Telemedicine and Business Process Redesign at the Department of Defense

This case is designed to relate the rationale used by the Department of Defense and the Test and Evaluation (T&E) Integrated Product Team, in order to determine the military utility of the Joint Medical Operations – Telemedicine Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (JMO-T ACTD). The case also develops critical operational issues (COI) and measures of effectiveness (MOE) as methodologies for investigating military utility of telemedicine. In order to meet increasing global crises, the U.S. military must find ways to more effectively manage manpower and time. Joint Medical Operations –Telemedicine (JMO-T) has been developed by the Department of Defense (DOD) to collect and transmit near-real-time, far-forward medical data and to assess how this improved capability enhances medical management of the battlespace. JMO-T has been successful in resolving uncertain organizational and technological military deficiencies and in improving medical communications and information management. The deployable, mobile telemedicine teams are the centerpieces of JMO-T. These teams have the capability of inserting essential networking and communications capabilities into austere theaters and establishing an immediate means for enhancing health protection, collaborative planning, situational awareness, and strategic decision-making. This case also focuses on developing a holistic model of transformation. The model synthesizes current thinking on transformation into a holistic model and also explains the integrative influence of vision on the other four model components—environment, people, methodology, and IT perspective.. The model was tested by T&E on the JMO-T ACTD. JMO-T ACTD has developed a very successful training program and is very aware of the importance of planned change. Top military officials are actively involved in change and are committed to people development through learning. The model served an applied purpose by allowing us to see how well the military organization fit current theory. The model also fit a theoretical purpose by organizing a holistic, comprehensive framework. Accordingly, we have organized and synthesized the literature into five interrelated components that act as a fundamental guide for research. The model also helped us to identify a theoretical link and apply it to the internal operations of the military.

On-Line Analytical Processing at Washtenaw Mortgage Company

In an ever-changing, competitive marketplace, executive information systems (EIS) promise the ability to simultaneously assess factors in both the internal and external environment, enabling a timely competitive response. EIS is enjoying a renaissance due to the recent emergence of on-line analytical processing (OLAP) capabilities. OLAP’s power, flexibility and ease of use supports mental model (knowledge) creation better than traditional executive information systems. This case study allows you to examine the usefulness and ease of use of OLAP technology for strategic market analysis at “Washtenaw Mortgage Company”, a firm in the mortgage wholesale industry. The key to improving competitive performance is not the technology, but rather, how the technology is utilized to focus management’s analysis. Gaining strategic insights requires three ingredients – people, process, and technology. A three-stage process used for implementing an OLAP strategic market analysis application is presented. OLAP technology marks an evolutionary improvement in EIS software. The potential of this technology, however, is not likely to be realized without a better understanding of the process for achieving management focus.

Case Study of the St. Paul Companies Virtual Office for the Risk Control Division

The St. Paul Companies has successfully implemented a virtual office (VO) working environment for their US distributed construction risk control and commercial risk control employees over the past six years. The program goals of operating more cost effectively, increasing contact of the risk control specialists with their customers, and reducing office space costs for The St. Paul Companies have been met. There are many good practices that have been developed over the six years of offering the program, and more refinements and changes planned. As the communications and computer technologies advance, facilitation of working from remote sites improves. While it is easier for employees to work from remote sites, maintaining the boundaries between work and personal lives is more challenging. Improving the VO employees’ and corporate employees’ understanding of the other’s working conditions is necessary to improve relationships and the acceptance of change. The concept of VO work is well established within the organization, and the demand for it is growing.

AMERIREAL Corporation

This instructional case, based on an actual firm’s experience (name changed) is intended to challenge student thinking with regard to the extent to which information technology (IT) can demonstrably contribute to organizational performance and productivity, and to which users of IT can relate their investment decisions to measurable outcomes. Relationships between an organization’s investment in IT and the effect of such investments on the organization’s performance and productivity have long been the subject of discussion and research. Managers, interested in knowing the “payoff” of such investments, are continually seeking answers to this question. A failure to understand the benefits of IT investment, or an over- or under-estimation of the benefits of a planned investment in IT relative to the costs, will likely result in less than optimal investment decisions.

Using DSS for Crisis Management

This case focuses on the use of crisis management support systems in Egypt in leveraging the decision-making process in the government and the public sector for socioeconomic development. It describes the experience of the Egyptian public sector in socioeconomic decision-making and the related emergence of an information-based support organization for the government “Information and Decision Support Center”. The case reflects on the type of decision-making and the crisis management mode of operation at the top policy level and the needs and requirements in terms of resources and infrastructure to support the decision-making process. The case addresses the basics and concepts of crisis management support systems in the context of a developing country, Egypt, stemming from the experience of the Information and Decision Support Center from 1985 to date, the growing implications of the information and communication technology evolution and the lessons learned in responding to crisis management situations in supporting decision and strategic issues at the government and the public sector. The essence of the case is to address the use of advanced information systems in responding to socioeconomic development needs. The case demonstrates the use of management and decision support systems in a crisis mode that has had a number of successes over the last decade that implied concrete results within the developmental process that Egypt, a developing country, is realizing.

Reality of Use and Nature of Change in Small Business

Through this case we ponder an inescapable issue faced by all small businesses. Of interest are both the positive and negative roles information technology plays when affecting organizational change. We tell a story of a small successful business that is evolving into a larger organization. While this subject brings with it myriad facets, we evaluate the actions taken in terms of technology, staff, and procedures. What learning difficulties did this enterprise face? How did management address these challenges? Why the original entrepreneur did not want to let go when the next generation attempted to implement support mechanisms? What was the outcome? Our case concerns a small service enterprise located in the western United States. There are numerous organizational issues presented in this case. • Case Industry: Temporary Staffing and Service Business, OTI • Major Technical Issue: Appropriate use of database technology • Major Strategic Issue: Sustainable expansion when undergoing technological change • Major Players/Leaders: CEO-owner (CO), Operational Manager (OM), IT technical Manager (TM) • Case Conclusion/ Recommendation: Inefficient compromise may result when small businesses employ IT to meet an increasingly competitive business environment.

SAFECO®

The Internet and World Wide Web present significant business opportunities and threats, particularly for business organizations that are knowledge-based and/or that offer primarily information-based services. For these types of firms, the Web offers opportunities that range from exchanging information with partner organizations, the delivery of existing services to customers, and the creation of new services. The potential threats include choosing the wrong strategies for adopting Web technologies, poor implementation of Web technologies, entering late into the realm of Electronic Commerce and thus losing market share, or worse, ignoring the use of the Web altogether and potentially being replaced by more nimble rivals. The majority of large organizations in a variety of industries have slowly, cautiously begun deploying Web technologies. This is perhaps not surprising considering the implementation challenges and risks posed by this new technological innovation. It is not yet clear how large organizations, particularly those that are knowledge-based and provide primarily information-based services, should strategize about, adopt, and implement Web technologies. The purpose of this study is to understand how SAFECO, a large corporation in the insurance and financial services industry, is strategizing for and implementing technologies to exploit the Web. SAFECO was recently ranked as one of the leading innovative users of the Web technology in its industry. This further legitimizes the selection of the company as an appropriate case study site.

Norwel Equipment Co. Limited Partnership (L.P.) Internet Upgrade

Norwel Equipment Co. Limited Partnership (L.P.) is a Louisiana business retailer of construction equipment specializing in John Deere heavy-equipment and has secured exclusive John Deere rights for most of the State of Louisiana. Founded in 1972, Norwel is the sixth largest John Deere construction equipment dealer in the United States. This case illustrates business and technology issues facing Norwel. In mid-1999, the October 1st deadline for John Deere’s requirement to communicate by email was approaching and the response time of the Norwel’s primary computers system, an AS/400, was increasing to the point where users were not satisfied with performance. Also users were requesting new computing services such as email, document sharing, and Internet access. For example, the Parts Operations Manger suggested selling parts online and the Manager of the Used Equipment Division suggest supporting the sales staff through Internet connections. Managing Partner, Richard Hevey decided an upgrade to the networks and a connection to the Internet were needed. He is faced with both short term and long term decisions about Norwel’s infrastructure.

An Expectation of Privacy

This case presents the ethical dilemma of an IT staff member at an academic university. The IT staffer was caught in the middle of a squabble between the dean of the business school and the associate dean, also of the business school. Professional differences spilled over into personal differences, and the Dean was seeking methods of retribution against the associate dean while the associate dean was on sabbatical. E-mail is an extensively used tool at this university, and the dean suspected that the associate dean was sending personal messages on the university’s server. The dean asked the IT staffer to intervene in two ways: 1) remove her from the staff e-mail list; and 2) forward all of her e-mail to both the dean and the dean’s secretary. He hoped that there would be evidence of misuse of government resources, giving him just cause to terminate her. While this case is based on real events in a real organization, we have changed the names of organizations and participants involved. We regret having to make changes to even the nation in which the program is located, but the tightness of the community compelled the players involved to require absolute anonymity before they gave their consent to publish.

Selecting and Implementing an ERP System at Alimentos Peru

The case describes the implementation process of an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system at Alimentos Peru, one of the largest foods manufacturing companies in Peru. It discusses the organization’s major concerns during the mid-90’s, including increasing competition, inefficiency of business processes, and lack of timely and accurate information. To address these concerns Alimentos Peru launched several projects, one of which involved the implementation of an ERP system. The case explains the criteria used to evaluate and select the system, as well as the main issues and problems that arose during the implementation process. More specifically, the case focuses upon a set of implementation factors, such as top management support, user participation, and project management. Finally, the case concludes with a discussion of the benefits obtained from the introduction of the system as well as the new organizational challenges.