Chapter Case: Hudson Kayak Adventures

Tasks

1. Develop a business profile for Hudson Kayak Adventures. Create a separate section for each of the following: HKAs business activities, organization, resources, customers, and potential for Web-based marketing.

2. List HKAs main functions and business processes. Draw a model of an HKA kayak rental, including possible events and results.

3. What types of information systems does HKA use? Do these systems support its current and future business objectives? Why or why not? What would you recommend?

4. From an object-oriented viewpoint, HKA treats kayaks as a class. Based on the background information provided, what are some properties of kayak objects?

Continuing Case: Personal Trainer, Inc.

Personal Trainer, Inc. owns and operates fitness centers in a dozen Midwestern cities. The centers have done well, and the company is planning an international expansion by opening a new supercenter in the Toronto area.

Background

Cassia Umi, president, heads Personal Trainers management team. Three managers report to her at the firms Chicago headquarters Janet McDonald, manager, finance; Tai Tranh, manager, sales, and marketing; and Reed Curry, manager, operations. The managers who run the 12 existing centers all report to Reed. Cassia wants the new supercenter to emphasize a wide variety of personal services and special programs for members. If the supercenter approach is successful, it will become the model for Personal Trainers future growth. Cassia personally selected Gray Lewis, a manager with three years of fitness center experience, to run the new facility.

The new supercenter will feature a large exercise area with state-of-the-art equipment, a swimming pool, a sporting goods shop, a health food store, and a snack bar. In addition, the center will offer childcare with special programs for various ages, a teen center, and a computer caf. Cassia also wants members to have online access to customized training programs and progress reports.

Personal Trainer currently uses BumbleBee, a popular accounting package, to manage its receivables, payables, and general ledger. Membership lists and word processing are handled with Microsoft Office products.

Cassia believes the new supercenter will require additional data management capability, and she decided to hire Patterson and Wilder, an IT consulting firm, to help Personal Trainer develop an information system for the new operation. The firm assigned Susan Park, an experienced consultant, to work with the Personal Trainer team. Susans first task was to learn more about business operations at the new center, so she requested a meeting with Gray. After some small talk, the discussion went like this:

Susan: Tell me about your plans for the new operation. I am especially interested in what kind of information management you will need.

Gray: Cassia thinks that we will need more information support because of the size and complexity of

the new operation. To tell the truth, I am not so sure. We have had no problem with BumbleBee at

the other centers, and I do not really want to reinvent the wheel.

Susan: Maybe we should start by looking at the similarities and the differences between the new

center and the existing ones.

Gray: Okay, lets do that. First of all, we offer the same basic services everywhere. That includes the

exercise equipment, a pool, and, in most centers, a snack bar. Some centers also sell sporting goods, and one offers child care but not child-fitness programs. It is true that weve never put all this together under one roof. And, I admit, weve never offered online access. To be honest, Im not absolutely sure what Cassia has in mind when she talks about 24/7 Web-based access. One more feature we plan to set up two levels of membership lets call them silver and gold for now. Silver members can use all the basic services, but will pay additional fees

for some special programs, such as child fitness. Gold members will have unlimited use of all services.

Susan: So, with all this going on, wouldnt an overall system make your job easier?

Gray: Yes, but I dont know where to start.

Susan: Gray, thats why Im here. Ill work with you and the rest of the team to come up with a solution that supports your business.

Gray: Sounds good to me. When can we start?

Susan: Lets get together first thing tomorrow. Bring along an organization chart and think about how

you plan to run the new facility. Well try to build a model of the new operation so we can

identify the business functions. When we know what the functions are, well know what kind of

information is needed or generated by each function. That will be our starting point.

Tasks

1. Use the background information to create a business profile for Personal Trainer. Be sure to indicate areas where more information will be needed.

2. Each new supercenter service represents a business function, which is composed of one or more business processes. Using the background information and the conversation between Susan and Gray, list the business functions and the processes with each function.

3. Based on what you know, should Personal Trainer consider any of the following systems:

ERP, transaction processing, business support, knowledge management, or user productivity? Why or why not?

4. What opportunities might Personal Trainer have for Web-based B2C transactions in the future? What about B2B?

Capstone Case: New Century Wellness Group

New Century Wellness Group offers a holistic approach to health care with an emphasis on preventive medicine as well as traditional medical care. In your role as an IT consultant, you will help New Century develop a new information system.

Background

Ten years ago, internal medicine specialists Timothy Jones and Dolores Garcia decided to combine their individual practices in Brea, California, to form New Century Wellness Group. They wanted to create a clinic that would concentrate on preventive medicine and fitness, as well as traditional medical care. New Century has competition from other health care providers, but no other clinic offers the same range of services.

New Centurys practice has grown and now includes four primary care physicians, one nurse practitioner, four physical therapists, one registered nutritionist, eight nurses, and eight support staff people. The clinic currently has a patient base of 8,000 patients from 325 different employers, many of which provide insurance coverage for employee wellness and health maintenance.

Currently, New Century accepts insurance plans from 25 licensed health insurance providers. New Century is also considering opening another location, near a new medical center.