1. What benefits does Schaeffer hope to achieve from outsourcing its IT infrastructure?
2. Some managers have suggested a third alternative: outsource the IT infrastructure for the Reitzel division only. Which alternative do you think Schaeffer should choose, and why?
3. Why do you think so many disadvantages were raised after the task force recommendation had been developed? How could this controversy have been avoided?

Schaeffer Corporation, headquartered in the small Midwestern town of Vilonia, is a diversified manufacturer. In 2002 Schaeffer Corporation’s consolidated sales were around $2 billion and its profit after taxes was about $200 million. Schaeffer’s stock is publicly held and its value has been consistently recognized by the marketplace over the past few years.
Founded by Frederick W. Schaeffer in 1877, Schaeffer Corporation originally manufactured small farm machines, such as churns, cream separators, corn shellers, apple peelers, and the like. Frederick had one son and three daughters, and the daughters married men who joined the business: Hiram C. Colbert, George Kinzer, and Heinrich Reitzel. Each of them led the transformation of the companies into new product lines, and today Schaeffer Corporation sells very different products within three very different divisions, named he Colbert division, the Kinzer division, and the Reitzel (pronounced “rightsell”) division