Information Policy and the Law: On Taxing the Internet and Government's E-Rulemaking

Continuing the discussion on policy issues, an article on whether to tax the Internet became the primary point of discussion as the same question was asked to the class. It must be noted first that the question and the article itself talks about taxing the Internet access, usage and online sales, not the Internet perse.

In the US, some states have already started collecting access and sales taxes for transactions done online. An access tax is a tax fee a customer pays an ISP such as America Online. Sales taxes, on the other hand, are an e-commerce tax that would require the vendor to collect a sales tax when someone purchases something over the Internet. Other proposals in taxation scheme to be included in the “Internet tax” are use tax, delivery tax, etc. Although the US Congress had imposed a moratorium on new access taxes, several states had the taxes in place before Congress acted on the moratorium.

Going back to the question on whether to tax the Internet access and usage it would be appropriate to consider if these US laws and regulations can be applied in the country. In the US federal system, states can independently impose taxes on their own borders. Thus, they differ significantly in their approaches to taxes and the government considers that difference a good thing. To them competition between states mean that an American citizen who is unhappy with the policies of one state could move to another. For instance, some states allow Internet taxes to be collected if this would benefit its population. A citizen who does not want to pay a sales tax in his or her online transaction can choose to move the transaction to another state which does not implement a sales tax on online purchases. Thus, as the states experiments with different policies it would be able to determine what is appropriate and acceptable to its population.

However, in the Philippines the government implements a uniform set of rules in taxation on most basic commodities, products and services. Competitions among provinces or regions are merely in terms of progress in the government’s effort to collect tax efficiently. But the “payback” of the tax collected in terms of infrastructure, peace and order, basic services, etc. are basically the same in all provinces. The government has yet to come up with policies regarding Internet taxation. Even the drafted information and communications technology roadmap of the country do not have a provision that discusses Internet access and usage taxation. Should it choose to collect Internet taxes, it must first formulate a policy regarding Internet access and usage, and more importantly specify its intention in doing so.

Moreover, the country is on the verge of aggressively developing its ICT program as it competes with its neighboring Asian countries in information and communications technology. The government actually encourages individuals, companies, and even its offices, to use the Internet to hasten the delivery of government services. It would be detrimental to the program’s success if it decides to tax the primary medium towards its progress.

In relation to ICT, the article on “New Directions for Digital Government Research” became the second point of discussion. It talks about the role of information technology in improving processes by which government makes regulatory decisions. Workers on regulatory issues increasingly recognized the potential benefits from new applications of IT in rulemaking process. As an example, the e-Government Act of 2002 of the Bush administration directs regulatory agencies to deploy technology to enhance public participation in government decision-making.

Putting it in the Philippine context, one may question as to whether the government is really serious in as much as public consultations on issues affecting its people is concerned. It has been observed that in most cases public opinions and ideas which should have been captured in public consultations are seldom translated into public policies due to some political interests of the government. Thus, some laws being enacted lack or miss to address the real issues.

Another point of concern is the government’s seriousness in its policy implementation. Or rather, it is because that there was inadequate exerted effort on the policy formulation of the issues at hand in the first place. An example was raised during the class as to the government’s pronouncement to increase power capacity of hydro-electric plants in Luzon by twice as much of its current capacity. The Department of Energy is tasked to deliver the goods but the agency can only do much because there is no clear understanding on how it should be carried out. Hydro-electric plants take years to be built and it involves enormous funding in which the government has also no clear provision on how and where to source it.

The information and communications technology program of the government is supposed to address the gap in the traditional way the government is conducting its public consultations. However, government efforts to fully exploit the use of ICT as a tool to improve access to and delivery of government services must be supported by policies on e-Governance. A comprehensive policy on ICT will outline how the government would manage, procure and use information technologies to more efficiently deliver services. Some of the key policy issues to address shall include data sharing among government agencies, interoperability of government systems, data privacy in government.

MIPOLAW Class 2006

Information Policy and the Law: Defining Policy

Policy is essential for every organization for it lays down the guiding principles that govern its rules and regulations for the overall achievement of its goals and objectives.

Policy analysis helps to alleviate problems arising from scarcity. Seven stages or cycles are involved in its development: intelligence, promotion, prescription, invocation, application/implementation, appraisal and termination/amendment. Intelligence concerns with defining the problem and analyses of the issues at hand. It also lays out alternatives and forecasts the consequences of actions to be considered. Modeling plays an important role in this stage for it represents a scenario to the policy analyst in making a policy recommendation. Nonessential that cloud the problem must be strip away in order to expose the structural relationships among variables so that consequences of a particular policy choice may be predicted. After defining the problem and laying out the alternatives comes the promotion function where consultation among affected parties affected parties takes place. This is also the stage where data and information gathering fits in as the analyst comes into direct contact with the situation or the people concerned.

In defining policy it is important to make a distinction between similar terms as people tend to confuse policy with rules, regulations and even with laws. A policy is a body of principles to guide regulations, rules and actions as well as its implementations. It sets up boundaries around decisions including those that can be made and shutting out those that cannot. In this way it channels the thinking of the organizational members so that it is consistent with organization’s objectives.

Rules, on the other hand, are statements that a specific action must or must not be taken into a given situation. For instance, it is a hospital policy not to divulge any information about a patient’s identity and/or condition to any person with no direct relation or jurisdiction or authority to the patient. Thus, rules are set to carry out this policy, specifically stating that all patients’ information will be given in a need-to-know-who-wants-to-know basis, and that all related inquiries must be channeled through the top management.

There is also a difference between policy and law. Policy is both a mechanism use to implement laws and/or a guideline issued to solve a particular social problem. Some policies are translated into law although there are many policies that do not become laws. Policy is not always written down, although obviously, written policy is better because it offers guidelines.In relation to laws, policy is also often times think of as political in nature, something that has to do with the government. This is basically true because it is usually the government who decides what policies and laws are to be implemented. These policies, termed as public policy, are the course of action or inaction chosen by public authorities to address a problem and are usually expressed in the body of laws, regulations, decisions and actions of government.

Policy is important in as much as the government is concerned for it is used as a tool to efficiently utilize the finite resources of the State for the common good. In the light of this discussion came the article on US Telecommunication Act of 1996. The inevitable question of whether to amend the Act to include new technologies brought about by the emergence of the Internet as an alternative tool in communication. As presented, the Act failed to anticipate the direction of telecommunications development with the key unanticipated change was the degree to which new communications technology have become a major competition for the traditional phone services. New technologies like emails, instant messaging and voice over IP (voIP) soared high in terms of market penetration in recent years. Given the consumer response to these new technologies and applications that competed directly than regulators acknowledge, it is apparent that concerns about sufficient competition in communication as supposed to be provided in the Act were unwarranted.

In a similar fashion, the Philippines also has its share of telecommunications problem as the country is not spared in harnessing the benefits of these new technologies. For instance, the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), mandated to carry out the provisions of RA7925, the Telecommunications Act of 1995 which lays down the foundation for the administration, conduct and direction of the telecommunications industry in the country, is in the process of issuing new rules to govern both business and public use of voIP. Public telecom entities (PTEs), according to NTC’s interpretation of the Act, are allowed to offer voIP to public. However, it is not convinced whether the Act allows non-PTEs such as cable companies and internet service providers (ISPs) to offer voIP to public. The legal issue is whether non-PTEs have to obtain a legislative franchise and secure a copy of Certicficate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) from NTC before they are allowed to provide telecommunication services such as voIP.

Major concern for both Acts is its lack of safety nets to safeguard new entrants to unfair competition. RA7925, for instance, has no explicit or forceful rules on access regulations. Instead it specifies that access charges and sharing arrangements between interconnecting carriers shall be negotiated between parties. In practice and theory, however, an incumbent (dominant player) is reluctant to give access to small players supplying the same product or service. If there is intense competition between telecoms interconnection agreements are less likely because of divergent interest.

Policy development entails looking at both sides of the interests of the affected parties and weighing which will be beneficial to the majority. In the case of telecommunications industry, it is clear that new technologies will dictate the state of competition in the future. Policies for future telecommunications legislation should consider the strong acceptance by the consumers of new and expanding forms of communication made available by the digital revolution.

21st IT Leadership

Paper submitted on the topic Leadership as part of the discussions in the Business Intelligence class. February 2006

In today’s education world where information and communication is intensive, IT professionals should be empowered with knowledge, skills, and abilities that technology offers. The enormous power that innovation and communications afford cannot be pushed to its full potential without the direct participation and support of an institution’s leadership. IT leadership requires many of characteristics to all leaders. But it also requires special abilities and insights into technology’s impact.

Retired General Colin Powell believes that leadership in the new millennium will be the same as that of Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, or other great leaders of the past- it will require people to have a vision where they want to lead, how to choose the right people, and how to accomplish objectives, but one major difference will be affecting the leaders of the 21st century- the transformation occurring in the world’s industrial, societal and economic realms. Accordingly, this transformation is occurring due to the fast-paced and globally centered information and technology revolution. Leaders positioned within this new era must be able to use the powerful tools offered by this global revolution.

The IT Leader
Some people see the leader as a motivator, while others define a leader as one having extraordinary vision and decision-making power. In his article, The Fifth Discipline- The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization, Peter Senge defines leaders as designers, stewards and teachers. They are responsible for building organizations where people continually expand their capabilities to understand complexity, clarify vision and improve shared mental models- that is, they are responsible for learning.

Several noted authors in the field offer sound definitions of leadership. C. Dede (Leadership Without Followers) states that the true nature of leadership is exemplified by four attributes: envisioning opportunities; displacing cherished misconceptions; inspiring others to act on faith; and encouraging followers. The National School’s Board Association (NBSA) stress that IT leaders must foresee leadership ability in others, as technology mentorship has become increasingly important.

A view of leadership offered by J. Burns (Leadership) argues that leadership is better understood as a political relationship emerging from the "chaotic, reciprocal interaction among people with potentially conflicting goals, values and ideals"--all of which impact the new technological era in which we are immersed. Thus, IT leaders should focus on ways that organizational structures and systems, human nature, moral order, value development, effects of personal choice, and personal similarities and differences have upon ability to effect change.

R. White, in his article Seekers and Scalers, The Future Leaders, states that the most effective leaders will build upon the skills of the past and present. He adds that to successfully lead others in the midst of constantly changing environments, leaders need to capitalize on the best strengths of past leaders, while staying flexible to explore unexpected byways, and taking calculated risks. He further emphasizes that effective leaders will identify productive areas of confusion and uncertainty that exist in society, will demonstrate that they do not have all the answers but are willing to learn, and will be able to "act differently, think differently, and seek inspiration from different sources" than leaders of the past. A combination of inherited leadership traits combined with effective leadership training, deep insight into new technological tools and advancements and their impact on the future, strong corporate nurturing, and repeated practice could yield the best result--a well-rounded, skilled, and instinctive IT leader.

Essential Qualities
In describing the qualities of an effective IT leader, A. Alter and B. Avant stress that today's IT leader must possess analytical and listening skills as true listening involves insight into what will work today, tomorrow, and in the future. The IT leader must take the initiative to try new methods without fear of failure--an enormous task facing the IT leader when deciding on solutions to technology-related issues within their scope of influence.

Ed Rose (Effective Leadership: A Very Old Formula) likewise believes that leaders must also possess the ability to adapt to changes in technology- having the paradigm flexibility to allow change to occur and, in some cases, be the catalyst.

Kearsley and Lynch (Educational Technology: Leadership Perspective) admonish that general leadership skills are not sufficient in IT enriched environments. They state that "specific technology-related knowledge is required" and it must directly relate to the tools, medium, strategies, and competencies found within this culture. Not only must the IT leader possess the competencies to use and evaluate these tools, but he/she must also have the insight into the impact these tools will have on the future of organizations.

In a similar statement, Bryan Bergeron (Essentials of Knowledge Management) states that one responsibility of the leader (typically, the CKO or CIO) is to familiarize himself with software and information tools- that is, being a technologist. Although, he does not necessarily have to be from the IT world, he has to understand tools in sufficient depth to estimate the overhead associated with their use.

In addition to the skills stated above, current literature also provides us with a long list of characteristics IT leaders should possess, some of which are common to all leaders, but given a different perspective in terms of IT leadership. For instance:

• KM-powered – knows his people’s capabilities and convinces them to share knowledge (Mascardo, 2005)


• Open-mindedness – always ready to try new ways of doing things (Kotter, 1993)


• Ability to communicate – keeping abreast of what’s going on (Elgin and LeDrew, 1999)


• Innovative – without fear of failure (Avant, 1996)


• Ability to network – a team builder (Wunsch, 1992)


• Ability to listen – knowing how to keep quiet yet informed (Alter, 1999)


• Calculated risk-taking – open to possibilities, questioning assumptions and taking a stand (Capowski, 1994)

Conclusion
The field of IT leadership will be extremely important in this millennium as technology (equipment, software, hardware, and infrastructure) continues to advance rapidly and change becomes imperative. IT leaders will be learners who constantly test themselves because learning is a pivotal force and gateway to survival for the future. Leadership for the IT era must focus on encouraging and sustaining corporate nurturing and provide an atmosphere where innovation is encouraged and creativity is rewarded. The agility to succeed in a rapidly changing world requires cooperation, organization, enrichment of ideas, and strong commitment to change- all important skills that the systems-level thinking IT leader would do well to adopt.

The importance of 21st Century IT leadership can best be summed up by Fitzgerald in the following passage from Living on the Edge:

Complex events, and chaotic developments and trends in our modern world are confronting business leaders with a compelling mandate for change of unprecedented proportions. And not just any old change will do... In this world of turbulence and flux, no change short of profound transformation will suffice. It seems certain that the "new realities" of chaos, complexity, and discontinuous change are here to stay.

Globalization, fierce competition, the remarkably diverse workforce, the continuing explosion of information and technology, economic and social upheaval are only a few of a plethora of signals from the marketplace we must begin to heed. The message is clear: If survival is the aim, change is the game--change not only in how our work gets done, but in how we think about our work, our enterprises, ourselves and our lives.

Economics Of Information: My MECOMET Experience

After I finished my SIM course where we were taught on the importance of managing information practically and effectively by converging the principles of BI and KM, I knew there's still more to learn in MIM as we were kind of left on a cliffhanger as to which tools and know-hows to use to be able to implement such concepts.

Then comes MECOMET, our first subject in MIM. The Economics of Information course presents a remarkable learning experience as we were brought into the pratical realities of today's information technology. It examines the role information plays in the new economy and the resources devoted ot its production, distribution and consumption. Several IT relevant topics and societal issues were also discussed, among which (on a personal point of view) the following are most remembered..

First in the list- podcast. I first heard about it during the SKMP Christmas party last year where Sir Bingo talked about it in the opening remarks of the program. It wasn't really that clear to me how it works. I was thinking of it more like a live audio feed from distinguished IT personalities. But now I know. Thanks to Mecomet.. It didn't only open our eyes to this new medium of distributing information through the Internet. It also opened our ears. It causes us to listen and hear those exact ideas of people behind this technological advances in our society. Well, it takes time to listen and many of us still prefer to read. But with the fast-paced kind of living we have, it won't be long when people will actually see the economity of podcasts. Soon students will be asked to listen to lessons, memos will be served using audio devices, and "text messages" will come in mp3 formats. By then we will all look back, smile and say, "Just as our podcast guru had predicted."

Second, along side with podcast is Audacity. As we were tasked to come up with our own podcasts, I can say I have mastered the art of making one :) Well, I know there's a lot of other audio editing tools which have more superior functionalities than Audicity, but for starters it performs fairly enough. What I'm more excited about is its "other use", other than coming up with a podcast that is. It's like this, I have this old cassette tapes collection of my favorite rock bands. I know these tapes wouldn't last long given the fact that cassette players will soon become part of the memoirs of our technological advances. So I have to find ways to preserve my collections, not the tapes, but the songs in it. With Audacity and the podcast concept I was able to convert all the songs in the tapes in mp3 format :) How? It's just a matter of plugging out and plugging in :) I know I could have just downloaded copies of the songs in my tapes collection in the Internet. But the more important thing is valueing the experience of preserving the things I have invested and taken cared of in the past..

Third and the most important lesson - the economics of information itself. From the Movers and Shakers of the Internet to the New Economy, Long Tail to Google and Web 2.0, coupled with showcases of cheap but advanced gadgets in technology, all these have changed the way I look at myself as an individual who continues to strive to somehow levitate my financial status. Being employed is not enough. Lessons learned from this course presents a lot of opportunities in the network economy where the usual payoff doesn't necessarily come from big corporations but on scattered bits and pieces of part-time jobs which continues to grow in numbers within the network. As Sir Bingo always wants us to ponder, getting started it's not a matter of how, but when. This ever-changing technology will stay. All it takes is just a matter of embracing the swarm and changing the "mindset".

Equipped with these new concepts in information management backed with my years of experience in technical IT, I want to picture myself in maybe 10 years as having my own business in knowledge brokering. I have this concept of putting up an internet cafe back in my hometown Cagayan de Oro. But it won't be just an ordinary internet cafe (in fact I don't want to call it as such), it's kinda more of an online library where information will not only come from the Internet but also from individual contributions, local researches and studies conducted by individuals, organizations or groups on specific subjects or interests. These information will reside in my own server so parallel sources of information will be available for the locality of Cagayan de Oro. If given such opportunity I may be able to help in subsequent information dissemination for the academe, business, local government, tourism, or other entities that requires services in information research.

APC MECOMET Class 2006-1st Sem

Knowledge Management in the Philippines

"We are drowning in information, but starved for knowledge.." - John Naisbitt, "Megatrends"

Knowledge vs. Technology
Knowledge Management came into being recently as information professionals and institutions come to grips with the vast, unsettling implications of digital information technology which makes information creation, transmission, storage and access relatively easy. The technology is so powerful, increasingly available at low or modest cost, widely deployed and, therefore, as Nicholas Carr argues in the Harvard Business Review article "IT Doesn't Matter," so ubiquitous that by itself it no longer provides a distinguishing competitive advantage in business.

A number of management theorists have contributed to the evolution of knowledge management, among them such notables as Peter Drucker, Paul Strassmann, and Peter Senge in the United States. Though viewing KM in different perspectives, many of the proponents reach a similar conclusion: they recognize that what really counts is people's creative use of information rather than the technology to create, transmit, and present that information.

The Internet offers in-depth definitions of knowledge management. But in brief, it is a conscious strategy of getting the right knowledge to the right person at the right time and helping people share and put information into action in ways that strive to improve organizational performance. In practice, knowledge management often encompasses identifying and mapping intellectual assets within the organization, generating new knowledge for competitive advantage within the organization, making vast amounts of corporate information accessible, sharing of best practices, and technology that enables all of the above.

The benefits of KM covers a wide aspect of management practices ranging from boostering human resources through enhancing the organization’s human intellectual capital to leveraging a company’s competitive market posture through productive information management and sharing. In this regard, information technology plays an important role in developing a KM initiative as it fast-tracks the flow of information. But KM is not information technology itself.

In fact, one of the major risks in knowledge management programs is the tendency for organizations to confuse knowledge management with some form of technology, whether it be Lotus Notes, the World Wide Web, or one of the off-the-shelf technology tools that are now proliferating. In the process, the essentially ecological concept of knowledge management becomes degraded into a simple information system that can be engineered without affecting the way the work is done. It is not that information systems are bad. Rather, it is important to recognize that knowledge management is a different and better way of working which affects people, and requires social arrangements like communities to enable it to happen on any consistent and sustained basis.

KM in the Philippines
In the Philippines, KM is still in its infancy stage though some companies and organizations are already adopting its principles and practices. Efforts are being pursued to introduce KM in government and non-governmental agencies especially those involve in frontline public services. This is being done through public awareness seminars and forums conducted by the Society of Knowledge Management Professionals (SKMP), Philippines.

APC's Strategic Information Management Program
I started my study in Knowledge Management last September 2005 at Asia Pacific College under its Strategic Information Management program. Aside from the lessons learned in acquiring “the right knowledge at the right time,” meeting and sharing ideas with different individuals with esteemed leadership character speaks far beyond the realms of gaining a worthwhile experience.For detailed information on the SIM program, click here.

APC SIM Class Batch 4