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Analysis of an Information System

PDQ Mattress is a regional company that sells bed frames, mattresses and box springs to consumers through free-standing stores. The company was founded by brothers, Peter and Dick Quincy (hence the name), in 1945 when they opened a single store. Since that time, the company has grown as the stores have gained a reputation for providing high quality name brand merchandise at reasonable prices. The brothers retired in the early 1980s, but the company remains family-owned; many of the key positions are held by children of the brothers. Most of the ten stores are located in strip malls along major thoroughfares. The computer system which ties the stores together uses personal computers in the stores and a HewlettPackard minicomputer at the corporate headquarters.

When PDQ decided to computerize its operations in the early 1980s (just after the brothers retired), the main emphasis was on eliminating the manual processes which the company estimated took too much time to be done effectively. As a result, the company wanted a system which would integrate inventory control, deliveries and invoicing with as little interaction as possible from the store personnel (since there is typically only one employee at a time in the stores). Today, there are four full-time personnel at corporate responsible for making sure that the information contained in the system is correct, and also responsible for maintaining hardware system integrity (although this last falls to the MIS manager, who reports to the chief financial officer). The three data processing administrators check the databases for errors and single out transactions which were processed erroneously. Due to the long tenure that these personnel have had with the organization (an average of seven years), it is rarely necessary for outside experts to be called in.

PDQ uses personal computers in the stores to act as "smart" registers (a cash drawer is connected to each PC). The pers...

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Analysis of an Information System. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 05:54, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1706276.html