Management Control System- Wikipedia Minicase

ManMini Case # 01 Wikipedia

Prepared by Nayeem Reza

Instructor Cliff Spyker

Date of Submission February 2, 2011

Introduction Wikipedia is a web-based, multilingual, and free encyclopaedia of ‘open source’ articles. Wikipedia has become increasingly popular among the internet users in a very short time. Due to its ease of accessibility and flexible editing feature, Wikipedia has grown tremendously and become—perhaps—the largest internet database of ‘open-source’ article on existing knowledge. However, unlike printed materials (i.e. articles or journals), Wikipedia articles are not always written and verified by qualified personnel. The contributors do not require any special knowledge or expertise to write and/or edit Wikipedia articles. There is no control or special monitoring feature in place to review the published articles other than Wikipedia’s specially designed software. This has created a greater risk of vandalism and misinformation. To prevent this damage, flaws and misinformation it is important that certain controls and authority are put into place. Perhaps this is one of the main reasons for having a greater push of commercializing this website. Throughout this case analysis, I will discuss the strategic risks for Wikipedia in commercialization, the possible controls that should be in place, and the reasons behind such controls. 1. Unit of Analysis: Wikipedia is the unit of analysis for our case study. Stakeholders-Users like us from around the globe with internet access. Value Chain- Wikipedia is a non-commercial website and free from revenue generation. The contributors are volunteers with diverse background. 2. Goals and Objectives: To make Wikipedia a commercial website Key Issuesa) Wikipedia’s intent is to reduce regional and culture bias from its published articles b) Free (non-commercial) website to help internet users with existing knowledge c) Open to large contributor base due to its easy access and editing features (anyone can...