MIS 3534 – Prof. Min-Seok Pang

Week 07 – Cost of IT (II)

Online discussion questions – Oct 17

  • There is only one person at IVK who knows how the internal IT prices are calculated. What would be the risks? How could he/she abuse the system?
  • Why is the slush fund at IVK problematic from the perspective of managerial (cost) accounting?
  • If you’re Mr. Barton, how would you make the case for new security project funding to business unit managers?
  • Any examples of public goods? (other than what we discussed in-class – defense, fresh air, public park, police, fire dept.)
  • Any examples of Prisoner’s Dilemma (other than what we discussed in class)?
  • If you are a professor, how would you make sure that everyone in a group project works hard and no one free-rides?

In-class discussion questions – Week 7 (Oct 17)

  • Which government spending do you want to cut – military, education, highway?
  • Is there a reason not to cut military spending? Is there a reason not to cut education?
  • Who controls the IT budget at IVK?
  • On what basis do the business units at IVK pay for IT?
  • Why had Mr. Davies, the former CIO, had to set up “slush funds”? How did he secure the slash funds?
  • The slush fund is technically what? from accounting standpoint?
  • Why is Mr. John Cho requesting an immediate funding on IT security?
  • Why has the request for IT security funding kept being denied?
  • What’s the consideration and decision of Mr. Barton in terms of IT budget funding and controls? What’s his rationale?
  • If he controls the entire budget, will all the problems go away?
  • What does Maggie, Mr. Barton’s girlfriend/consultant, mean by “one neck in the noose”?
  • Suppose that you pay income tax and can live in any house you want for free! (Your government provides housing for you.) What would happen?