I too have a degree in BBA and MIS, and have been working in the industry for quite some time now, but that has nothing to do with a dead pixel issue you are having.
I had a dead pixel on my previous 24" noticed it after the 2 week return policy, damn aurora wallpaper does a good job of disguising it. Was one of the reasons why I was disgusted with the computer after I noticed it. When the 27" i7s were announced I jumped at one and sold my 24" c2d for quite a loss.
In my opinion, I don't care what if 10 dead pixels are "within spec" I paid 2200 for a perfect machine, not a penny less, if they aren't willing to work with me to exchange it for a perfect machine then I dont want it.
Luckily my i7 has no dead pixels or yellowing, first thing I did when I powered it up was change the background and check for dead pixels.
Just hopefully your next machine won't have any dead pixels.