The Constitution of the United States & IT Governance Jim Tosone SIM Fairfield-Westchester January 2013,2011, 2013 Tosone Associates LLC
My Credentials Amateur Constitutional Scholar
The Constitution of the United States of America
Facts about the Constitution 222 Years Old 4400 Words Long Created in 100 Days US Population 4 Million
And What We Can Learn from Them 222 Years Old (Durability) 4400 Words Long (Brevity) Created in 100 Days (Speed) US Population 4 Million (Scalability)
The Grand Compromise The Virginia Plan The New Jersey Plan
The Grand Compromise In the first Branch of the Legislature, each of the States be allowed one Member for every forty thousand inhabitants In the second Branch of the Legislature, each State shall have an equal vote
And Its Relevance to IT Governance In the first Branch of the Legislature, each of the States be allowed one Member for every forty thousand inhabitants (Large business units/countries) In the second Branch of the Legislature, each State shall have an equal vote (Small business units/countries)
Possible IT Governance Approaches Votes are proportional (headcount, revenue) Each organizational entity gets one vote Subsidy model Tiered solutions
Which Government Entity is Sovereign? The Federal Government The State Governments Both
Which Government Entity is Sovereign? Federalism Sovereignty is Constitutionally divided Central governing authority Constituent political units
And Its Relevance to IT Governance
A Word about Crime How many Federal crimes in the original Constitution? How many Federal crimes today? How many Federal regulations with criminal penalties?
A Word about Crime How many Federal crimes in the original Constitution? (3 - Treason, counterfeiting, piracy) How many Federal crimes are there today? (4,000+ - US Code: 32,000+ pages) How many Federal regulations with criminal penalties? (Estimates10,000-300,000)
Possible IT Governance Approaches Enterprise Architects vs. Divisional Architects Enterprise Applications vs. Divisional Applications Operations? Security?
Let s Talk about Power In which of these areas was the Congress given explicit power: A. Education B. Energy C. Environment D. Healthcare E. Retirement F. All of the Above G. None of the Above Hint: Article I, Section 8
Let s Talk about Power In which of these areas was the Congress given explicit power: A. Education B. Energy C. Environment D. Healthcare E. Retirement F. All of the Above G. None of the Above Answer: None of the Above
Let s Talk about Power The only areas the Congress has enumerated power: A. Taxes, Borrowing, Coining Money B. Commerce with other Nations C. Immigration, Naturalization D. Post Office E. Patents & Copyrights, Weights & Measures F. Army, Navy
And Its Relevance to IT Governance Federalism Bottoms Up Laboratory of Experimentation Innovation from the Edge Centralization Top Down Standardization, One Size Fits All Efficiency, Cost Effectiveness
A Question of Balance Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety. - Benjamin Franklin The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground. - Thomas Jefferson
A Question of Balance USA Patriot Act Real ID Act No Fly Lists NSA Warrantless Wiretapping Military Commissions Act NDAA Habeas Corpus suspension
And Its Relevance to IT Governance Security/Privacy Access (How about Secure Access?)
Who Was The First President of the United States? Samuel Huntington Benjamin Franklin George Washington
Who Was The First President of the United States? Samuel Huntington
Who Was The First President of the United States? Samuel Huntington Samuel Huntington (March 1, 1781 July 9, 1781) Thomas McKean (July 10, 1781 November 4, 1781) John Hanson (November 5, 1781 November 3, 1782) Elias Boudinot (November 4, 1782 November 2, 1783) Thomas Mifflin (November 3, 1783 October 31, 1784) Richard Henry Lee (November 30, 1784 November 6, 1785) John Hancock (November 23, 1785 May 29, 1786) Nathaniel Gorham (June 6, 1786 November 5, 1786) Arthur St. Clair (February 2, 1787 November 4, 1787) Cyrus Griffin (January 22, 1788 November 2, 1788)
Articles of Confederation 1781-1788 One Vote per State Unanimous Agreement No Power to Tax No Power to Regulate Interstate Commerce Q: Remind you of anything in the 21 st Century?
Articles of Confederation 1781-1788 One Vote per State Unanimous Agreement No Power to Tax No Power to Regulate Interstate Commerce Q: Remind you of anything in the 21 st Century? A: Similar to the European Union
And Its Relevance to IT Governance Problem of Too Few Powers Problem of Unanimous Consent Don t change governance model capriciously But do when the need is clear
Closing Governance Thoughts Principled-based models last longer require fewer changes scale better Find ways to balance large & small group interests Avoid overlapping jurisdictions & unclear boundaries Look at centralization from the what needs to be view Have checks & balances to control your access & security factions
Closing Governance Thoughts Pick a Governance Model that Works Focus on Managing Its Downsides
Selected Readings Bailyn, Bernard, The Debate on the Constitution, Library of America, New York, 1993 Countryman, Edward, What Did the Constitution Mean to Early Americans?, Bedford/St. Martin s, Boston, 1999 Harper, Tim, The Complete Idiot s Guide to the Constitution, Alpha, 2007. Lane, Eric & Oreskes, Michael, The Genius of America, Bloomsbury, 2007. Levy, Leonard, Origins of the Bill of Rights, Yale University Press, 1999. Madison, James, Journal of the Federal Convention, Kindle, 2005.
Web Resources Avalon Project at Yale Law School (lists Federalist Papers and related documents) National Archives (Constitution and other Charters) National Constitution Center
Improv Means Business TM Jim Tosone www.improvmeansbusiness.com jim@tosoneassociates.com