3-33. Morrigan Department Stores (The Ethics of Forced Software Upgrading) Morrigan Department Stores is a chain of depa
Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2022 8:30 am
3-33. Morrigan Department Stores (The Ethics of Forced Software
Upgrading) Morrigan Department Stores is a chain of department
stores in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States
that sells clothing, shoes, and similar consumer items in a retail
setting. The top managers and their staff members meet once a year
at the international meeting. This year’s meeting was in Hawaii—a
geographical midpoint for them—and several accounting managers
participated in a round-table discussion that went as follows:
Roberta Gardner (United States): One of our biggest problems in our
Auckland office is the high cost and seemingly constant need to
upgrade our hardware and software. Every time our government
changes the tax laws, of course, we must acquire software that
reflects those changes. But why do we need new hardware too? All
this discussion of “64-bit machines” is a mystery to me, but the IT
department says the hardware in the old machines quickly become
outdated.
Donalda Shadbolt (New Zealand): I’ll say! If you ask me, all
these upgrades are costly, time-consuming, and even
counter-productive. I do a lot of work on spreadsheets, for
example, and constantly ask myself: “Why do I have to spend hours
relearning how to format a simple column of numbers in the newest
version of Excel?” It takes time and effort, it’s frustrating, and
in the end, I’ve spent hours relearning skills that I already know
how to do in the older version.
Linda Vivianne (Canada): I know what you mean, but the newer
hardware is faster, cheaper, and more capable than the old
machines. Hard drives have moving parts in them, for example, and
they eventually wear out. The newer software runs under the newer
operating systems, which are also more competent and have more
built-in security such as antivirus software.
Ed Ghymn (Australia): I agree with you, Linda, but I think a lot
of these new capabilities are more hype than real. If the security
software was competent, we wouldn’t need all those patches and
upgrades in the first place. And why must we upgrade so often, just
to get newer capabilities that most of us don’t even need?
Alex McLeod (Australia): I don’t think anyone can stop the march
of progress. I think the real problem is not the upgrades to new
software, but the fact that our company expects us to learn it
without proper training. Personally, I don’t buy my boss’s argument
that “you’re a professional and should learn it on your own.”
Linda Vivianne (Canada): I’m also beginning to realize just what
advantages there are in outsourcing some of our accounting
applications to cloud service providers. That won’t solve all our
problems because we all still need word processing and spreadsheet
capabilities, but at least we can let cloud providers deal with the
software upgrades for our accounting software. Given how dispersed
we are, that might also make it easier for us to consolidate our
financial statements at year’s end too.
Summarize the arguments for upgrading hardware
and software at the Morrigan Department Stores. Again, it is OK to
mention additional, reasonable arguments that are not included in
the case.
Upgrading) Morrigan Department Stores is a chain of department
stores in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States
that sells clothing, shoes, and similar consumer items in a retail
setting. The top managers and their staff members meet once a year
at the international meeting. This year’s meeting was in Hawaii—a
geographical midpoint for them—and several accounting managers
participated in a round-table discussion that went as follows:
Roberta Gardner (United States): One of our biggest problems in our
Auckland office is the high cost and seemingly constant need to
upgrade our hardware and software. Every time our government
changes the tax laws, of course, we must acquire software that
reflects those changes. But why do we need new hardware too? All
this discussion of “64-bit machines” is a mystery to me, but the IT
department says the hardware in the old machines quickly become
outdated.
Donalda Shadbolt (New Zealand): I’ll say! If you ask me, all
these upgrades are costly, time-consuming, and even
counter-productive. I do a lot of work on spreadsheets, for
example, and constantly ask myself: “Why do I have to spend hours
relearning how to format a simple column of numbers in the newest
version of Excel?” It takes time and effort, it’s frustrating, and
in the end, I’ve spent hours relearning skills that I already know
how to do in the older version.
Linda Vivianne (Canada): I know what you mean, but the newer
hardware is faster, cheaper, and more capable than the old
machines. Hard drives have moving parts in them, for example, and
they eventually wear out. The newer software runs under the newer
operating systems, which are also more competent and have more
built-in security such as antivirus software.
Ed Ghymn (Australia): I agree with you, Linda, but I think a lot
of these new capabilities are more hype than real. If the security
software was competent, we wouldn’t need all those patches and
upgrades in the first place. And why must we upgrade so often, just
to get newer capabilities that most of us don’t even need?
Alex McLeod (Australia): I don’t think anyone can stop the march
of progress. I think the real problem is not the upgrades to new
software, but the fact that our company expects us to learn it
without proper training. Personally, I don’t buy my boss’s argument
that “you’re a professional and should learn it on your own.”
Linda Vivianne (Canada): I’m also beginning to realize just what
advantages there are in outsourcing some of our accounting
applications to cloud service providers. That won’t solve all our
problems because we all still need word processing and spreadsheet
capabilities, but at least we can let cloud providers deal with the
software upgrades for our accounting software. Given how dispersed
we are, that might also make it easier for us to consolidate our
financial statements at year’s end too.
Summarize the arguments for upgrading hardware
and software at the Morrigan Department Stores. Again, it is OK to
mention additional, reasonable arguments that are not included in
the case.