Case Study 15 This case study is in the text for the subject: Kallman, Ernest A.

and Grillo, John P. (1996) Ethical decision making and information technology: An introduction with cases. (2nd Ed) New York: McGraw-Hill. The four-step process, although summarised in the module notes, is supported by a fully-worked sample case study that demonstrates the use of this process.

TROUBLE IN SARDONIA Do Copyright Ethics Change Overseas? Luke Atwater is on a fast track at JKL Coporation, headquartered in Dallas, Texas. JKL is a billion-dollar contractor for oil companies, specialising in heavy-duty oil-well drilling and pumping equipment. Luke's last job was to manage the start-up of a marketing branch in Chicago, where among other tasks, he was responsible for installing all hardware and software for the branch office. The office occupied the entire fifteenth floor, 23 rooms in all, of the Sears Tower. He had to network PCs for all offices with the appropriate productivity software. This included spreadsheet systems, word processing software and a JKL Corporate Marketing Package. Luke completed the job in only four months even though Pamela Courant, his immediate supervisor, had given him six months to do it. Pamela is the Corporate Vice President for Information Systems and Administration in Dallas. Now Luke is in his next posting, in Russula, Sardonia, trying to repeat his stunning Chicago performance. He's been here for four months already and practically nothing has happened, except that the old Wisteria Hotel has been remodelled into some semblance of an office building. He knows he's got to pick up the pace, or his job will be up for grabs. Pamela told him over the phone before he left, "Luke, I expect more from you now. The Sardonia Office is our first international office, and it could be the key to our international expansion. It has to be in the black - that means profitable, making us money - in six months. I'll give you those six months as I did in Chicago, but I expect you to do better than that." Luke remembers his misgivings about being able to meet this newest deadline. Sardonia's pace is definitely slower than Chicago's, because of its easy-going culture and stifling bureaucracy. But he sees one unexpected compensation for the difficulties he has encountered: Sardonia's economy is far less developed than it could be. Anything JKL does for this country will be greatly appreciated and will reflect well on the company. Luke expects no problems with the hardware. JKL managed the transhipment of all PCs from its headquarters in Dallas. All Luke had to do was to notify Pamela exactly how many PCs of what type, how big a central server and how many metres of cable he needed. The shipment came in yesterday, and the parts are already being distributed. Luke knows that there will be some of the usual problems with wiring, but resolving them shouldn't take more than a week or two.

The real problem, Luke thinks to himself, is going to be the commercial software for wordprocessing and spreadsheets. Pamela specifically requires that all JKL offices use Multisoft's MultiGrid and MultiWrite. Luke has been in phone contact with Multisoft for the past two days. He described to them the layout of the office, including the number of standalone PCs and those that would use a central server. He knew that in Chicago, the cost for site licenses for such a setup would be $40,000 for 100 to 249 users and $75,000 for 250 to 499 users. He was surprised to learn that for international sites, including Sardonia, the costs are $90,000 and $175,000 respectively. Luke calls his software manager, Grifolo Frondoso, a native Sardonian familiar with both packages. "Grif, I want you to order MultiGrid and MultiWrite for our office. How many copies of each do you think you'll need?" "Well, I should get at least 350 of each, if you expect this office to grow during the next year. We've got enough money budgeted for that. It shouldn't add up to more than about $2000 U.S." "I hate to give you the bad news, Grif, but JKL can't use low-grade word processing and spreadsheet software. It has to be Multisoft, and Multisoft wants $175,000 for that many users. That's way beyond the $90,000 our budget allows." "That makes no sense, boss. We don't have to order from Multisoft here. I can get you copies of the exact same software for a dollar over the cost of the diskettes, all legal and above board." "Sure, but that's not the latest release. And besides, that's copyrighted software. You can't do that." "Yes we can, here in Sardonia. The U.S. software copyright laws don't apply here. We can get as many copies as we want of the newest versions. Or, we could order one fresh copy from Multisoft and make copies." "Even if we were to do that, we'd be without manuals. We've got to have manuals at each station, so that kills your idea. And don't forget future revisions ....." "No problem. We can copy the manuals too, or we can pay a local printer who needs the work to print high-quality copies for about $3 each. That still falls under the $90,000 limit, by about $88,000. And don't worry about revisions. We'll get them, too. Hey, just imagine your reputation when you deliver this site that far under budget." Luke stands up and walks to the window overlooking Russula's oppressive slums, saying nothing. He's deep in thought for some time, then turns to Grifolo Frondoso and says "Here's my decision. We'll ...."