CASE STUDY A

Alpha Investment Services

Operations

General Operations

Alpha Investment Services (AIS) creates technical research materials for institutional investors and individual investors. Institution investors include money managers, broker-dealers and investment advisors. The company produces 20 technical analysis publications with certain publications targeting individual investors and other publications targeting institutional investors. Custom research reports are produced only for large institutional investors. Publications and custom research reports are produced on a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and, for certain custom research reports, on a special time period basis. Information is made available to clients under a variety of media formats including computer downloads, email, Internet, fax and hardcopy reports. Hardcopy reports have become less important over the last several years and is not considered to be as time critical as information released by computer downloads, email or over the Internet. AIS does have a relatively small print shop that produces some hardcopy reports; larger hardcopy reports are externally produced by an outside professional printer. AIS has four major services: Asset Allocation, Custom Research, Equity Selection and Fixed Income. Each service performs more or less independently of one another. Custom Research accounts for approximately 50% of total profits and many of the custom research projects for institutional money managers require immediate or ondemand delivery. For all operations, the ability of AIS to deliver high quality services on a timely basis is considered to be critical to the business. Customer service and ongoing contact with customers is considered to be critical to the business. Except for internal hardcopy publications, AIS does not manufacture any item. Although there are several important clients that utilize AIS services, AIS has a well-diversified client base. AIS currently employs approximately 125 individuals. AIS operates out of two buildings with approximately 80 employees working out of the Main Building and with the remainder working out of the Auxiliary Building

Based on the Crisis Communication and the other information previously provided in case study A, consider the following

A-11.1

Identify the major controls in place and rate as Excellent, Good, Fair or Poor the ability of AIS to conduct crisis communication to employees in the following environments:

A. At work

B. At employee homes.

C. In transit or working at another location.

D. Customers, clients, subcontractors, and outside interests

A-11.2

Identify the major controls in place and rate as Excellent, Good, Fair, Poor the ability if AIS to conduct crisis communication to employees in the following situations:

A. Emergency warnings.

B. During and after a crisis.

A11.3 In order to improve communications, what changes to existing systems or new systems would you recommend?