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You run a small software development company that does all of its business exclusively through the Internet. You are considering outsourcing some of your more mundane development tasks to India. You have determined that the information infrastructure and human infrastructure in the country are definitely adequate for your needs, but the physical infrastructure is not. Is India still a viable country for outsourcing your mundane software development tasks?

A. No, India must have strong information and physical infrastructure, but human infrastructure is less important for it to be a viable option in this case.

B. No, India must have strong information and human infrastructure, but physical infrastructure is less important for it to be a viable option in this case.

C. No, India must have strong information, human, and physical infrastructure for it to be a viable option in this case.

D. No, India must have strong human and physical infrastructure, but information infrastructure is less important for it to be a viable option in this case.

 
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Max is the CEO of Salary Advance United, a payday lender with twenty-five locations. The core business of Salary Advance is to lend consumers advances of between $100 and $500 against their paycheck for short periods of time, usually about one week to ten days. Salary Advance also offers other financial services such as check cashing and wiring money. Similar to other pay-day lenders, Urban charges approximately $15 for a 2-week loan to their borrowers who tend to be high risk. If the loan interest were calculated on an annual basis, the rate would be 390 percent. Some states, including New York, cap interest rates at 16 percent for loans, even though store credit cards often charge over 20 percent for their loans. (Both 16 and 20 refer to annual rates.) Max informs his management team during a meeting quite that he, along with them, is worried about the future of the business. He notes that fifteen states have already banned payday loans, and that more and more politicians are condemning the business, including the president of the United States. He reminds the team that some of the accusations against the industry are preposterous. “My favorite example is that renting a full-size sedan cost about $75 before taxes,” said Max. “If somebody rented the care for the entire year, or 365 days, the annual fee would be $27, 375 plus taxes. Yet no politician complains about the exorbitant rates charged by car-rental agencies. My biggest concern right now is that the state is going to shut us down.” Max then had a problem-solving session with the group, exploring alternatives that could be pursued to stay in business. One alternative that emerged was to set up online operations overseas in a country that welcomed such businesses (e.g., Malta or the West Indies). The suggestion was to still keep a few offices open to catch street traffic and offer services for wiring money. In this way, state regulations could be avoided. Another alternative that the group formulated was to base the business on a Native American reservation, again to avoid state regulations. A handful of payday lenders have successfully made this transition. Max concluded the meeting by saying, “We cannot forget that our mission is to help financially troubled people in need. Without our loans, many of our potential customers would have their cars repossessed of their homes foreclosed. Equally bad, they would have to use loan sharks to get money. Our interest rates may seem high to the outside world, but we have to charge enough to cover our risks and earn a small profit.” The team nodded in agreement with Max. Questions 1. What is your evaluation of the ethics of Salary Advance United making payday loans? 2. What do you think of the ethics of the two alternatives mentioned to avoid state regulations: locating offshore or on a Native American reservation? 3. What do you recommend to Max to make the business model of Salary Advance ethical enough to avoid being attacked by politicians?

 

 
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Top-level leaders at a company that manufactures smartphones, tablet computers, and portable music players, among other electronic devices held a one day retreat. The purpose was to think though how well the company was contributing to society. Technology chief, Olivia, commented, “I am very proud of us as a company. Think of what we have done for the world. Because of our products, people are more productive, smarter, and happier. At any time of the day, millions of users can access the information they need, and get in touch with whoever they want. Furthermore, they don’t have to clutter their minds with facts, or even know how to spell correctly, or do basic math. With the tap of a few buttons, or touching a screen, they get all the information they need.” CEO Raphael added, “You are so right Olivia. Also, people don’t even have to pay for landline telephones any longer. And think of how hundreds of companies can hire fewer people because of our devices. I learned recently that many car dealerships have laid off many of their in-store sales reps because a good deal of car purchasing is now done over the Internet. And people don’t have to purchase those ink-laden newspapers because they can get all the information they need on a hand-held device.” Derek, the marketing manager, with a worried look said to the group. “We all make a great living from the electronic devices we make and sell, and so do our competitors. The information technology industry has created millions of jobs. And maybe we have also eliminated millions of jobs. However, I want us as industry leaders to focus on one issue right now. The accidents and deaths our devices are facilitating are getting out of hand. At first it was people sending and receiving calls on their cell phones that was creating driving hazards. Then along came texting which is even a bigger problem. Now we have data that the number of people who surf the Internet while driving is surging. I know that states, provinces, and municipalities forbid texting or handheld phone use while driving, but the laws are largely ignored, and the carnage continues. I am asking us to consider what role we should play as an industry leader in getting consumers to use our products in a way that does not harm or kill other people on the streets and highways.” Raphael replied, “I think that local governments, Internet service providers, and perhaps schools have more responsibility for minimizing accidents with smartphone users.” If we were making kitchen knives instead of electronic devices, would we be responsible for the occasional deaths and injuries caused by these knives? “In our situation, we have to ask whether the drivers or the smartphones are to blame for the accidents of distracted drivers.” Questions 1. What role do you think this industry leader should play in encouraging safer use of their smartphones? 2. With the negative perspective Derek has about the use of smartphones while driving, should he be released from his position as the marketing manager? 3. How ethical and socially responsible are the opinions of Olivia and Raphael about the advantages of smartphones to society?

 

 
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Based on the model description given belove, comment on the assumptions regarding the underlying system. Which assumptions do you think sound unrealistic and why?


A small factory consists of a machine and an inspector, as shown in Figure 1. Unfinished parts arrive to the factory with exponential interarrival times having a mean of 1 minute. Processing times at the machine are uniformly distributed on the interval (0.65. 0.70) minute, and subsequent inspection times at the inspector are uniformly distributed on the interval (0.75, 0.80). (The assumption of uniformity is for ease of exposition, and is not likely to be valid in a real-world application). Ninety percent of inspected parts are “good” and leave the system immediately; 10 percent of the parts are “bad” and are sent back to the machine for rework. (Both queues are assumed to be infinite capacity). The machine is subject to randomly occurring breakdowns. In particular, a new (or freshly repaired) machine will break down after an exponential amount of calendar time with a mean of 6 hours. Repair times are uniform on the interval [8, 12] minutes. If a part is being processed when the machine breaks down, then the machine continues where it left off upon the completion of repair. Assume that the factory is initially empty and idle.
0.9 Good Machine Tapeter . Bad
The factory gets an order to produce 2000 parts and thus, a simulation of this system can be considered to be terminating with E = {2000 parts have been completed). Let T be the time required to complete the required 2000 parts.

 
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