ace and the IT function has not been integrated into the company's overall operations. As a result, difficulties arise when the company needs to trace a particular transaction, and there is a feeling among the principals that the level of customer service is deteriorating. In addition, family members who are familiar with IT capabilities in other organizations are of the opinion that an integrated IT strategy could help the company generate more business and improve its profitability.
Several key root definitions are associated with the system. For example, a customer places an order with Gulf Distributors, and later receives the goods at his location. The world view is that of the customer, the customer is also the actor (as well as a customer, from the CATWOE point of view), and the transformation is the process of changing the input (order) to output (shipment). From the world view of the accounting manager, who is an actor, the order prompts an invoice to be generated and the invoice is the output in a separate root definition. Environmental constraints would involve the customs issues, logistics and production parameters that must be met in order for the transaction to be completed. The owners of the company have a different world view, and see the order as input, but see revenue and profit as the output (Couprie et al 1).
Because the company is family-owned and operated, and has been in the family for generations, it is not surprising that there ha
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