UP Open University

Information Systems - 272Strategic Information SystemsCase Study #2 – On the State of Philippine ICTGayatri Sevilla Fernando ID#: 2010-81453

The Approach

A holistic approach had been taken through the qualitative content analysis of material covered through desk research and investigation. It is holistic in thesense that this case study:

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covers both internal as well as external environmental assessments

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builds upon lessons from a UNDP study conducted by Roger Posadas, et. al

on technological independence, including a comparison of issues betweenthe Philippines and Korea in relation to how it has/can achieve a level of technological independence

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is not just critical but also constructive; provides theme-based constructivefeedback

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is also progressive in that it introduces an alternative model for definingprogress in a society for consideration. The internal or the more endogenous view is based on a critique of thePhilippine Digital Strategy, the current policies planned or existing, as well astechnology transfer environment/mechanism assumptions. The study calls outweak points, clarifications or questions as deduced from observations oranalysis conducted. The more exogenous or external view, on the other handcovers several other factors in the environment or ecosystem that influencesICT or operates in it, namely: political/legal, socio-cultural, economicenvironmental factors.

Science & Technology as a Driver of Progress in Society

There is no question; science and technology are among the key drivers of progress in society. It has emancipated women before world war Iii, it haschanged the way people have worked and how work is organized, changed theway people are educated, changed warfare, and among countless visible andalmost invisible impact into civilization, ultimately changed peoples' lifestylesand beliefs. More and more, technology is interwoven and integrated intopeople's lives. As it happens, it raises increasingly difficult questions society isnot ready for, requiring a mastery of the evolution of and nature of technologyas well as the challenge of solidifying or clarifying outlooks, morals,philosophies

. Otherwise, technology's dynamics, speed, complexity anddevelopment overtakes the time in which people can master them; ending upas its slaves. And yet it is a tool made by people and while for the momentthey are lacking advanced consciousness of possibly being slaves totechnologies on various levels, efforts should be made to master andunderstand technology's history, nature and development thoroughly so as tomake full and effective utilisation for its own and the society's objectives of overall progress.

Internal Environment Perspective

Developing strategies are based partly on an assessment of the state of theinternal environment, which is about understanding what we’re dealing with(i.e. technology), our internal and external environment and challenges(system dynamics, value chains, consumer behaviour etc.,), ourselves, ourcapabilities, strengths and weaknesses, and finally what we want to achieve,where we’re going (visions and goals) and how we’re going to get there.

3.1.

Observations on Philippine ICT Vision: The Philippine DigitalStrategy

The Philippine Digital Strategy (PDS) acts as the document thatconsolidated public, private and government views on the roadmap forICT. It builds upon the previously developed ICT Roadmap

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and serves asthe lens upon which the vision on how technology will drive progress andnational development.

As previously mentioned in the approach taken for this study, the focusthat the next few sections would illustrate issues or concerns that stoodout for me, or are perceived as either missing or misaligned whilst addingquestions, clarifications or pointers for further/future consideration.

3.2.Understanding what we’re dealing with: Technology

The PDS was not able to demonstrate a thorough knowledge and level of mastery of the technologies that the strategies focus on i.e, in terms of theassessment in terms of the nature, phases or stages of the technology andhow they have influenced PDS strategy. Yet, this understanding provides arich context upon which decisions will have been arrived at which helps infully realizing a technology's potential or otherwise controlling it asnecessary. Some reasons why we should improve our mastery of technologies:

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it allows us to understand its impact to socio-economic activitiesand the kind of society that will emerge. Technologies influenceconsumer behaviour and the type and quality of challenges/problems that will arise. Understanding factors thatinfluence the very opportunities that strategies can target towardsresolving or addressing not to mention using them to also guideexpectations from the conception to execution of such strategiesenable planning and execution to be effective.

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it allows us to better understand and assess the higher orderimpact that technologies may cause. Technologies are merely toolspart of a larger system of interactions of various variables and arenever independent. They impact the entire lifecycle of a systemfrom conception, development, business models, maintenance etc.,In the meantime, lifecycles are also part of value chain/s which arealmost fluid, continuously changing, updating, or improving, if notcomplex and tightly coupled among other things.For some, if not most technologies, the speed of technologicalchange exceeds the speed of the work to assess or evaluatetechnology for proper feedback, or in considering and agreeingupon higher order impacts. It takes determined and consistentlevels of discipline of continuous learning, diligence in terms of observation and critical thinking to be able to monitor and integrateimplications of changes from all such factors considering thedynamics according to each factor's qualities and nature, includingthe changing behavior of people/the public or markets asparticipants in the value chain and the regulatory bodies locally andglobally.

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it allows us to be more effective at planning, forecasting, managingrisk and anticipating or addressing challenges. In itself the exerciseis already very challenging if not impossible sometimes, as to do someans there should be a good grasp of not just the nature of thetechnology in question, but also the understanding of the systemdynamics and value chain relationships related to the technology.What are some of the theories explaining the nature and stages of technologies? Two of various paradigms follow.

A. Alvin Toffler's paradigm

of the three waves of civilizations,characterizes technologies into 3 ‘waves’: