+1 862 207 3288 This is Trends and Practical Applications in Information Systems Management Class. I have attached the Case Study and Instruction of the paper and two sections of the Business Case.
Trusty Carpets
Background: Jerry Montgomery has been selling carpets for 20 years from his store, Trusty Carpets, that is located in a strip mall that recently has become a busy shopping center. While he has been able to make a good living, Jerry believes that he could significantly expand his business by using some of the newer technologies. Since he has no technology in the store today and he knows he has many options, Jerry has hired you to recommend which technologies he should acquire and to develop the Business Case for those you recommend. He will use the Business Case to decide whether he should invest in the technologies and to obtain the necessary funding from his bank.
The current business model: Since he opened his carpet store, Jerry has advertised in the local paper and done all of his business in his showroom where he has the carpet samples on display. Jerry employs two sales people to serve customers in the store and he has an accountant (who has other customers and does his work at his own office) to keep track of his finances, pay bills, sends\ invoices, collect payment and do payroll. Jerry’s inventory is limited to overstock, end pieces from installations and samples. He uses paper catalogs from his suppliers to determine what is available, in what colors and at what cost to him. When a customer makes a selection, Jerry has to call the manufacturer to check the availability and the current price. Jerry’s brother-in-law, Mike Baker, is a carpet installer and manages that end of the business for him. Mike and Jerry reach agreement as to what installation will cost and the accountant distributes the payments accordingly. Jerry’s sales staff coordinates installation with the customer. Jerry and Mike have discussed combining their businesses into one, but have not yet made that decision. All of his invoices and customer records are currently on paper.
Recently Jerry learned that that the Metro Carpet Store across town was up for sale. Metro Carpet has a large display room and a warehouse. In his investigation of this opportunity, Jerry has learned that it is up for sale because the owner, Bill Hartworth, is retiring and leaving the area. Although he had a relatively large store, Bill was not well organized and has all his customer records and carpet inventory in ledgers. Jerry would like to buy Metro Carpets and retain the sales staff, and he wants to continue to expand his sales in his current store.
The opportunities: Jerry has seen that his competitors advertise on television (which he believes is too expensive for his small business). He believes that in his area he could reach more customers if he had a few salespeople that could go to customers’ homes, take measurements and obtain orders. He also thinks he could use the Internet, but he is not sure how, exactly. He also sees that since the shopping center has expanded there are a lot more customers passing by his store. He just wishes he could reach out to them and let them know about his special sales, etc. He has heard there are ways to do that using some of the new technology too. Jerry hopes you can help bring his business into the 21st century and give him some new ways to reach customers. He recognizes that in order to grow, he must improve his profit margins and hopes the appropriate technology can help with this. He is sure that if you can come up with some good ideas and a good Business Case for them, that he can get funding from the bank to acquire the technologies. In addition to improving the use of technology for his current store, Jerry wants to include the same capabilities for his new location, support a mobile sales force and obtain funding for all of his IT support at one time. He also believes that a good IT plan will support his overall business strategy of acquiring Metro Carpets and creating a single business that takes advantage of current information technology solutions. However, he has to be able to demonstrate to the bank loan officers that he has a well thought-out plan that meets his objectives and has the potential of increasing sales so he can easily re-pay the loan.
The assignment: Your team is to come up with some specific business objectives that could be supported by technology solutions, and then identify some IT solutions that could benefit Jerry’s carpet business. As a team, you will decide which technology or combination of technologies would benefit his business the most. Your team will develop a Business Case to explain the solution and how it would be implemented.
The business case must be well written and be able to be understood by Jerry and the bank loan officer. It is to be written for Jerry to present to the bank, as his proposal for funding. Therefore, your team should not be mentioned in the business case. Your team’s role is to develop a business case that Jerry can present as his own business case for why he needs funding from the bank to address his business needs.
We will develop the business case, section by section, as we proceed through the class. The business case will be done as a series of documents prepared by your team that together form the full Business Case. See weekly group project assignments for detailed instructions, beginning with the Week 1 Group Assignment.
This is Trends and Practical Applications in Information Systems Management Class. I have attached the Case Study and Instruction of the paper and two sections of the Business Case. Also, below is the Proposed IT Solution for this paper which is approved by professor. Please follow the Instruction and grading Rubric to write this paper. I need this paper today (7/2/14) at 10 pm. If you have any question please contact me ASAP.
Proposed IT Solution for this Assignment: “The proposed IT Solution for Jerry Montgomery is a retail CRM/ E-commerce point of sale solution. This will help Jerry incorporate the inventory management for new and existing locations, E-commerce and a billing platform.”
Technology Solution – Individual Assignment
Before you begin this assignment, be sure you have read the Case Study and completed the first two Sections of the Business Case with your group.
Purpose of this Exercise
This activity allows you to demonstrate your understanding of the components of a technology solution and demonstrate your grasp of the concepts covered in the IFSM curriculum (hardware, software, data, networks, etc.). This assignment specifically addresses the following course outcomes to enable you to:
• Evaluate, select, and apply appropriate analytical and measurement methods/tools and system development life cycle (SDLC) – methodologies to meet organizational needs.
• Research, assess, recommend/select, and implement information technology that aligns with business needs and meets business objectives.
• Effectively communicate with stakeholders orally, visually, and in writing to determine stakeholders’ business requirements, explain how their requirements will be met, and provide ongoing audience-appropriate information.
• Responsibly protect organizations’ critical information and assets by integrating cybersecurity best practices and risk management throughout global enterprises.
It also addresses the business strategy, project management, risk management, SDLC, and the enterprise themes.
Assignment
Using the Case Study and the first two Sections of the Business Case developed by your group, you should independently identify a viable technology solution that will address the business need identified in Section II of your team’s Business Case. There are multiple possible technology solutions that could improve the business described in the case study. Your assignment is to come up with one and develop a three- to four-page paper (not counting illustrations) that describes the technical components of your proposed solution. In addition, you are to provide a graphical representation of your solution and a spreadsheet of costs. You will want to be sure that you do not identify a solution that is so broad that you cannot describe the components in the number of pages specified for this assignment, or that is so broad that the number of components would require a complex diagram and an extensive cost spreadsheet. Similarly, the solution must be robust enough to allow you to address all aspects of this assignment. The three parts of this assignment are more fully described below.
Pre-Approval of Proposed Solution: Before working on this assignment, you must obtain the instructor’s approval of the overall proposed technology solution. After your team has identified the business need it plans to address in its business case, you should determine what solution you will propose. Send a Private Message to the instructor identifying the business need the group came up with and describing your proposed solution at a high level – for example: “CRM systems for sales force” or “SCM system for the manufacturing facility” or “integrated xxxx system for the enterprise.” This is to ensure you have an appropriate solution and scope prior to doing this assignment.
1. Begin your paper with a brief (1 paragraph) description of the business need identified by your Group in Section II of the Business Case. Then, describe the overall functionality of your proposed solution and each of the components of your proposed solution, to include:
• resources:
o people
o hardware
o software
o data
o network
• and activities:
o input
o processing
o output
o storage
o control
Your paper should explain how these components work together to support the business need identified and how the solution as a whole is appropriate to the business described in the Case Study. The who, what, when, where and how of the system should all be covered, as you envision it being implemented and used. Remember to consider security and include it as appropriate. While external resources are not required, you must correctly cite and reference any resources you use in APA format.
2. You should include at least one original graphical representation of your specific technology solution. It should include all major components of the solution. The file “Example_Network_Diagram” shows the level of detail needed and provides sample icons for use in constructing your drawing, if you choose to use them. You should include labels as to what the purpose of the component is, e.g. email server, database server, system administration PC, etc. The make/model/capacity/etc of the devices does not need to be included – simply their generic device type (router, switch, server, etc) and their function (email, database, etc).
3. You should attach an Excel spreadsheet with the list of components, the quantity of each required and a unit cost and a total cost associated with each one. These general cost estimates may be obtained from any source, but the sources should be cited – for this you can use a footnote type of reference. In your spreadsheet beside the item, you can put the number of the reference used and list the references at the end. For example: Database Server (1) and then below show: 1. Dell website xxxxxxxx (properly listed in APA format). Personnel and other “soft costs” do not need to be included; however, if you specify software (e.g., xyz accounting package) then you need to show the cost of that. Every item in your description of resources and your graphical representation needs to be included on the cost spreadsheet.
Submitting Your Assignment
You should prepare this as a total package that is tied together in a professionally presented and logical manner. These are not 3 separate deliverables, but a single deliverable with multiple parts.
Submit your documents via your Assignment Folder as Microsoft Word and Excel document with your last name included in the filenames. If you can, include the diagram in your paper. If you use Visio or some other drawing tool, be sure it can be opened without special software other than Microsoft Office.
In addition to submitting your paper for grading via your Assignment Folder, you are to also post it in your Study Group area for your teammates to review and consider as one alternative solution. (See Week 4 Group instructions for further information on this activity.)
Use the Grading Rubric below to be sure you have covered all aspects of the assignment.
GRADING RUBRIC:
Attribute Full Points Partial Points No points Possible Points Points Earned
Explanation of Proposed Solution Proposed IT solution is clearly described, is logical and is appropriate to the Case Study and to the previously submitted sections of the Business Case. The proposed IT solution may not be clearly described, may not be logical and/or may not be appropriate to the Case Study and/or the previously submitted sections of the Business Case. No proposed IT solution provided. 10
Description of Resources Descriptions are complete and cover people, hardware, software, data and network resources and how they work together; apply to proposed IT solution and to the Case Study; and demonstrate sophisticated analysis and critical thinking and sophisticated writing. Resources are adequately described and/or some resources may not be covered completely or at all; explanation of how they work together may be lacking or incomplete; some descriptions may not apply to proposed IT solution and/or the Case Study; may be lacking in demonstration of understanding of concepts, analysis, and/or critical thinking. No description of resources provided. 15
(3 points each)
Description of Activities Descriptions are complete and cover input, processing, output, storage and control activities and how they work together; apply to proposed IT solution and to the Case Study; and demonstrate sophisticated analysis and critical thinking and sophisticated writing. Activities are adequately described and/or some activities may not be covered completely or at all; explanation of how they work together may be lacking or incomplete; some descriptions may not apply to proposed IT solution and/or the Case Study; may be lacking in demonstration of understanding of course concepts, analysis, and/or critical thinking. No description of activities provided. 15
(3 points each)
Graphic Graphic illustration is professionally presented, appropriately labeled, applies to proposed IT solution and to the Case Study, and demonstrate sophisticated analysis and critical thinking and sophisticated writing. Graphic is adequately presented or may not be professionally presented, may not be appropriately labeled, may not apply to proposed IT solution and/or the Case Study; may be lacking in completeness or demonstration of understanding of concepts, analysis, and/or critical thinking. No graphic provided. 25
Cost Spreadsheet Spreadsheet is professionally presented, appropriately formatted and formulas used as appropriate. Costs are shown for all components listed in paper and/or shown on graphic. Costs are reasonable and sources of costs are presented. Spreadsheet may not be professionally presented, may not be appropriately formatted or use formulas appropriately. Costs may not be shown for all components listed in paper and/or shown on graphic. Costs may not be reasonable and/or sources of costs may not be presented. No cost spreadsheet included. 25
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