In the wake of a communist victory in the late 1940s, the nationalist Chinese fled mainland China for the security of the island of Formosa. Today the island is known as Taiwan and has its own independent, multiparty government and popularly elected president. It is industrialized and is considered one of the Asian economic “Tigers.” One of the pillars of American foreign policy during the Cold War was that the island of Taiwan should remain independent. But political and economic realities have caused the United States to remain pragmatic in its relationships with both the government of the People’s Republic of China and Taiwan over the last 30 years. Taiwan joined the WTO under the name “Chinese Taipei,” encompassing the “separate customs territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu.” Examine the history of Taiwan and its relationship to China. What do you think of U.S. policies toward the region? While both mainland China and Taiwan are “Chinese,” doing business in Taiwan differs greatly from doing business in China. Describe that difference. How do business opportunities differ on the mainland versus the island? What do you think of the prospects for reunification, and what would be the impact on firms operating there?
This task will require you to identify a discipline / industry / organisation (referred to as the research field) and to investigate an aspect of their decision-making needs as well as the opportunities for computer-based decision support systems development. Generic examples of research fields you may wish to consider could be the health sciences and patient monitoring, or the agricultural sector and the need to predict certain farming operations, or the university as it supports the decisions of international students, or a company as it budgets finances. The texts by Sharda et al (2014), and Web sites dssresources.com http://businessintelligence.ittoolbox.com/ and Australian Information Industry Association http://www.aiia.com.au/ and others provide examples of software tools and research fields where computer-based decision support are being developed. Wikipedia and Google are also good starting points. If you are unable to make a selection, the teaching staff can assist. This first assignment broadly aligns with the intelligence and design phases of Simon’s (1977)[1] decision-making model. The outcome of this assignment will be a business report containing your proposal. For the next stage of the assignment, you will need to develop your proposal into a project prototype which is also an individual assignment. This second phase broadly corresponds with the choice and implementation decision-making phases (Simon 1977). The assessment overall is designed to enable students to develop analytical and inquiry skills, writing, oral and interpersonal communication skills, organisational abilities, a sense of professionalism, as well as acquiring an understanding of the topic
March 17, 2015
5:41 pm
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