PHI THETA KAPPA

What roles does information play in business and economics?

Study Questions

1. Much of the information on the Internet appears to be free. Who is making money and how are they making it?
2. Information technology, such as computer-aided manufacturing, has increased productivity and automated many job functions. How does this affect under-employment, job security and income?
3. How have global marketing and the importation of inexpensive goods affected our economy?
4. Moore’s Law states that computer capacity doubles every two years. What effect does this have for obsolescence of equipment?
5. How has increased access to information affected global markets? How have global markets affected local economies?
6. What entrepreneurial opportunities have arisen as a result of the democratization of information?
7. What effect did access to information have on the worldwide financial institutions?
8. Glocalization is a term that means “thinking globally while acting locally.” What does the democratization of information have to do with this effort?
9. The ability to buy and sell directly through the Internet has eliminated the “middle man.” What businesses have been affected both positively and negatively?
10. One proposed method of making healthcare more affordable is the centralization of medical information. How might this be accomplished and what might be involved? What are the trade-offs with this information being centralized and available to third parties?
11. What type of information is collected about us as we transact business over the Internet?
12. What is meant by a “secure site,” and how is information kept secure?
13. Some futurists say the career for which you are studying may not exist when you are ready to enter it. How does this affect career choice and preparation?
14. We are constantly presented with Internet marketing and advertising. Does this make us more likely to buy or does it desensitize us to advertising’s appeals?

Honors in Action

Where do you Wear?

Investigation of the Honors Study Topic (Research): The United States has access to an abundance of inexpensive clothing. It is inexpensive because it is produced in factories in developing countries where workers are paid low wages and frequently do not have the same working conditions and employment protections that we enjoy in the United States. Research the clothing market and gather information about factories in developing nations. What is the cost of manufacturing clothing compared to the retail cost? What is the average wage of third world factory workers? Trace the making of a garment from the origination of its material to the final distribution channel. Consider the role retail outlets such as Wal-Mart, Target, Costco, and others play in the importation of clothing made overseas. Invite an economics professor to give a presentation on the implications of global markets for clothing to students and community members.

Leadership Role(s): Discuss the development of “Where do you Wear” Day with your college administration and ask their advice on making it an effective all-campus activity. Work with faculty to allow faculty members to make announcements at the beginning of classes on campus to encourage widespread student support. Share what you have learned with fellow Phi Theta Kappa members beyond your chapter and encourage them to replicate “Where do you Wear” Day on their campuses.

Leadership Development: Organize a workshop on understanding ethical leadership. Focus particularly on how ethical leadership can inform decisions about what clothing to wear and how to support just economies at home and abroad.

Action: Organize a “Where do you Wear” Day on campus. Create posters and signs for display around campus on “Where do you Wear” Day. Use the information about where clothing is made garnered from your research for your posters. Encourage students to investigate where their clothing was made. Ask students to use push pins to identify on a map the nations where their clothing was made. At locations around campus, have chapter members write sticker labels with the names of the countries where students’ clothing was manufactured and place them on each article of clothing or accessory for which the country of origin can be determined.

Collaboration:

• Chapter members
• Students on your college campus
• Phi Theta Kappa members beyond your chapter
• Faculty members and administrators on your campus
• Local retailers

Reflection: Develop an evaluation form to see what students who participated in “Where do you Wear” Day learned about global clothing markets. How did what they learned affect their clothing choices? Consider how your research and actions in the community have informed your choices about the clothing you buy. What did you learn about global markets? What did you learn about making ethical leadership decisions? How have you grown as scholars and leaders?

Local Markets

Investigation of the Honors Study Topic (Research): Examine the materials created by The Institute for Local Self Reliance to determine the extent to which buying locally affects the economy and local businesses. How does choosing to shop at local businesses benefit your community’s economy? What are the benefits of shopping at chain stores? What are the hidden costs of opting for chain stores?

Leadership Role(s): Work with college administrators to identify community businesses to survey about local products and to determine to what extent your college can use locally grown and locally available items. Work with faculty to construct a valid and reliable survey, consider distribution methods, and analyze survey data. Work with chapter members to determine how you can become more informed shoppers.

Leadership Development: Develop a workshop in which chapter members use the Intergroup Model Building: A LEGO Creature exercise to create a strong team. Use what you learn in the workshop to help you more effectively work as a team on your research and Honors in Action activity.

Action: Survey the companies in and around your community who offer their products for local sale. Compile this information and make it available to the community. Work with graphic design students to design a publication detailing the buy-local opportunities, including store locations and hours of operation. Invite companies listed to donate a portion of the cost of copying the publication for distribution. On your own campus, inquire whether the college food service uses local sources for produce and dairy products that may be available. If not, advocate with food service and college administrators for using local products on campus.

Collaboration:

• Chapter members
• College administrators
• Local business leaders

Reflection: What did you learn about the consequences of your shopping choices? To what extent is there a need to turn the tide of chain retail expansion and rebuild our local economies? How did you grow as scholars and community leaders? What lessons will you take from this experience to utilize in developing other Honors in Action activities?

Bibliography

Canton, James. The Extreme Future: The Top Trends That Will Reshape the World in the Next 20 Years. 2006.
Canton examines the major trends such as globalization, climate change, war, and anti-government thought, which will shape our economic future. What might these trends look like? Canton makes suggestions and challenges readers to take an active role in shaping the extreme future of the globe.

Friedman, Thomas. Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution and How It Can Renew America. 2008.
Friedman explores the interconnections between nations and peoples and the ways in which by saving the world, America can save itself as well. He calls for a Green Revolution that utilizes technology and business innovations that he believes will create a sustainable economy for the 21st century.

Gladwell, Malcolm. Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking. 2005.
Gladwell looks at the power of intuition, the knowing in the first two seconds of seeing something that comes without thinking through an issue or development. He explores the power of “blink” in everyday life and business and warns about the dangers of reading the wrong cues and from those cues making decisions that may be faulty.

Gonthier, Giovinella. Rude Awakenings: Overcoming the Civility Crisis in the Workplace. 2002.
While designed as a reference for the workplace, Gonthier’s book has applications in a broader world. Communication is a key part of civil discourse and behavior. A former ambassador, Gonthier offers suggestions and models for avoiding and correcting the “civility crisis.”

Tapscott, Don and Anthony D. Williams. Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything. 2006 and 2008.
Tapscott and Williams explore the new world of “quick” global collaboration by companies such as Microsoft, Proctor & Gamble, and the Human Genome Project. The authors look at the power and promise inherent in such collaborations as well as the perils of collecting and then guarding the information gleaned by mass collaboration.