2
Information System Management
Key Case Study Issues
Middleton Mutual, an insurance company, aims at taking advantage of the expert system
proposal made by their chief information officer (CIO), Dennis Devereaux, and Max Vargo, who
serves as the information systems planning vice-president. The Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
Hal Atkins and the WHayes, the president, seek to understand the overall benefit of the proposed
information system (IS) in meeting the company's needs and increasing revenue generation. On
the other hand, the system presenters need to convince the CFO that the system would be
instrumental in meeting the company's long-term goals.
Mr. Hayes is willing to let Mr.
Devereaux present the proposal, but he must provide accurate numbers that will support the
efficiency of the expert systems and how they will make the company money. CFO Hal Atkins is
against this project because he believes that it will be another project that will take the company's
money and it is not worth it (Davenport, n.d)
. Therefore, the CIO needs to offer substantial
evidence and prove that the expert system will be more efficient than human experts.
Discussion of the Case Study
Lack of effective interactions in the business can result in unfavorable outcomes and
enterprises delays (Fabrik, n.d). In this case, the interaction between the senior leadership and the
management specialists is ineffective. Although the CIO, Dennis Devereaux, is an excellent
information officer, he lacks effective skills in his leadership. He worked effortlessly to ensure
the implementation of the system for the company together with Max Vargo.
According to the email traffic, poor leadership skills were evident in Devereaux's
interactions and conversations. The mode of information request from clients for presentation to
the superiors would be viewed as rude, resulting in misinformation. There is a need to present
solid proof to the superiors when looking for a solution to any problem in the company. This will
help proper negotiation leading to the embrace of the proposed idea. It is also important to
provide solid proof of the benefits of implementing the proposed solution to the company. In this
case, the CIO could not present necessary data and information as requested by the superiors
when presenting his project. This resulted in his presentation projecting an unintended message
to his superiors.
Although the company requires a new information system to implement the required
steps for survival, communication has been inefficient. This was evident after much confusion
between the underwriting department and the information system department. In reality, the
artificial intelligence project aimed to help in service requests from their clients by improving in
areas such as transaction speed and better information reports. Dennis Devereaux would have
benefitted through seeking help from experienced business people who could translate his project
into a more digestible form.
Findings
A.
What was the business goal
?
The company's business goal is to put in place an expert
system for the company's future while obtaining immediate profits. The expert system is
instrumental to the company by simulating the knowledge and judgment of humans. The
company needs to realize that if one million dollars is spent developing the system, a
shortage of personnel in the underwriting department will be realized. The system can
spread the underwriting knowledge to a few experts for the whole company (Davenport,
n.d). Additionally, it can automatically perform 80% of the underwriting activity.
B.
What was the business strategy
?
Middleton Mutual's business strategy is to obtain a
quick and short profitable turnaround. Additionally, the strategy aims at avoiding
