American Foods Company

THE AMERICAN FOODS COMPANY [CASE STUDY 9]

This essential problem involved in this case is that substantial changes were made in the information systems of the American Foods Company in the absence of close coordination between all of the parties involved in the situation. The Information Services Department especially and the outside data entry vendor to a lesser extent tended to act as if their organizations were the only concerned entities with respect to their actions associated with changes effected to the company's information systems. The user entity in this case, the Materials Management Department, was less culpable; however, many of the problems encountered in the changing environment either could have been prevented or have been minimized had this department insisted from the beginning on a place at the table in the planning, development, and implementation stages of the changes to the company's information systems.

The specific problem in this case that now confronts the company is not how the earlier problem was addressed. Rather, the specific problem at this point is what the affected parties are going to do to assure that similar situations are not encountered in the future.

Justification For Problem Definition

The preceding definition of the problem is justified for several reasons. First, the efficient and effective functioning of the company's information system is crucial to the company's financial success. Second, substantial f

Related Essays

Case Analysis of American Foods Company Case Analysis of American Foods Company The fundamental issue giving rise to the problems suffered by the American Foods Company's (AFC) information services .... (1567 6 )

COMPETITOR ANALYSIS: HERSHEY FOODS .... to Hershey and the other American producers competing in .... developed a competitive analysis for Hershey Foods. .... is to identify the company's principal competitors .... (1630 7 )

Japan's Showa Foods II. Background A. The Joint Ven .... Packard Foods, Inc., a manufacturer of foods based in the .... is composed of four members from each company. .... Packard wants to introduce American style planning and .... (2989 12 )

Case Analysis of Gerber Products Company .... trend, could rapidly cause the company's financial position .... unable to do successfully market instant baby foods. The projected growth in the American baby food .... (2498 10 )

American Products in Japan .... Coca-Cola and PepsiCo are American companies and are .... has a large interest in snack foods as well .... overall marketing strategy, but which the company is planning .... (2668 11 )

aluation, and refinement of all future changes to the company information system. Evaluation of Alternatives Each of the three alternative courses of action is evaluated in relation to specified criteria. These criteria are as follows: (1) information system effectiveness; (2) information system efficiency; (3) short-term costs; (4) long-term costs; and (5) long-term benefits. Within the context of these evaluative criteria, the advantages and disadvantages of each alternative course of action are as follows: Alternative One Alternative one is to dispense with the outside data entry vendor, and return to the long-time company practice of conducting all information systems work in-house. The advantages and disadvantages associated with this alternative are as follows: Advantages 1. In terms of information system effectiveness, this alternative course of action would enable the company's information system to support users in the context of providing the necessary information. 2. The short-term costs associated with this alternative course of action would be minimal because company personnel are familiar with the information systems strategy. Disadvantages 1. In terms of information efficiency, this alternative cour

Category: Business - A