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Public Management Program

 

Public Management Initiative (PMI)

Bridging the Digital Divide (2000-1)

Background

Before a potential PMI concept is spelled out in detail, it should be stated in general terms exactly what any PMI effort should seek to accomplish, and how that relates to the MBA program. Academically, the MBA program helps students develop a conceptual 'toolbox,' aimed at helping them effectively build skills that will allow them to manage an organization or part of an organization, primarily within a for-profit setting. The Public Management Program works within the business school to broaden students' perception beyond the for-profit world, to better understand how business, government, and the non-profit sectors each affect society. The PMI, within this context, should provide a live case study, through which students can apply the business skills which they have developed to a public management issue over the course of a school year, thereby being challenged to create social value as much as shareholder value and to look to more than just the business world for resources to tackle the challenge.

Introduction

Given this understanding, one topic that could offer extensive rewards to both students and the community is the issue of the Digital Divide, which reflects the increasing disparity between the haves and the have-nots in the sphere of technology and technological know-how. Despite the virtually unbounded optimism surrounding the new economy and its implications for the future of Silicon Valley, there are reasons to be concerned about this issue—right here in Silicon Valley and right now while the economy is so hot. Further, addressing the Digital Divide in Silicon Valley and throughout California is both an issue of moral concern and a matter of economic self-interest. This creates a significant opportunity, for it is when such an intersection occurs, between moral obligations and broad-based self-interest, that opportunities for positive change are greatest. This does not suggest that a GSB student effort in this area will be easy or overwhelmingly successful, but it does suggest that real results are achievable in a reasonable amount of time.

Why the Digital Divide? Why Now?

It is often said that more than 60 people become millionaires every day in Silicon Valley. At the same time, more than 15% of children under the age of five in Santa Clara County are currently living in poverty. This percentage increases dramatically if the child is Latino or African-American. While inequality has always been present in modern society, the fact that it is so dramatic at this time, in an area of such affluence, is alarming. What is more alarming, however, is how this inequality bodes for the future in the digital economy. Nationally, African-American and Latino families are only 40% as likely to have a computer in their home as a white family. The figures comparing the richest fifth of the population with the poorest fifth are even more skewed. And statistically, this disparity follows poor and minority groups both into classrooms and into the workplace. Because resources are required to take advantage of today's productivity enhancing technology, this separation between those that have such resources and those that don't appears to be a critical factor in determining the long-term success of individuals and their communities.

The Digital Divide is therefore a crucial issue right now. Broadly speaking, the Digital Divide represents an important new economy example of the moral problem of how to address social inequity which often develops in free-market systems. But more significantly, it is an issue of community self-interest, as bridging the Digital Divide is critical to the future prosperity of the region. For instance, it is projected that within 20 years, whites will make up more than two-thirds of the retiree population in California, while today's minority groups will make up more than two-thirds of the workforce. This statistic is not meant to suggest that white people should rally in order to assure a comfortable retirement, but rather to show that the demographics associated with the Digital Divide present a real economic problem for the future of ALL people in the region.

What is the Issue?

As the PMI initiative, the issue of 'Bridging the Digital Divide' will be used to provide MBA students a chance to develop frameworks for understanding how interested business (and non-business) managers can look at complex social issues; seeing the business, government, and the non-profit sectors as valuable resource pools, as well as stakeholders, which can provide leverage to address the issue. While various frameworks might be used, one example is to understand the Digital Divide as the sum of several divides within the digital economy, including:

 

  1. Access to Technology: Something which is on the mind of nearly every educator, this aspect of the Digital Divide is most emphasized but quite often misunderstood. Access to technology (computers) must be accompanied by access to the knowledge required to make it empowering.
  2. Education and Workforce Development: A recent study commissioned by Joint Venture: Silicon Valley Network identified a significant 'workforce gap' in Silicon Valley, amounting to as much as 37% of the high-tech industry demand. Employers and educators must share responsibility for investing in formative education within the region to assure that skills are developed within the existing community.
  3. Access to Networks: One factor of the Digital Divide often overlooked, professional and social networks are some of the most powerful resources that powerful individuals in Silicon Valley have. On the other hand, those individuals stuck in a bad career are most likely to have a network that includes individuals in similar situations. If an individual is going to be able to advance in society, networks must be available to them.
  4. Market Demand: Despite the hype about the high-tech job market being king, the fastest growing job function in Santa Clara County last year was 'cashier.' Third place was 'retail sales clerk' and fourth was 'guard.' When skyrocketing housing prices push the cost of labor beyond what most small companies are able or willing to pay, even the high-tech job market will eventually begin to deteriorate.

What is the Format?

The PMI should be geared to accomplish two primary, internal GSB goals:

 

  1. To give an opportunity for those interested in the issue, and social issues in general, to get involved at the local community level in order to have a real impact. In order to take the academic sheen off the subject, and to allow for real world possibilities, it is necessary to develop a couple, or a handful, of projects, perhaps in nearby East Palo Alto. The demographics of the area offer an opportunity to put some ideas into practice. Contacts have been made with Joint Venture: Silicon Valley Network, which has already put together an advisory panel which includes the CEOs of Cisco and Selectron, the Directors of TechNet and Community Foundation Silicon Valley, and numerous other leaders from the business, non-profit and educational spheres. The Director of Joint Venture has already welcomed any effort that GSB students would like to make and has offered to help us start or join projects in this area.
  2. To raise awareness among the general MBA students that this issue, and many social issues, are both challenging and critical. Getting big name people involved at some level would help achieve this goal, hence having a conference or some sort of big event. State Senator for Silicon Valley, John Vasconcellos, has already welcomed any effort that GSB students would like to make in this area, and he has pledged his support. It is not unrealistic to believe that somebody from as high a level as Al Gore might be induced to speak at the GSB regarding this topic. Additionally, because of the remarkable influence of the internet at business schools today, it makes real sense to use this topic to increase awareness of and interest in the PMI throughout the entire school. This can be facilitated through partnerships or co-sponsoring of activities with the High-Tech club or the Investment Club.

It is important that the PMI be used both to give those students interested in public management a hands-on opportunity to work on a relevant and contentious issue, while also raising awareness among other GSB students about the fact that public management issues are often closely intertwined with (and often determine the success of) strategic business issues. The two goals are different, and to some extent conflicting. The trade off between these two goals will be between a lot of on the ground action limited to a smaller group of students, and getting a lot of people involved but risking the possibility that we end up with nothing more than fancy talk. It is suggested that we try to steer the PMI somewhere between the extremes. It is also suggested that we slightly limit the scope of the topic, to avoid too diffuse a discussion. This reflects why, throughout this outline, the focus has been a very local one. To the extent possible, it is likely better to localize, and thereby somewhat personalize, the issue. This will also make the call to action that much easier, allowing for more productive energies to be directed toward producing results.