IT Strategy:

Issues and Practice

Second Edition

Mini-Cases

2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

Delivering Business Value

with IT at Hefty Hardware

1.

2.

2012

How effective is the partnership between IT and the

business at Hefty Hardware? Identify the shortcomings
of both IT and the business
Create a plan for how IT and the business can work
collaboratively to deliver the Savvy Store program
successfully
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Investing in TUFS

1.

What went wrong with the TUFS investment and what

can be done to prevent these problems in the future?

2.

What does Northern need to do to realize the benefits

that were projected for TUFS?

3.

How can they measure these benefits?

2012

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IT Planning at ModMeters

1.

2012

Develop an IT planning process for ModMeters to

accomplish the demands as set out above

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Building Shared Services at

RR Communications

1.
2.

3.
4.

5.

2012

List the advantages of a single customer service center for RR

Communications
Devise an implementation strategy that would guarantee the support
of the divisional presidents for the shared customer service center
Is it possible to achieve an enterprise vision with a decentralized IT
function?
What business and IT problems can be caused by lack of common
information and an enterprise IM strategy?
What governance mechanisms need to be put in place to ensure
common customer data and a shared customer service center? What
metrics might be useful?
Mini-cases-5

Creating a Process-Driven
Organization at AgCredit

1.

2.

2012

Propose an organizational structure for the IT department that you feel

would support the transformation of AgCredit into a process-centric
organization
Outline a project selection process for AgCredit to ensure alignment with
the enterprise business vision

3.

How should Manley make the case for SOA to ensure that the executive
team at AgCredit buys in?

4.

What new internal IT capabilities will have to be developed in order to

create an IT department to support AgCredits future business architecture?

5.

What aspects of IT governance do you think would be important in

supporting this transformation?
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IT Investment at North
American Financial

Your task is to design and implement:

1.

A thorough and rigorous method of project categorization and

prioritization

2.

A comprehensive and holistic governance of IT spending and

benefits delivery at all levels

3.

An annual IT planning process that provides transparency and

accountability for all types of IT spending and which creates
an integrated and strategically aligned development portfolio

2012

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Information Management at
Homestyle Hotels

1.

Does it make good business sense to integrate across the

different lines of business represented by Lifestyle Resorts
and Home-Away Hotels? What exactly would you integrate
(beyond financial information) and why?

2.

Outline a process for Homestyle to follow in order to decide

between the two software options (i.e., HC and CR)? What
selection criteria would you use? Who should make the
decision?
Mini-cases-8

2012

Innovation at International
Foods

1.

In a discussion with Josh, Tonya foreshadows some serious

obstacles to overcome. Describe these obstacles in detail.

2.

How can Josh win support for his teams 3-point plan to use
technology to help IFG reach its customers?

2012

Mini-cases-9

CRM at Minitrex

1.

Explain how it is possible for someone at Minitrex to call a

customer and not know (a) that this is a customer and (b) that
this is the third time this week that they had been called?

2.

Outline the steps that Bettman must take in order to

implement CRM at Minitrex. In your plan, be sure to include
Mini-casespeople, processes, and technology.

2012

10

Customer Service at
Datatronics

2.

Outline the specific information that Matt should

collect to build a case for improving customer service
at
Datatronics.
Describe
your top ideas for Matt to present to Joel next

3.

week.
How would Matt get Joel to support his ideas?

1.

2012

Mini-cases11

Leveraging IT Vendors at
SleepSmart
Board of
Directors

SSTA
(Vendors)

1.

Identify the advantages and disadvantages of the SSTA. Do

you think that this sort of vendor partnership can prosper in
the long run? Why or why not?

2.

Focusing IT on the top line (i.e., growing revenues) is very

different than focusing IT on the bottom line (i.e., reducing
costs). Explain.
Brainstorm some ideas of how SleepSmart could generate
additional revenues using IT.
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3.
2012

12

Project Management at MM

1.

Some organizational factors increase a projects likelihood of

success. Identify these facilitators for the Green Project.

2.

Other organizational factors decrease a projects likelihood of

success. Identify these barriers for the Green Project.

3.

Outline the things that McCann needs to do right away.

2012

Mini-cases13

Managing Technology at
Genex Fuels

1.

What evidence is the CEO using to suggest that Genex is not

using technology competitively?

2.

Did Devlin need to hire Sandy, a high-priced technology

consultant, to tell him that technology at Genex was a mess?

3.

Devise a strategy to successfully implement enterprise wide

Mini-casessystems (such as SAP) at Genex.

2012

14

Copyright 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.

Publishing as Prentice Hall

Mini-cases-15