Senior management of a large stock exchange is reviewing a recent software problem that resulted in a botched opening for the initial public offering of a popular social media company. They are drawing up a list of recommendations on how to prevent this type of failure in the future, taking into account the needs of their various stakeholders, including customers, market makers, listed firms, regulators and shareholders. Overviews of the stock market, NASDAQ in particular, and the use of technology to trade stocks securely and quickly are followed by examining the aftermath of a delay in the correct trading of Facebook shares on its opening.
It was May 16, 2012, and the highly anticipated pricing of Facebook Inc.’s initial public offering (IPO) was underway. An analyst at CXTechnology Fund was preparing to speak to the lead underwriter about his final interest in the deal. The analyst had reviewed Facebook’s phenomenal growth, its profitable business model and the competitive landscape for the social networking industry. The IPO appeared to be oversubscribed with heavy interest from institutional and retail investors alike, but the valuation seemed expensive, even by technology standards. The analyst needed to make a decision on whether to buy shares in the IPO or not. A spreadsheet for students is available, product 7B12N031.
The president of Unimicron must evaluate the degree to which the company's information systems support its business strategy. The case provides an extensive review of the company's history, its strategy and its key competitive and organizational moves. The case reviews the way in which information systems are used in the company, and challenges students to assess the degree of fit between strategy, organization and technology.
It was early 2010, and the Twitter Trio, the founders of Twitter, were faced with a changing market situation and pressures to make money. Twitter was a free service that had been operating without a viable business plan since 2006. In early 2010, Twitter was still not making enough money and it was time that Twitter showed a real return on investment. The Trio had to decide on a business model that was competitive. There was a data-mining project that could bring all the funds Twitter needed to stay in business, make profit, and compete with others. However, the founders were concerned that this project might be perceived to intrude on users’ privacy, even in a company that was founded on the basis of sharing information publicly.
A senior manager at IBM Canada Ltd. is trying to determine how best to implement strategy developed at the global level. The Business Transformation Executive, Sales & Distribution, IBM Canada Ltd., is responsible for introducing, maintaining and retiring software programs to support IBM Canada's business needs. In October 2009, the senior manager is trying to assess if the customer relationship management (CRM) developed locally should continue to be supported or if the planned switchover to a global standard CRM should continue as scheduled. The case is intended for students to discuss the challenges of implementing global IT strategy at the local or country unit level.
The chief executive officer (CEO) of Taiwan Taxi must assess the adoption of iCall by the firm's taxi drivers. When originally conceived, iCall was supposed to be the basis for substantial growth in the number of taxi drivers signing up with Taiwan Taxi. But even after many years, adoption still lags behind the plan. The CEO must assess the reasons for the slower adoption of iCall and make recommendations on whether to revise the goal or improve adoption in order to meet it. The case demonstrates the many complexities involved in realizing business value from the adoption of information technology.
The chief executive officer (CEO) of Taiwan Taxi must assess the adoption of iCall by the firm's taxi drivers. When originally conceived, iCall was supposed to be the basis for substantial growth in the number of taxi drivers signing up with Taiwan Taxi. But even after many years, adoption still lags behind the plan. The CEO must assess the reasons for the slower adoption of iCall and make recommendations on whether to revise the goal or improve adoption in order to meet it. The case demonstrates the many complexities involved in realizing business value from the adoption of information technology.
The president of Unimicron must evaluate the degree to which the company's information systems support its business strategy. The case provides an extensive review of the company's history, its strategy and its key competitive and organizational moves. The case reviews the way in which information systems are used in the company, and challenges students to assess the degree of fit between strategy, organization and technology.
This case describes Molson's experiment with social media for creating brand awareness. In November 2007, Molson, part of the Molson Coors Brewing Company, ended a social media promotion after facing criticism that it promoted binge drinking. Molson was faced with the difficulty of how quickly the contents of social media could spread to various audiences. The case encourages readers to ponder whether Molson's action was the only option available and to consider what its next steps might be.
The director of information technology (IT) at Ritcher, a major Hungarian pharmaceutical company with operations throughout Eastern Europe, is planning for the IT department for the near future. The three main considerations for the coming year are: Is the current IT structure appropriate to meet the growing demands of the organization? To what extent should IT affiliates be centrally controlled? How can IT best serve the rest of the company?
The chief of the Waterloo Regional Police Service was again faced with a crisis in the ongoing development of the CIMS project. It was early 2005 and he found himself again debating the future of this increasingly time-consuming and expensive project. Complicating matters now, however, was the fact that several of his partner organizations in CIMS wanted to go live with those portions of the software which had been delivered from the vendor. These organizations had been struggling with antiquated systems, and wanted to push forward with implementing the new system, despite the continuing presence of system problems. What should he do? Should he encourage those regions to wait and rethink the project or was it best to continue moving forward with those elements.
It had been four years since the chief of the Waterloo Regional Police Services (WRPS) met with the board to discuss critical next steps regarding vendor management for the Common Information Management System (CIMS) project. CIMS was an information systems project originally involving the WRPS and seven other police organizations. Since then, considerably more resources had been invested into the CIMS project by all stakeholders involved. The relationship with the current vendor, ITG, was growing less productive and the chief knew it was time to reassess the project to determine the best next steps toward successful project implementation. It was September 2005 and the chief found himself preparing for an important board meeting to discuss the fate of the CIMS project.
The chief of the Waterloo Regional Police Services (WRPS) found himself preparing for an important board meeting to discuss the fate of the CIMS project. Earlier that year he had recommended that the contract with ITG be cancelled and negotiations toward this end were proceeding. Now the chief was faced with the task of recommending an alternative vendor and approach for completing this important project. WRPS needed to install a suitable computer-automated dispatch and record management system - key CIMS components - prior to December 31, 2005 as 2006 was the federally mandated deadline for implementing this functionality within police agencies. The chief knew that WRPS resources would be heavily tasked to meet the December 31, 2005 deadline, even if a vendor was chosen as soon as possible. The chief was well aware that a decision needed to be made regarding the best vendor to manage the next phase of the CIMS project as quickly as possible to allow WRPS and the vendor project team time to implement the required solution. The chief believed that the first step was to select the best vendor and then present the recommended solution to the board.
The commercial eProducts Manager at Shell Canada has to determine how to improve the adoption and utilization of their eCommerce channel. eStore had been developed for the fuel and lubricants market as a pilot test of how Shell might communicate with its customers electronically, thus reducing costs. While eStore had been in place for a year, and many customers had signed up, utilization was low. A consulting firm has made recommendations about the technical issues that might be driving low utilization; the commercial eProducts Manager has to consider whether the problems are purely technical, and make a recommendation on how to proceed.
The chief executive officer (CEO) of epost is preparing for a meeting with his successor. Epost, a division of Canada Post, is in a transition and many decisions will need to be made by the successor. With the introduction of the Internet, people are using regular postal services less frequently. Epost was created to generate revenue and to provide customers the ease of paying bills electronically. In 2004, epost acquired its competitor, Webdoxs. Implementing epost posed many information technology (IT) challenges because financial and personal information is exchanged and stored, and, therefore, the service has to be reliable and secure. The CEO ponders several issues as he prepares for his meeting with his successor.
The case describes the circumstances surrounding the introduction of www.google.cn. In order to comply with Chinese government requirements, google.cn censors web results. This appears to contradict Google’s stated philosophy and its mission to organize and make accessible the world’s information. A public outcry ensues and Google is forced to defend its controversial decision. The case presents both sides of the debate and asks students to consider what they feel is right.
The vice-president - RBC Banking business & information solutions must develop an implementation plan for the bank's new paperless transaction system. The new system will reduce costs in proof processing and will facilitate the role of the customer service representatives, allowing the CSRs to shift from transactional to sales oriented roles. The system must be implemented across the company within 12 months. Challenges concerning the timing of installation, sequence of rollout, scope management and prioritization must be addressed.
In teams of four to six people, each team works to develop a structure using building blocks. Various alterations to the terms of the assignment are made as the exercise unfolds, simulating the unpredictability of information systems development. Difference in the technology available to teams (both in terms of amount and type) simulate the challenge of differences in technology resources and later the challenge of integration, even with standard and simple technology.