Beirut International Model United Nations: Conference-Planning System

On a day in early June 2017, Fadi Kanaan, a member of the organizing committee of the Beirut International Model United Nations (BEYMUN) conference at the American University of Beirut (AUB), sat in front of college hall feeling very excited yet worried. He had just received an email informing him that he would be the secretary-general of the annual Model United Nations conference at AUB in the spring of 2018. BEYMUN invited students from universities worldwide who were interested in addressing global concerns and prevailing world topics in a real-life simulation of the United Nations committee sessions. This conference was the perfect opportunity for participants to tackle such topics as regional conflicts, women and children, human rights, peacemaking, disarmament, economic and social development, and the environment while working in committees for Disarmament and International Security, Economic and Financial, Social Humanitarian and Cultural, and Special Political and Decolonization. But Kanaan was worried how BEYMUN would manage the overwhelming application process. Previously, the BEYMUN team had experienced issues with organizing large events, and Kanaan realized the existing system that received applications was inadequate for processing the hundreds of applications he expected the conference to receive. He knew that within two weeks of announcing the conference dates, applications would start to pour in. Kanaan and the team had to respond to each application before a deadline. Now was the time for BEYMUN to develop a system that would efficiently manage and process the applications to help organize a successful conference.

The case can be taught in master of business administration courses (MBA) or undergraduate information systems courses. It is appropriate for use in introductory courses to information systems, as well as in courses about systems development or databases. It will provide a practical example for students to understand the challenges and opportunities that are shared in many instances where organizations need to manually process data. This case is helpful when introducing or reviewing concepts relating to databases specifically and to systems development generally. The case is simple enough to be solved by students, yet complex enough to illustrate the intricacies of databases and systems development. The case provides necessary background information to perform the analysis and design of a database or an information system. The instructor can decide the extent of the expected solution. The instructor can focus on one particular phase of the system development cycle or require the full development of a working system. By working through the case and assignment questions, students will have the opportunity to do the following:<br><br><ul><li>Understand the limitations of manual data-processing systems and the importance of information systems and databases in processing daily operations.</li><li>Learn how to identify operational requirements.</li><li>Apply the phases of the system development life cycle.</li><li>Complete the analysis and design for a simple database.</li></ul>

• database
• database design
• system analysis
• requirements