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Spreadsheet supplement for case 491-082.

Allen-Bradley's Industrial Computer and Communication Group (ICCG) underwent a period of rapid transformation in the 1980s, instituting a wide array of innovations from product development to information systems. In 1990 the Ohio-based group announced a major reorganization of its business and began carrying out a sweeping program of cultural change. The case requires students to develop an overall perspective on the process of organizational change and to think critically about the kind of challenges that lie ahead for ICCG.

As Symantec grew from a small, upstart software development company to a major player in the software development industry, the channels of information flow and the internal communication needs of the company became more complex. The geographically-dispersed structure of the company, in which product development groups stayed together, lead to the development of great products but hindered information flow. The top managers set out to facilitate information flow across product groups and within the company as a whole through both improving the information technology systems and bringing together employees in certain functional areas for regularly-scheduled meetings. A challenge for Eubanks, the CEO, was to balance the implementation of certain formal systems, and the maintenance of employees' entrepreneurial spirit and development of employees' managerial skills.

Describes how the IRS's collection operations changed from a largely manual system (COF) to an automated system (ACS). A central aspect of ACS was the electronic scheduling and maintaining of work. While with ACS the IRS accomplished significant improvements in the task efficiency of its collection operations, the system also led to greater turnover and lower employee morale. This raises questions of how the system could be redesigned. The primary teaching objective of the case is to show how information technology, control systems, and organization design are intertwined and how any change effort must address all three aspects simultaneously.