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With changes in both technology and the environment, Nortel has had to evolve from a company that sells a collection of telecommunication products to a company that sells integrated packages of products that satisfy specific customer needs. In the past, I/S has been spread across the various product divisions, supporting a highly decentralized corporate structure. Now it has been charged with transforming itself to facilitate the company's need for greater integration, including a move to standardized systems. I/S must re-define its role and restructure itself to fulfill its new mandate. After an extensive analysis and design exercise, the I/S function has been re-visualized as centering on three key processes: client management, solution delivery, and business support. This represents a significant change from a traditional I/S shop that focuses on building applications and infrastructure. While there is broad support for the changes in principle, actually getting the new processes fully articulated and implemented presents a significant challenge.

Cisco is the world's largest, and leading manufacturer and distributor of routers and switches. In order to achieve this position, it has adopted an aggressive growth strategy, acquiring companies, their employees, and new employees at a rate of 250 to 300 employees per month. The Cisco Employee Connection (CEC), a corporate intranet, is the primary means by which new employees are absorbed and acculturated. The CEC is also the principal means of interaction for the multi-functional work team approach Cisco employs. This case critically assesses this approach to scaling an organization, and the extent to which it can be maintained and transferred.

This case documents the origins and development of a collaborative interorganizational system. This system is an experimental broadband network being used to trial both ATM technology and new applications such as the transmission, retrieval and archiving of medical images. Director of LARG*net confronts the difficulties of technological innovation and interorganizational management. It provides an illustration of the technical difficulties in integrating different systems, ensuring security, and the ramifications to an organization's own systems when connectivity with other organizations is attempted. It highlights the fact that IT infrastructure is more than just physical hardware. At the same time it raises the issues of handling accountability and responsibility across organizational boundaries.

This is a condensed version of case 9A95E003. Western Mining Corporation is one of Australia's largest mining companies. This case tells the story of a large information system project from its inception through its development and to the eve of its rollout into the implementation phases. The Operations Management Project was commissioned to produce the Operations Management System (OMS), a new information system designed to provide operational personnel with better and more timely information to help them in their daily tasks. The project experienced significant delays and problems, from project management difficulties, to systems development methodology shortcomings, to steering committee dealings. Two additional cases on the Operations Management Project are also available: Western Mining Corporation (B), case 9A95E005, and Western Mining Corporation (C), case 9A95E006. The three cases together provide a rich and comprehensive description of the various challenges experienced by information systems personnel and operational personnel alike in the course of developing and implementing new information systems. Both the original case and the (B) case can stand on their own. The (C) case is best used in conjunction with the (B) case.

The airline industry has already made competitive use of the technology that enables it to change prices daily or even hourly. But this technology now exists for everyone. Are we soon to see the price of blue jeans change by the hour? Those who wait to see what the competition does before they themselves react, may never be able to catch up.

A project manager at Digital Canada has designed a work-at-home program to encourage field personnel to spend less time working in the office and more time working at client sites, on the road and at home. He believes his plan will save Digital Canada millions of dollars annually and result in increased productivity. Unfortunately, the response from U.S. headquarters has been lukewarm, and the affected employees are reacting quite negatively. The manager is uncertain how to generate support for his plan in order to move forward.

The manager of information and technology at a flower auction house must decide on the pace at which information technology changes should be introduced. The issues raised in the case pertain to the formulation and implementation of information technology strategies, and illustrate the potentially integrative role of information technology, different levels of information technology strategy, online bidding, and the establishment and maintenance of information systems for clearing channels.

First Fidelity Bancorporation had decided to use an outsourcing vendor to convert its existing information systems operations into a centralized facility and to operate the systems on a long-term basis. This decision was part of a rationalization process to consolidate eight independent banks into one operating structure so as to achieve cost savings and create a way of integrating new acquisitions and mergers. The holding company had to select an outsourcing vendor that could participate in this process and achieve the growth objectives set by the bank. The options were to select a partner or a supplier. A background case First Fidelity Bancorporation (A) is available.

First Fidelity Bancorporation had outsourced its information systems conversion and on-going data centre management to Electronic Data Systems (EDS) on a ten-year contract. The EDS-FFB relationship was one year into the arrangement (1991) when several challenges had surfaced, the most urgent of which was an $8 million cost overrun on the conversion project. The EDS account manager had the choice of absorbing the costs, seeking compensation from the bank or suggesting a compromise. Several other challenges would also have to be addressed in the relationship, such as an incompatible software platform, resistance, difficult communications and flexibility to accommodate future bank directions and acquisitions. Background cases First Fidelity Bancorporation (B): Selecting an Outsourcing Vendor and First Fidelity Bancorporation (A)) are available.

SunLife Assurance Co., a large life insurance firm, wishes to provide a greater degree of computer support for its sales agents. A program to encourage agents to acquire laptop computers for use in selling had been established for some time. However, only a few agents had taken advantage of the program. The company decided to develop a new system, termed Maestro, which would provide a suite of tools to help agents perform their jobs more efficiently and effectively. The tools would be made available to agents using laptops. Also, agents were charged a fee for the software by the company. The development of the new tools was handled by the individual marketing group, not by the MIS function. Initial rollout of the new system has been only partially successful, and the director of individual marketing is concerned about how to improve the acceptance and adoption of the system by agents in the future.

A hospital financial systems implementation project has run into some difficulties. The decision maker must analyze the complex situation and develop an attainable action plan for the remainder of the project. The case explores various facets of Information Systems project management, focusing on the human factors that are important in any project management situation.