People a The Weak Link in Security

The weakest link in any security plan or implementation is a human. The weak links include everyone from the hourly paid end user to the owner of the company. Even many of today2019;s security professionals may not have the time or ability to perform their current duties and keep up with an ever-growing number of threats. If someone is not aware of a threat then they are going to behave as if there were none. The job of the security professional is to change this behavior. It involves using a combination of technology and education to help users understand and follow security requirements. Everyone needs to understand why we need to have security policies and why they need to be followed

Sony, Cyber Security, and Free Speech: Preserving the First Amendment in the Modern World

Reprinted from 16 U.C. Davis Bus. L.J. 309 (2016). This paper explores the Sony hack in 2014 allegedly launched by the North Korean government in retaliation over Sony’s production of The Interview and considers the hack’s chilling impact on speech in technology. One of the most devastating cyber attacks in history, the hack exposed approximately thirty- eight million files of sensitive data, including over 170,000 employee emails, thousands of employee social security numbers and unreleased footage of upcoming movies. The hack caused Sony to censor the film and prompted members of the entertainment industry at large to tailor their communication and conform storylines to societal standards. Such censorship cuts the First Amendment at its core and exemplifies the danger cyber terror poses to freedom of speech by compromising Americans’ privacy in digital mediums. This paper critiques the current methods for combatting cyber terror, which consist of unwieldy federal criminal laws and controversial information sharing policies, while proposing more promising solutions that unleash the competitive power of the free market with limited government regulation. It also recommends legal, affordable and user-friendly tools anyone can use to secure their technology, recapture their privacy and exercise their freedom of speech online without fear of surreptitious surveillance or retaliatory exposure

Blockchain, Leadership And Management: Business AS Usual Or Radical Disruption?

The Internet provided the world with interconnection. However, it did not provide it with trust. Trust is lacking everywhere in our society and is the reason for the existence of powerful intermediaries aggregating power. Trust is what prevents the digital world to take over. This has consequences for organisations: they are inefficient because time, energy, money and passion are wasted on verifying everything happens as decided. Managers play the role of intermediaries in such case: they connect experts with each others and instruct them of what to do. As a result, in our expert society, people's engagement is low because no one is there to inspire and empower them. In other words, our society faces an unprecedented lack of leadership. Provided all those shortcomings, the study imagines the potential repercussions, especially in the context of management, of implementing a blockchain infrastructure in any type of organisation. Indeed, the blockchain technology seems to be able to remedy to those issues, for this distributed and immutable ledger provides security, decentralisation and transparency. In the context of a blockchain economy, the findings show that value creation will be rearranged, with experts directly collaborating with each others, and hierarchy being eliminated. This could, in turn, render managers obsolete, as a blockchain infrastructure will automate most of the tasks. As a result, only a strong, action-oriented, leadership would maintain the organisation together. This leadership-in-action would consist in igniting people to take action; coach members of the organisations so that their contribution makes sense in the greater context of life

A Review of the Literature and Implications for People with Disabilities (E-Human Resources Literature Review)

To accomplish this overview, an extensive review of the literature on information technology applications to the employment process was conducted. Three human resources related uses of the Internet are explored in this review of current literature: E-recruiting, E-benefits/HR, E-training. Each of these areas can have a significant impact on employees with disabilities, especially given the growth of business’ use of the Web. If E-recruiting is not accessible, it could prevent people from applying for or even finding open positions. E-training, if not accessible, could create a new barrier to the advancement of individuals who are unable to access online training to improve or update their skills. E-benefits, while likely to make enrollment and other activities easier for many employees, may become an obstacle for individuals with certain disabilities if not designed to be accessible. In addition, we examined the literature for any current discussion of access issues for applicants and employees with disabilities by business. In the remainder of this introduction, we also cover the World Wide Web and accessibility issues for people with disabilities, legislation relevant to Internet accessibility, and studies of Web accessibility

Where will commoditization take us?

Predicting the future is an imprecise science, and something that should always be carried out carefully and the results should be taken with a pinch of salt. That said it is sensible to assume that most of the drivers of commoditization are likely to remain in force for the foreseeable future. Unlike the futurologists who attempt to predict how society and technology will change over the next fifty years, we are only going to look a few years ahead, which is a more sensible time horizon. History is not always a good predictor of the future, but in the case of commoditization we think it is. It is clear that when we look back in time we can see how the process of commoditization has subsumed great tranches of industry, eliminated significant numbers of manual labourers and increased the general efficiency and effectiveness of society. In many respects we could argue that it was important to the advancement of the industrialised economies of the West. In projecting forward from this point, we should expect commoditization to continue to expand its footprint into areas which we currently think are outside of the realms of possibility. After all, no one would have expected the IT industry to have become so commoditized when it first emerged during the 1940s. And in the same way that white collar workers were caught out when they believed they were immune from the initial waves of downsizing and offshoring that affected the manufacturing sector, others at the mid- and high-end of the workforce may also be caught out sometime in the future. And as commoditization continues to advance it will touch on many more peoples’ lives and livelihoods.Commoditization, Offshoring, Talent, Technology, Competition, Inequality

America Needs a Raise

[Excerpt] America needs a raise, in the worst kind of way. While productivity, profits, executive pay and the stock market keep going up, working family incomes keep going down, widening the gap between the rich and the rest of us and creating a dangerous atmosphere of social and economic conflict. Workers are having to labor harder and longer just to keep even, and more and more family members are having to work in order to maintain living standards. Working families have little money to spend, they are loaded with debt and they have no time to spend with their children. Threatened by restructuring, downsizing, pension raids, privatization schemes and runaway plants, their anger is exceeded only by anxiety over keeping their jobs. They are disgusted with business and government and their disillusionment is straining the fabric of our society

The Strategic Problem of Information Security and Data Breaches

This paper considers the strategic uncertainties and impacts created by high-profile data breaches and discusses the unique strategic problem presented by information security breaches for organizational executives. Based on theory regarding strategic uncertainties, we develop a framework depicting a strategic perspective on breaches within and outside the firm. Then, within the major categories outlined by the framework, this research evaluates instances of 17 public disclosures of high-profile data breaches over the past four years. Based on our discussion of these 17 cases, we identify six major issues complicating strategic decision-making regarding security breaches and discuss guidance for managers

Analysis of Offshoring and Homeshoring

The techniques discussed in this research paper have impacted and are important to the evolving business of today and the future. The process with which companies decide to offshore and homeshore was looked at, and through this strict guidelines and objectives companies used to ensure proper conduct while maintaining the stakeholder\u27s goals were observed. This project examined and analyzed these business practices through literature research and by interviewing business people currently involved with them

Assessing the Influence of Smart Mobile Devices on How Employees Work

The smart mobile device market penetration reached 50% and has been increasing an average of 39% per year in the United States. More than 70% of the smart mobile device owners use such devices for personal and work activities. The problem was the lack of management\u27s understanding of the effect smart mobile device use has on how employees work when they are in the office, while traveling, or during the off-hours to improve productivity and customer service. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand why, when, and how employees used smart mobile devices. The transformational technology conceptual framework was based on Charan\u27s and Welch\u27s theory that new technologies and how people work is critical to productivity. The sample consisted of 21 anonymous participants from randomly selected mid-level and senior management working for Fortune 1000 companies within the U.S. An open-ended questionnaire was designed for collecting lived experiences from the participants. Data were coded using open and axial techniques to identify themes and patterns to understand the way employees use smart mobile devices. Findings showed that smart mobile devices became an inseparable part of employees\u27 life and created the always on culture erasing the boundaries between professional and personal life. Employees perform work and personal activities in the office, while traveling for business or leisure, and during time-off. Implications for social change include helping companies improve the workplace and for employees to improve their productivity through mobile technologies thus potentially developing better products and services for the public

Whalesong

Cuts to impact UAJ, state -- Land purchases on hold -- UAJ musicians take to the halls with concerts -- Key to success: good management skills -- Editorial -- Letters to whale -- Faculty, staff and students: a little kudos for a change -- Basketball party receives funding -- Mildred and Herbert -- Burn them bodies down, boys -- Silence is the most eloquent form -- Trek to Crete to spark summer offerings at UAJ -- Richters: life on the road -- Student aid could receive reduction -- Tournament draws seventeen -- Housing: a strong, positive effect -- Whales hope to win in short game -- University takes steps to cut expense