Unlock document.
This document is partially blurred.
Unlock all pages and 1 million more documents.
Get Access
b. Susan Shelton did not agree with Mark’s weightings and suggested the following
changes:
Flexibility 60
Reputation and reliability 50
Quality of support utilities 10
Graphics capability 10
When the changes are made, which vendor should Mark recommend?
Based on Susan’s changes, Mark should now select project #3. Project #1 scored 6285 points,
project #2 scored 6330 points, and project #3 scored 6610 points.
21-1
©2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Accounting Information Systems
c. Mark’s manager suggested the following changes to Susan’s weightings:
Reputation and reliability 90
Will the manager’s changes affect the decision about which system to buy?
21-2
©2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Accounting Information Systems
d. What can you conclude about point scoring from the changes made by Susan and
Mark’s manager? Develop your own weighting scale to evaluate the software packages.
What other selection criteria would you use? Be prepared to discuss your results with
the class.
e. What are the weaknesses of the point-scoring method?
Care must be taken when to avoid placing too much emphasis on a point-scoring outcome.
21-3
©2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Accounting Information Systems
21.5 Nielsen Marketing Research (NMR), with operations in 29 countries, produces and
disseminates marketing information. Nielsen has been the primary supplier of decision
support information for more than 70 years. NMR’s most recognizable product is the Nielsen
television ratings. Nielsen is one of the largest users of computer capacity in the UnitedStates.
Its information system consistently ranks above average in efficiency for its industry. NMR
hired IBM to evaluate outsourcing its information processing. NMR wanted to know whether
outsourcing would allow it to concentrate on giving its customers value-added services and
insights, increase its flexibility, promote rapid growth, and provide it with more real-time
information.
What are the benefits and risks of outsourcing for NMR?
THE BENEFITS OF OUTSOURCING:
IT is changing so rapidly that companies spend a lot of their information system money on
It is difficult to find well-trained people to maintain and develop these complex information
When a company improves its information system or introduces new technology, the
Outsourcing may make it easier for Nielsen to concentrate on the things it does best (its “core
Outsourcers offer special expertise for anything from assisting with development and design
Outsourcing can help solve cost pressures and economic difficulties that force companies to
Companies can benefit from the economies of scale the outsourcers achieve from
Outsourcing development projects can help a company benefit from the skills of trained
When companies downsize they can be left with an information system that is too large for
Outsourcing can help decrease the fixed costs associated with seasonal businesses that require
21-4
©2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Accounting Information Systems
AMONG THE RISKS OF OUTSOURCING ARE THE FOLLOWING:
A major risk is entering an inflexible agreement that does not provide the company an “out”
Another risk is losing too much control over your information system by outsourcing. NMR
It is possible to lose a fundamental understanding of information system needs and how the
Once a company decides to outsource, the company is usually locked into outsourcing. If
NMR may not realize all of the projected outsourcing benefits. Critics contend that in many
NMR may not receive the quality of service they desire. Some companies complain that
Do the benefits outweigh the risks? Explain your answer.
Without knowing the results of the evaluation that NMR commissioned, there is no “right” answer
21-5
©2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Accounting Information Systems
21.6 A large organization had 18 months to replace its old customer information system with a new
one that could differentiate among customer levels and provide appropriate products and
services on demand. The new system, which cost $1 million and was installed by the IS staff
on time, did not work properly. Complex transactions were error-prone, some transactions
were canceled and others were put on hold, and the system could not differentiate among
customers. The system was finally shut down, and transactions were processed manually. New
IS management was hired to build a new system and mend the strained relationship between
operations and IS.
So what went wrong? IS couldn’t—or wouldn’t—say no to all the requests for systems
enhancements. Eager to please top management, IS management ignored the facts and
assured them they could build a scalable system that was on time and on budget. Another big
mistake was a strict project schedule with little flexibility to deal with problems and
unforeseen challenges. Developers never spoke up about any glitches they encountered along
the way. More than a dozen people (including the CIO) lost their jobs because of their roles in
this disaster.
a. What could IS management have done differently to make this project successful?
Negotiated more time to complete the project.
b. What in-house development issues are demonstrated in this case?
Custom software development is difficult, time consuming, and error prone.
c. How could the in-house issues have been addressed to prevent the system’s failure?
It should have been made clear to management that in-house development is difficult,
time consuming, and error prone. This could have been facilitated by citing examples of
21-6
©2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Accounting Information Systems
21.7 Meredith Corporation publishes books and magazines, owns and operates television stations,
and has a real estate marketing and franchising service. Meredith has 11 different systems
that do not communicate with each other. Management wants an executive information
system that provides them with the correct and timely information they need to make good
business decisions. Meredith has decided to use prototyping to develop the system.
a. Identify three questions you would ask Meredith personnel to determine systems
requirements. What information are you attempting to elicit from each question?
What is Meredith’s background and what are its goals and objectives? It is difficult to
What is the nature of the problem and what are its causes? Oftentimes company
What is the timetable for the project? How soon is the system needed? If the company
What processes are involved? Identifying the business processes will allow the consultant
What does Meredith expect from their new executive information system? What
What input data does Meredith need to capture and process in order to produce the
b. Explain how prototyping works. What would the system developer do during the
iterative process step? Why would you want the fewest iterations possible?
1. At Meredith, the prototype process would begin by interviewing personnel in order to
2. After identifying system requirements, an initial prototype would be developed that meets
3. The users experiment with the prototype and determine what is good and what is bad
4. When the prototype is completed, it is either made operational or used as the
21-7
©2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Accounting Information Systems
c. Would you want the prototype to be operational or nonoperational? Why? If it were an
operational prototype, what would have to happen? If it were a nonoperational
prototype, how would the prototype be used?
The answer to these questions will vary depending on the student’s view of the situation.
Some of the points the student should bring up are:
Operational Prototype. Because Meredith needs the system so quickly, an operational
Nonoperational Prototype. In many instances, it is not practical to modify the prototype to
21-8
©2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
