Matt Moss
7-5-13
Chapter 2
BUS-381
1. (10 points) Identify the different types of systems used for the different levels of
management in a business. The role of the information services department in a company
is to support the needs of other groups as determined by senior manager. Explain why
you agree or disagree with this statement.
Senior Management uses Executive Support System to help make important decisions
such as Employment levels, Long-Term cost trends and What products to make in the
future.
Middle Management uses Management Information Systems which provide reports on
the organizations current performance. They also use Decision-Support systems which
focus on problems that are unique and rapidly changing
Operational Managers use Transaction processing systems to answer routine questions
and track the flow of transactions though the organization.
2. (10 points) Identify and describe at least four business benefits of collaboration? Which
do you feel is the most important and why? How can a good CRM system increase profits
for a company?
Four business benefits of collaboration are Productivity, Quality, Innovation and
Customer Service. Productivity occurs when people working together to complete a
complex task faster than having everyone perform tasks individually. Quality occurs
when people working collaboratively can communicate errors and correct them faster
than if they were in isolation. Innovation occurs when people working collaboratively in
groups come up with more innovative or new ideas for products than if they were in
isolation from another. Customer Service occurs when people working together in teams
solve customer complaints and issues faster than if they were working in isolation from
another.
I feel that Customer Service is the most important because a company with poor
Customer Service can break a customer's confidence with that company. A Good CSR
system can increase profits for a company by listening to its customers and address
complaints or issues in a fast manner.
3. (10 points) Describe at least two benefits of using enterprise systems. The automotive
parts supply company you work for, Auto4U, has noticed that one of its brands of
hubcaps is not selling nearly as well as anticipated at most of its locations. For each of the
four main types of information systems found in a business, identify a query that might
help understand this development. Of the four types of systems, which do you think will
be the most helpful and why?
A benefit of using an enterprise system is that it can integrate data from key business
processes into a single system. Another benefit is the speed communication of
information throughout the firm.
4. (15 points) Read case study (Can Airlines Solve Their Baggage Handling?) on page 47,
and then answer the following questions:
o What types of transactions are handled by baggage handling systems?
They must move luggage with a DCV from check-in area to the Airline gate.
Then the luggage must be sent via another DCV to the correct flight gate. Finally
they must move luggage from the arrival gate to the baggage claim area.
o
What are the people, organization, and technology components of baggage
handling systems?
At check-in there are attendants who tag and place your luggage onto the handling
system. The Baggage is tagged with either barcodes or RFID tags and scanned by
the baggage system as it travels throughout the system. The Destination Coded
Vehicle is an unmanned vehicle which transports luggage from place to place and
unload and load them without stopping.
o
What is the problem these baggage handling systems are trying to solve? Discuss
the business impact of this problem. Are today’s baggage handling systems a
solution to this problem? Explain.
They are trying to solve the issue of "lost" or "Mishandled" baggage. The cost of
$100 or more per bag was costing the airlines quite a bit and forcing the airline to
develop better systems for handling luggage. Today's baggage systems are getting
better but are not perfect. According to the case study, Airlines have improved the
lost rate by 38 percent, however I believe that is because people are not bringing
as much luggage as in the past.
o
Do a search on “airline baggage handling technology” and identify suppliers of
baggage handling systems to the airlines industry. Choose one supplier and
describe how its systems work. How are they different from the systems described
above?
http://www.beumergroup.com/products/airport-baggage-handling-systems/
First, there is a check-in station that is rugged and modular to your airports needs.
Next the bag is placed onto the Baggage Conveyor system which combines cost-
effective baggage handling with reliable operation, easy maintenance and low
energy consumption. The Baggage is conveyed using the CrisBag integrated tote
system and the autover independent carrier system which is quite fast at a
whopping 10 meters per second.
They are quite similar, with different names for the different components of the
system.
o
Go to ibm.com/luggage and watch the video case study of the IBM baggage
handling system installed at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam. The video claims
that Schiphol’s system is the most advanced in the world. Review this case and
discuss whether or not this claim is justified.
I watched: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GU3J5Yl2snA
I think that this claim is justified. They have 24 kilometers of conveyor to
accommodate the 140,000 bags each day. They also make use of 6 robots and
9,000 units of storage capacity. Once a bag is checked in, it is tracked all
throughout the system by use of ibm's tracking and monitoring software.
o
One of the largest baggage system modernization program failures in history
occurred at the Denver International Airport in the period 1995–2005. Do a search
on “Denver baggage system failure” and write a brief report on why this project
failed.
The system was far too complex for the time. It was centralized and no one knew
where the luggage was except central control or computer mainframe. Add that to
the mechanical issues that the system had and you can call it a complete failure.