International Business | E Business Cases

International Business : The Challenge of Global Competition, 8/e

Donald Ball
Wendell H. McCulloch, California State University Long Beach
Paul L. Frantz, California State University Long Beach
Michael Geringer, California Polytechnic State University
Michael S. Minor, University of Texas Pan American

E Business Cases

Students:

Included here are some internet/case assignments relating to E-Business that you can use to review or that your instructor may give as assignments. Your instructors have been given the answers to these questions and may choose to give them out to you or not.

Government Regulation of the Internet

This case is designed to:

Familiarize you with the current political climate in different countries regarding government regulation of the Internet

During World War II, General Dwight D. Eisenhower became fascinated by the extensive German highway system. This system provided multiple interconnected roads throughout Germany that allowed troops and supplies to move quickly and efficiently to new destinations. In addition, it provided numerous alternate routings that could be used when portions of highways were bombed.

When he was president in the 1950's Eisenhower campaigned for a highway system in the United States that would be fashioned after what he observed in Germany. Thus, the interstate highway system in the United States was born.

After the Soviet Union launched Sputnik in 1957, President Eisenhower saw the need for the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA). ARPA brought together some of the most brilliant scientists in the United States who were able to develop the US's first successful satellite in just 18 months. Several years later, ARPA began to focus on computer networking and communications technology. It was from this that the Internet had its beginnings.

The original idea of Internet was similar to the German highway system - build a vast array of computer-based networks that were connected together throughout the world in such a way that the system would continue to operate even in the event of a nuclear war. This required the use of open standards and worldwide cooperation among the early developers of the Internet.

By standardizing the organization of the flow of information rather than the flow of information itself, the Internet allows users with different computer hardware, different operating systems, different software packages, different human languages, different electrical currents, different geographical locations, et cetera, to electronically share information with one another in a seamless manner. The technological innovations in communication and information sharing made possible by the Internet offer enormous opportunities and challenges to governments and to businesses. However recent movements by different governments to regulate the Internet have many concerned about future of electronic commerce and the Internet itself.

Case Instructions:

Read the January 11, 2001 Economist article entitled "Stop Signs on the Web" at http://www.economist.com/displayStory.cfm?Story_ID=471742 and answer the following questions.

What three examples of government regulation of cyberspace are cited in the article?
Identify two ways of blocking access to certain sites.
What has China done as far as controlling its citizens' access to the Internet?
How does Myanmar enforce its ban on web access?
Provide three examples of a coordinated action by governments to gain control of the online world.
Explain technology's double edge.
What do you think will be the future of government regulation of the Internet? Explain your position.