news
Friday, FEBRUARY 17, 2017
THE HOYA
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Conflict-Free Supply Chains Needed OUTSIDER, from A10
ANDREW WALLENDER/THE HOYA
Airbnb CFO Laurence Tosi, stressed the need to have a high quality tourism service for travellers.
Airbnb Executive Shares Advice AIRBNB, from A10
change and staying on top of current market trends was the key to success. He encouraged attendees to be flexible and open-minded at all times. “Think like a founder in everything you do, no matter what you do,” Tosi said. “No matter what industry you go in, think like a founder. What does that mean? Embrace change. Learn and change all the time. Read. Listen.”
“Many young people entering business simply try to duplicate existing companies.” laurence tosi (COL ’90, LAW ’94, GRD ’94) CFO, Airbnb
Tosi exemplified this by sharing how he researches every innovation in the travel industry comes across his desk. In addition, he sets aside time every week to meet with entrepreneurs and discuss ideas. According to Tosi, think-
ing like a founder means thinking into the future. He urged audience members to come up with 10year plans in addition to 12-month plans. Tosi said Airbnb does not only envision the company’s outlook within one year, but that of the travel industry as a whole in 10 years. Tosi also brought up the issue that often young entrepreneurs mistakenly attempt to replicate successful ideas rather than creating and marketing their own. “Be bold. Be different,” Tosi said. “Many young people entering business simply try to duplicate existing companies rather than create new concepts.” Tosi turned to the history of Airbnb to justify his advice. Tosi pointed out how the company’s innovative proposal has made it the largest hospitality network on the planet, surpassing even large-scale hotel chains. “We have now 3.2 million homes,” Tosi said. “The largest hotel network in the world has 750,000 rooms. We have 5 million. Today, we’re adding 60,000 homes a week, which would be the equivalent of building every single Motel 6 on the planet for $8 billion every seven days, which is pretty amazing when you see the effect.”
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The nature of the relationship is almost colonial and, given an unstable political atmosphere, will become exploitative. Resource-dependent or sector-dependent developing countries should look independently and within their own geographical spheres to create strong incentives and penalties for corporate responsibility. This will require new means of aggressively and independently monitoring the supply chains of international corporations operating within their locales. The interests of value-addition nations and extraction nations rarely converge, and
thus, models for corporate responsibility and operating ethics will be skewed and applied disproportionately. The DRC needs to avoid disruptive effects on the stability and integrate the whole industry into a vertical monopoly of one company or country that has the resources to advance it without challenges from rivals. It is like nationalizing, only in the least patriotic way because you are handing it over to one megacountry or megacorporation that no longer bids against your stability in an effort to attain cheap unlicensed minerals. There are less aggressive means that the DRC can use, such as grounding non-conflict-free minerals, if it has to and appealing to unconventional strategies such as allocating taxation across different stages of production. This method can involve levying a higher extraction tax, sales tax and even higher customs taxes for companies that cannot show that its goods are conflict-free. The limitations of this plan are that it assumes governments of resourcedependent countries are in charge of the territories in which mining or productive activity occur,
are aware of transactions and have effective border control. Nations that have trouble maintaining internal security may have to introduce a military presence at mines, which often increases violence and atrocities for women in the local communities due to rogue troops. While these situations seem ugly and unavoidable, developing an industrial complex that doesn’t threaten the stability of the nation can be difficult for countries with weak institutions and a long history of violence. Only those countries bold enough to imagine their own solutions will be successful in developing conflict-averse industries. A corporation’s desire for profits and power does not have to be disruptive if developing nations can exploit that desire for control by offering a holy union between industry and company in exchange for ethical and responsible conduct.
Mercy Radithupa is a sophomore in the McDonough School of Business. BUSINESS OUTSIDer appears every other Friday.
University Offers New Internet Service WI-FI, from A10
any additional form of security beyond that provided by the devices themselves. “Please note that since GURegistered is not a secured network, the data is not encrypted, so a hacker could potentially listen in on a conversation, obtain personal information, or read your email or anything you print,” UIS wrote for the university’s webpage. GUSA Technology Chair Yafet Negash (COL ’19) said that the student voice was strongly considered in the formulation of GURegistered, and GUSA worked closely with UIS in developing the Wi-Fi network. “GUSA has been working very closely with UIS to address the issue of devices that are unsupported by Georgetown’s wireless networks, and this limited pilot program is a result of that cooperation,” Negash said. “We were involved in the documentation, site selection and launch phases of the project.” According to GUSA Chief of Staff Ari Goldstein (COL ’18), collaboration with UIS was specifically the work of the Student Technology Advisory Board. “STAB works closely with administrators from University Information Services on projects and issues related to Blackboard, MyAccess, SaxaNet and other student tech services,” Goldstein said. According to Nicholson the university has the opportunity to take advantage of recent technological advances to expand and improve network capabilities on campus.
“We have the opportunity to address foundational needs, take advantage of modern network capabilities and build an agile platform well-positioned for future innovation,” Nicholson said. Negash encouraged students to actively participate in the network and engage with GUSA and UIS to improve the system moving forward. “I strongly encourage those students to make use of it and provide their feed-
back so that we can deliver a better product for the whole campus when the time comes,” Negash said. Goldstein said he was excited at how the STAB’s engagement with technology services on campus yielded results. “Yafet has been working hard to advocate for improved campus tech over the past year, so while this is only a pilot program, it’s an exciting step forward nonetheless,” Goldstein said. Pedro Arrupe, S.J. Hall
resident Carly Conway (COL ’19) said that she is particularly excited for the inclusion of streaming service capabilities within the new network. “The new system allows more readily available access to more resources, since we can now stream news networks from smart TVs, as well as watch our favorite TV shows,” Conway said. “It would be great to see every residence hall have this type of system as well one day.”
WILLIAM ZHU/THE HOYA
The new wireless network, GURegistered, is a result of a collaboration between the Student Technology Advisory Board and University Information Services.
Data Initiative Publishes New Report BEECK, from A10
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blood to our ears when calling, snapping and texting. However, developing countries cannot cry foul because the Trump administration will claim it acts with only the most benevolent intentions. In an explanatory memorandum, the Trump administration stated the suspension was part of an elaborate plan to “protect” workers from unemployment. The memo highlighted that when the mines were being inspected during 2010 and 2011, to ensure that they were conflict-free, some people in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo lost their jobs either temporarily or permanently if they were working for mines associated with human rights violations. Following that logic, getting rid of standards that protected the locals will ensure these people will get their jobs back. We should expect a “thank you” note from the DRC to the United States for helping in its time of great distress. Western corporations with a focus on value addition have no vested interest in a healthy industrial complex for developing coun-
tries still stuck in primary industries such as mining. The nature of the relationship is almost colonial and, given an unstable political atmosphere, will become exploitative.
Montgomery, incorporates faculty, fellows and staff from both institutes to further political discourse. Shah said the accomplishments of the group include fostering bipartisan dialogue and promoting data use in policymaking. “Together, we have produced a series of high-profile leadership events, convened bipartisan policy conversations, developed joint proposals to further research on the use of data in policymaking, and published a report on the architecture of innovation in federal policymaking,” Shah wrote. According to Shah, the report’s action plan and its proposal foster a culture of innovation within the government through the study of cities, which lead the way in terms of government innovation. In addition the plan calls for the establishment of strategy teams with the experience and capacity to implement innovative approaches to policymaking.
“The voice of communities matters,” Shah wrote. “As data takes on an increasingly prominent role in governance, it is critical that policy discussions about the use of data include citizens and communities.” Shah said Data for Social Good will allow political leaders to connect more with the citizens they represent and incorporate their opinions into the political process. “Decision-makers need to make sure that they understand what is and is not working for communities,” Shah said. “People want a voice in government and a way to directly participate in policymaking. Data for Social Good is looking at ways to make government more responsive to its citizens.” Montgomery said the partnership’s objective is to bring more prominence to data’s role in policymaking. “The events that have been held in this series are looking to more effectively harness data in ethical ways to better serve society in ever more inclusive ways,” Montgomery
wrote in an email to The Hoya. According to Montgomery, the project was founded on the idea of combining Georgetown’s expertise in politics with its commitment to improving the community.
“Data for Social Good draws on Georgetown’s expertise across a broad range of disciplines.” Edward montgomery Dean, McCourt School of Public Policy
“The Data for Social Good seeks to meld Georgetown’s convening power at the center of public policymaking with its commitment to social good and our Massive Data In-
stitute’s focus on using the incredible amount of new data we are able to collect, analyze and exploit in today’s digital age,” Montgomery said. Montgomery said the partnership has allowed both the McCourt School and the Beeck Center to reach and engage with a broader array of students and faculty on campus as well as policymakers and nongovernmental organizations. “Data for Social Good draws on Georgetown’s expertise across a broad range of disciplines, from computer science to the natural and social sciences to ethics, to help the government, NGO’s and the public use data and technology to better meet the needs of citizens,” Montgomery said. In addition, the initiative combines the core tenants of Georgetown’s Jesuit values of service to others, according to Montgomery. “This project gets right at the heart of Georgetown’s mission — our commitment to be men and women for others, especially those most in need.”