How do you label people, and how do you track them?
“The Patient I.D Bracelet Gets An Overhaul,” The Wall Street Journal, February 21, 2019 A9. Changes in the paper-bracelet-on-your-wrist approach to hospital IDs.
Do the paper bracelets spread germs? Do they make people feel worse? Is a temporary tattoo better? Can a better bracelet be used to track someone electronically and to monitor their activity? Do we need a microchip?
Is there a better way to manage this information?
Filed under Theme One: Information, Theme Two: Governance
Lying to the cops is not a good thing.
“Chicago Grand Jury Indicts Smollett,” The Wall Street Journal, February 21, 2019 A3. Former Empire actor gets indicted for staging his attack and lying to the cops.
Do we verify the information we get from normally reliable sources? What happens when those normally reliable sources aren’t reliable, or publish something that later turns out to be untrue?
Filed under Theme One: Information, Theme Two: Governance
“Pinterest Bars Vaccination Searches,” The Wall Street Journal, February 21, 2019 A1. If you search for “vaccination” on Pinterest, you won’t get any results. The company wants to prevent the spread of false information.
I’m not in favor of false information. But who decides what’s false and what isn’t? Does there come a time when a platform has so much power that it can no longer censor the information on it, or must assume liability for everything else on its site?
The Government couldn’t restrict this speech, but a private party can. For now, without restriction. You may agree with this restriction, but may not like the next one as much. Is this Freedom of Speech or Freedom of Press?
Filed under Theme One: Information, Theme Two: Governance
“McKinsey, U.S. Settle Bankruptcy Dispute,” The Wall Street Journal, February 20, 2019 B1. McKinsey pays $15 million to settle allegations that it failed to disclose financial conflicts in its bankruptcy advisory practice. That’s 10% of the fees the firm got.
Gee, if it only costs you 10%, and then only if you get caught, are people serious about reporting conflicts of interest?
Watch this space. Expect more reports about this.
So, Information (conflicts) not disclosed as it should have been (Governance, Compliance). What does it say about the culture at McKinsey?
“Police Look Into Smollett Questions,” The Wall Street Journal, February 20, 2019 A3. Did the (former) Empire actor stage his attack?
Was this, like the Covington, KY schoolboy videos, news that was initially reported in the news one way, only to have fuller facts to come out later? Are papers reporting the subsequent developments with the same vigor as they reported the initial allegations?
What does this say about the reliability of the information we receive and act upon, depending on who provides it and how quickly is it reported? Is that a Governance question? Or a value-of-Information question?
Filed under Theme One: Information, Theme Two: Governance
“Facebook Bears Brunt of Tech Critique,” The Wall Street Journal, February 19, 2019 B4. Facebook accused of violating privacy and anti-competition laws.
UK Parliament moves to “rein in” companies like Facebook.
Did the Cambridge Analytica scandal break the camel’s back on the lack of effective regulation of the large social media platforms?
Governance and Information and Compliance.
Information quality depends a lot on the source.
“Illinois Shooter Lied on Gun-Card Form,” The Wall Street Journal, February 19, 2019 A3. The shooter on Friday’s massacre in Aurora, Illinois lied on his application to own a firearm. When the lie was discovered, the State revoked his card, and informed him he needed to turn in the weapon he had purchased.
How do your information controls deal with someone who lies? How well do you follow up when you tell someone to turn in his weapon, before he killed 5 people? Is four-and-a half years too long to wait?
What’s Information worth if you don’t act on it?
Rather than having a computer count the number of bags on board, what if an airline had the baggage handlers count?
“Southwest Is Probed On Weight Of Luggage,” The Wall Street Journal, February 19, 2019 A1. FAA investigates how Southwest calculated the weight of bags on board.
Bag weight is used to determine how much weight your flight is carrying, and how it’s distributed. Southwest, unlike other airlines, has its baggage handlers count the bags, rather than having computers do it.
Is doing something differently inherently objectionable? Is the information, which involves an estimate in either case, more reliable, but also just an estimate? If the computer count isn’t required by law or regulation, why should Southwest have to do it that way?
Filed under Theme One: Information, Theme Two: Governance
“Ex-Coke Scientist Accused Of Stealing Secrets for China,” The Wall Street Journal, February 15, 2019 B1. Scientist accused of stealing can-coating technology worth nearly $120 million.
Is this part of a greater Chinese government scheme under the “Thousand Talents Plan” to reward people for stealing technology from US companies?
What do you do when a foreign government is trying to steal your intellectual property? Do you limit the number of Chinese citizens you employ or what information they can see?
“Ex-Apple Lawyer Accused of Insider Trading,” The Wall Street Journal, February 14, 2019 B1. The 45-year-old lawyer in charge of preventing insider trading at Apple (and a member of the compliance committee) accused of violating those laws.
He was fired in September.
How do you prevent the gatekeepers from letting in the Visigoths? What support do you give the employee (and the government) when allegations are made? Remember the Yates Memo?
Was this information worth it? To avoid a loss of $400,000 on the sale of $10 million worth of Apple stock? What was he thinking?
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