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VERBAL QUESTION OF THE DAY |
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A corporate CEO may send a directive to the entire corporation with the push of a button. But a mailroom clerk may be prohibited from doing likewise unless he enlists the support of a suitably high-placed executive. It is assumed by position that the words of the CEO are far-reaching in scope and should be heard by everyone in the corporation. He is, after all, the CEO. But the clerk in the mailroom should be concerned with mailroom issues, according to his position. So any idea he might have that affects the entire corporation needs to travel up the management chain, passing management review at each step. If the idea is deemed worthy by each manager in the chain, it will arrive on the desk of an executive who will decide whether it warrants action.
From the mindset of a traditional corporation, the differing abilities of the CEO and the mail clerk to address the entire corporation are understandable. The hierarchy is clearly defined and often deeply ingrained in the functioning of the organization. In this very common management structure, it is expected that communication will flow much more readily from top to bottom than it does from bottom to top.
But this type of structure does not exist in the Open Source world. Although there are team leaders who decide which code is ready for inclusion into a project, there are no executives who determine the direction for the entire community. There is no CEO who decides which problems Open Source will or will not tackle.
Instead, the Open Source model is based on the assumption that if enough people consider a problem, there will be someone for whom the solution will be both clear and elegant. This is the principle that Eric S. Raymond calls, "Given enough eyes, all bugs are shallow." If this method is to work, then it is obvious that everyone looking at the problem must have the ability to make his solution known to the team.
[Pavlicek, Russell. Embracing Insanity: Open Source Software Development. Lafayette, IN. Sams Publishing. ©2000. p 58]
3. If the statement: "...the Open Source model is based on the assumption that if enough people consider a problem, there will be someone for whom the solution will be both clear and elegant." is true, which of the following statements is also true?
a. A solution can come from anyone in the community.
b. The more people working on a solution, the faster a solution will be generated.
c. Once a problem is made known, someone from the community will come forward to take on the role of team leader.
d. Every person in the community will have a solution for the problem.
e. A group of people will perfect any solutions that are offered.
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| Student: 2/1/2010 10:31:09 AM |
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I have a conflict between A and D. I will go with D. |
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 Answer |
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