study

I work for a family-owned CPA firm, where the owner has been a CPA for the last 31 years. This is an example of tactic knowledge. Tacit knowledge is defined as the knowledge that someone holds in their head. This is in sharp contrast to explicit knowledge, which is the knowledge that can be documented, archived, and codified. Our organization shares explicit knowledge in the software we use, and this is another one of our greatest assets. This knowledge is the database that stores tax laws, changes in filings, and updated records. This explicit knowledge can be searched for, read, and understood.

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Because of the vast amount of tacit knowledge, the owner holds, this often means he is the only one that can make complex decisions. As a result, this means he has the most oversight of our daily operations. As great of an asset as his knowledge is, this presents a problem in identifying that knowledge and sharing it with the rest of us, which can present a significant obstacle when we are busy, and he can not be everywhere at once. We have a diverse staff at the office, some have been in accounting without any formal education for the last ten years, others have some school like myself and others have completed bachelor’s degrees. This presents a broad mix of tacit knowledge that each one of us possesses.

The way we can communicate and share this tacit knowledge is through using examples and, in a sense teaching others and showing them what we know. This channel of transferring tacit knowledge takes patience, and the learner can only progress with time and experience. The learning that this person acquires, in turn, becomes their tacit knowledge, and they can pass it on to someone else that needs it.
Our organization does its best to capture the knowledge of the owner as the owner is involved in every tax return, and he must review it before anything is e-filed. While the owner is considering the tax preparation, he is explaining the thought process that he uses, and we are learning his logic that helps us to be better with the next tax return. In my opinion, there is no solution here to share tacit knowledge. The only solution would be to hire more experienced employees that can bring to the table a higher level of expertise than what is currently the average in our office. This means the most effective way of sharing his tacit knowledge is the way he has been doing it all these years, which is by showing us from example and the learner picking up as much as they can.

Disruptive innovation can best be explained as a new market emerging that captures new customers. Sustaining innovation is when a company in a market improves on the already existing product and makes it better for their current customers. With the creation of Air BnB, a disruptive innovation was created and would alter the way consumers would view travel and lodgings. As stated in this article regarding the rise of Air BnB, “The concepts of disruptive innovation are used to consider Airbnb’s novel business model, which is built around modern internet technologies, and Airbnb’s distinct appeal, which centers on cost-savings, household amenities, and the potential for more authentic local experiences.” The old ways of staying exclusivly at hotels or needing to know someone so you could couch surf were changed. Air Bnb allows any home owner to rent out their house or living space for travelers.

An example of sustaining innovation is a fast-food chain utilizing apps for quicker food ordering and delivery. The olf system of calling and ordering food already was very outdated and due for a change. The introduction of web-based applications allowed the entire ordering process to be streamlined for the customer. Restaraunts could now implement CRM technologies and be able to study and track customers who were using their mobile delivery app systems. In turn, customers could now benefit from easier ordering and faster service all around.

The science and technology behind plant-based meat alternatives, is changing the very way we view sustainability and our survival. The company that is leading the way for this new radical shift is called Impossible Food. As stated in an interview with sustainable brands magazine, “Impossible’s ultimate mission is to replace the need for animals as a global food-production technology by 2035.” (Sustainable Brands Staff). This can be explained as a paradigm shift that occurs when a new radical form of business enters the market and reshapes the way companies and organizations behave. Since the recent introduction of this plant-based meat alternative, fast food companies are all shifting to accommodate this growing demand in a new market.

References

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13683500.2013.827159?journalCode=rcit20

https://sustainablebrands.com/read/behavior-change/impossible-foods-celebrates-consumer-paradigm-shift-to-plant-based-meat

Zillow is an online real estate site that gives ordinary users the ability to access for free, real estate tools and information that previously were not available to the public for free, or without the use of realtors. Zillow stores and updates data daily on 95% of the homes in the United States. This means they have a vast amount of data, data that would become almost useless if not for MIS systems that allow this data to be turned into information. After this data is converted into information, customers are able to make informed decisions and achieve business intelligence. Zillow is always going one step further, for example, customers are able to query specific search details and get a response that displays only homes that meet that criteria. Zillow is able to maintain uniqueness in the market by offering services such as not only buying but also renting, selling, mortgages, and even an agent finding service to connect you to a real estate agent. Zillow has taken into account all aspects of home buying or selling, and best of all, these services are free of charge to the customer.

When search queries are submitted on the site, the stored raw data is accessed from what is called a “data lake.” A data lake is a storage repository that holds a vast amount of raw data in its original format until the business needs it. (pg. 124) Due to the sheer volume of raw data Zillow receives every day, it would never be complete data if their MIS systems tried to convert all the raw data into information. The use of a data lake allows the raw data to be stored until it is needed and then can be converted to a smaller data set that can be analyzed and then made into useful information for the user. This allows users to achieve quicker answers that are also up to date and accurate. In an industry that can change daily, this means accurate information can be relayed quickly. It is easier to go to the lake when you need a fish than to try and catch all the fish from the lake at once. The bigger the lake, the more valuable the use of a date lake retrieval system is.

Is the information I am viewing on Zillow genuinely complete? Suprisingly, that answer is no. But that’s ok because it is more important to have accurate information than it is to have complete information. And in the scenario of infinite amounts of raw data, it is nearly impossible to ever achieve complete data. When businesses have what it called “dirty data,” then you would have both the problems of inaccurate information and incomplete information. Dirty data simply means data that is erroneous or flawed. Therfore to clean up this data, companies will perform what is called information cleansing, which uses complex software that removes incosistent, or incorrect or incomplete information. The end result is that the users are given more accurate information and can use this to better make decisions.

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Welcome to the 21st century of technology and the internet, where a big brother can and will monitor every message you send or receive. For some people in America, this is of no concern, these people often say, “I have nothing to hide, so go ahead if it helps fight hackers and crime.” For others that oppose the surveillance of our internet and emails, they will say something along the lines of, “this is a direct violation of our right to privacy, and the government should step back!”

Deciding your position on the matter and how you feel about the government watching over everything you do on the internet is the easy part. Something that requires more discussion and thought is the question, “is it ethical for big government to tap into an online service provider and read your emails?”

To answer this question, we must understand a few things about ethics and specifically information ethics, as this pertains to the question above. Information ethics can be summarized as what governs the ethical and moral issues arising from the development and use of information technologies. It is often tricky when deciding on what is ethical and what is not, because what might be socially acceptable for one person, can be a violation for someone else. Therefore the dilemmas that come from this topic cannot be answered concretely.

I believe that law and order are necessary for our safety and survival. If authorities were not involved and someone wasn’t going after the hackers and thwarting future attacks, how could we function every day as a society, when everything we use requires the internet and sensitive data exchange? Who would feel comfortable doing their shopping on the internet or using their card at the gas pump if we knew authorities would have legal hurdles and obstacles to track down after the fact they were a victim of a cyber crime? If hackers commit a crime and authorities can pinpoint who the criminal is, by all means, they should be able to tap into their online service provider for purposes of conducting a criminal investigation and bringing the person or people responsible to justice.

Our justice system allows authorities to search for information if they discover probable cause in a crime. In this scenario, I would argue that it is ethical for authorities to tap into online service providers and take the appropriate actions to prosecute hackers. This might require that authorities track everyone, and even without probable cause, they can search your emails. My generation has grown up our entire lives without privacy, and so for me, another intrusion on internet privacy is of no concern to me. As someone that does not engage in any illegal behavior online or in personal life, this is not an issue for me that authorities often tap into online service providers in their detection of criminal activity.