M3 Written Assignment: Lock-In and Switching Costs
M3 Written Assignment: Lock-In and Switching Costs
Please read and use quotes from:
· M3 Reading Notes for Discussion and Assignments
· Shapiro, C., & Varian, H.R. (1999). Information Rules: A Strategic Guide to the Network Economy. Boston, MA: Harvard Business Press
Shapiro and Varian: Chapters 5 & 6.
· The following sections of Wessels, W.J. (2017 Economics, 6th edition. Barron’s Business Review Series: [3rd ed pp. 485-7, 4th ed pp. 524-526, 5th ed. pp. 546-547, 6th ed. pp. 575-576] “Making investment decisions.”
· https://pinboard.in/u:frieda.mendelsohn/t:Lock-in/
Instructions
Let’s apply what we’ve learned to the dreaded “conversion experience”. The current operating system where your home computer is on its last legs and it’s time to upgrade or switch. What factors go into making this decision? Please view from both operating system technology and economic factors.
Follow the steps below and use the bullets in Step 4 to structure your paper.
Step 1. Describe
Describe the characteristics needed to make an any computer operating system viable for your home setup. I’m not looking for a research paper – I’m looking for a thought experiment. If you don’t feel comfortable using “work” computers, use your home setup. What are ALL of the costs of moving to a different operating system? e.g., PC to Mac, PC to Linux. AWS is a cloud system – not a computer’s operating system. The point of the module is lock-in and switching costs. Just apply the concepts – don’t do research!
Research an open source (e.g., Linux) and a proprietary alternative (e.g., latest MS Windows OR Mac OS). Some things to think about:
What does your household do with computers?
Who does your household interact with? How do I/we interact in the system?
What would you look for if you were planning to switch systems?
Step 2. Analyze
Using the economic concepts from this course, analyze your own organization and how its needs fit your research of operating systems.
Describe the relevant aspects of your current computer system(s).
What are all of the costs involved in switching to another operating system? (hardware? software? what else?)?
Are there benefits to the new software/hardware for your home computer needs? Drawbacks?
Step 3. Apply theories
Discuss your findings in relationship to the readings for this module. Use the economic theories and concepts to support your analysis and conclusions.
Step 4. Report your findings, analysis, and conclusions
Please be sure to include the following information:
Describe your household computing situation (including information from Step 1)
Identify current operating system
Identify alternative operating system you’re analyzing for this assignment
Identify all of the costs and benefits of the alternative operating system.
Use the economic theories and concepts from this (and previous) module to analyze what you found and draw conclusions.
Paper Format: APA
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