Business Communication – HBR Case Study Analysis

Write a 2-3-page case analysis as assigned by the instructor (see assigned week’s folder). Include at least three additional references relating to the case analysis in your paper.

Step 1: Read the case study. (Provided in the Week 3 folder).

Step 2: Using the Library Database, Google, and additional online resources, conduct an additional search on the case study topic.

Step 3: Using APA format, prepare your case study from your perspective as a future manager/ leader. Provide an Introduction, Background, Analysis of the Issues (SWOT), Recommendations, and Conclusions. Be sure that your case study is reflective of the APA format. 

Information Systems Report Topics

1. A midsized telemarketing company has asked you, a management information systems consultant, to submit a proposal to help it develop a comprehensive electronic communications policy for its employees. That is, the policy should govern voice mail, e-mail, Internet access, social media, messaging, and files and data that are created, uploaded, downloaded, sent, received, or stored. In the introduction of your report, explain why a comprehensive, detailed policy is extremely important. Develop a proposal, identify the objectives and components of the comprehensive electronics communications policy, and submit a budget for your consulting company to help Company X develop this policy.

2. Although many of the salespeople in your company use laptops and smartphones, they’ve asked the company to buy them tablets. Salespeople contend that the portability of these tablets, in addition to their ability to deliver product demonstrations, and compile and present sales presentations to clients, makes them a necessity for increasing sales and remaining competitive. After you investigate the benefits of tablets, you decide to compare the top three or four tablets using the following criteria: price, operating system, app quality, screen size, and storage. Which tablet would be best for your salespeople?

3. You work for a small business owner. He wants to know whether the company should lease or buy the technology it needs. This technology includes computers, all-in-one printers, multimedia devices (such as LCD projectors), and smartphones. What should the decision criteria be? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each option? Make recommendations to the owner.

4. Should First National Bank consider contracting out one of its operations offshore, such as call center or tech support? As a consultant, the bank’s Chief Financial Officer has asked you to research the pros and cons of outsourcing and offshoring and present your findings in a report.

5. Many students like you are contemplating systems’ certification beyond the undergraduate degree. What are the most popular and useful certification programs available? Is certification worth the effort and money? What programs would you recommend? Why?

6. The computer lab manager in your business school asked you to write a report that assesses the pros and cons of upgrading now to the latest version of the Microsoft Windows operating system. Besides the costs, she wants you to examine compatibility issues, usability, time it will take the lab’s staff to learn the new operating system, tech support, length of time Microsoft will support the lab’s current version, and anything else you think is relevant. She wants your recommendation about this matter.

7. A popular trend in today’s workplace is telecommuting. Your boss has had several employees ask her about the possibility of performing work–at least part time–at home. Your boss isn’t convinced that telecommuting is in her best interest, so she asks you to write a report that analyzes the pros and cons of this form of employment. Consider what jobs are ideal for telecommuting, what statistics reveal about telecommuting and how it impacts employee productivity, how employers monitor telecommuting, and how telecommuting affects businesses and its employees.

8. Your employer has a Web presence. Now, the company is considering whether going “paperless” is the next logical step. In other words, how would a company-wide intranet solve this problem? Find examples of companies that have gone “paperless” to use as examples in your report to the company’s president. What are the advantages and disadvantages of such a system? How would employees respond to communicating only electronically? Is security a problem? Offer recommendations.

9. Many students majoring in management information systems (MIS) wonder whether basic writing skills will be an important aspect of their jobs. The department head of your program is curious, too, and has asked you to write a report that investigates the key skills needed for MIS jobs. In addition, she wants to know whether the course requirements in your business school adequately prepare MIS majors for the kinds of on-the-job writing they will do. After you’ve researched and analyzed these issues, offer recommendations in a report to the department head

10. You are thrilled to secure an entry-level executive position, and are eager to start. You ask and learn that your company does not have an employee e-mail policy. You must figure out what to do and not to do. You ask your new colleagues about this, and their answers are surprising. Some say your employer can monitor whatever you access on the company’s computer system, even if it is your personal e-mail account. Others indicate that employees have been terminated for excessive personal use of the Internet at work. A few believe that the IT employees can look at anything, anytime they want to, for any reason they want to, because they are agents of the employer, and it’s the employer’s system. You have one specific question. On occasion, you have more work to do, but it’s time to go home–and accessing your employer’s email remotely is a hassle. You wonder if you can forward your files from your work e-mail account to your personal account and finish your work at home. Is that a problem, you ask? A co-worker who was previously employed in IT says this could create the impression that you are trying to steal the company’s confidential information. You decide to research appropriate e-mail conduct in the workplace and to seek out any laws or legal cases relating to this topic. Construct a report of your findings, then make a list of recommendations for a potential company-wide e-mail policy that you can share with your supervisor.

11. The president of the mid-sized organization where you are the human resources manager has heard that several of your competitors have installed software to monitor the computer use of its employees. The president asks you to determine whether your organization should do likewise. What would be the advantages and disadvantages to installing computer-monitoring software? What are the costs? Based on your investigation, what conclusions can you draw? Make recommendations to the president. Use your imagination to fill in details about your organization.