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Accounting Information SystemsCHAPTER 18INTRODUCTION TO SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT AND SYSTEMS ANALYSISSUGGESTED ANSWERS TO DISCUSSION QUESTIONS18.1To some degree, yes, companies with few IS employees should attempt to implement planning programs. This is particularly true if the company or its computer usage is growing. The extent of the planning program should be commensurate with the size of the computer facility, reliance on system information, and the potential value of the company=s system. The benefits of planning are attainable from even a small investment in planning effort. In the smallest facility, the plan may consist simply of a few pages of thoughts and projects prepared and reviewed periodically by the person in charge of the system. A smaller company will typically have less funds than a large company. Therefore, inadequate planning can be more disastrous and financially draining for small companies.18.2It is apparent from the question that the decision has already been made, so the discussion should not dwell upon the merits of the decision. The communication should be direct, so that the employees are the first to find out and do not have to suffer through rumors and uncertainty. The communication should not be delayed, in order that these employees will have sufficient time to seek other jobs. Management should also be encouraged to offer whatever assistance they are willing to provide to these employees in finding new jobs. This might include recommendations from supervisors, consideration for other job opportunities which arise in the firm, opportunities to test or train for positions in the new system, and time off for job searching during the terminal period of employment. While these actions may well be costly, they will provide benefits (cooperation, morale of remaining employees, etc.) that will likely exceed the costs.18.3The item cannot be interpreted without further information from the computer vendor. What decisions, made by which managers, are being referred to? How will the decisions be improved by the computer? Unless very specific answers are obtained to these questions, the item should be ignored in the computer acquisition decision.A computer system usually will help management make better decisions; however, these decisions do not always result in a direct cost savings. The economic feasibility study should only include costs that can be directly determined. In addition to an economic feasibility study, qualitative factors, like better decision making, should be considered. In many instances these non-quantifiable benefits may be the majority of benefits. Even though they are subjective and are surrounded by uncertainty they must be considered.18.4 Though these two concepts appear to be inconsistent, there are several policies which are consistent with both. One policy, which is quite common, is the suspension of clerical hiring during systems implementation to achieve clerical cost savings through the normal attrition of the work force. Optional early retirement programs for older employees Relocation of employees in other departments or divisions of the company Training displaced employees for positions in the new system. Applied together, these policies should reconcile the apparent inconsistency of these two concepts.18.5Because information systems span functional and divisional boundaries, many organizations (up to 60 to 70% in some studies) establish an executivelevel steering committee to plan and oversee the IS function. The committee typically consists of management from the systems department, the controller, and other management affected by the information systems function. This steering committee is responsible for the broad policies and plans needed in developing and maintaining the companys information system. Though functions vary between firms, activities include the following: Making recommendations concerning the firms strategic systems plan, systems projects, and hardware and software selection. Coordinating the development of systems projects and monitoring their progress. Reviewing the overall performance of the information systems function.The committee should not get overly involved in technical details or administration of specific projects. It should meet only when necessary to carry out its functions. Steering committees help ensure the right level of top management participation, guidance, and control of the information systems function. They also facilitate coordination and integration of information systems activities among departments and functions, thereby increasing goal congruence and reducing goal conflict.Answers on recommendations concerning membership and a chairperson will vary. The steering committee should include a cross-functional membership with managers from all areas affected by the information systems function. The chairperson is usually the chairperson of the information systems department or another influential vice-president with strong IS skills and an active interest in the IS function.18.6Many simple examples of tradeoffs between objectives may be conceived. One example is provided here for each pair of objectives given.a.the decision of how much information should be made available to a credit manager in deciding whether or not to extend credit versus the cost of providing that information.b.the decision of whether or not to implement any new internal control procedure.c.the decision of whether or not to make direct access capability available to sales personnel.d.any decision of the extent to which output information should be reported in detail or summarized.e.any decision of whether or not to implement additional internal control procedures.f.the decision of whether or not to acquire an additional file storage unit.g.the decision to replace tape file storage with disk file storage.18.7A possible solution to Jerrys problem is to install an information system that can coordinate job scheduling, track customer orders, and control product labeling. The system can also help reduce bottlenecks in the milk pasteurization and homogenization process by controlling production schedules.It appears that Jerry has conducted an initial investigation and determined that actual problems exist. Jerry now needs to hire an outside consultant or appoint some on his staff to conduct a more in-depth investigation. The purpose of this investigation is to verify the nature of the problem and to identify the needs of the customers and the users. The person conducting the investigation should interview the employees who process, bottle, and deliver the milk. These employees will be able to identify what is wrong with the current process and make suggestions for improvement. Customers should also be interviewed to find out their needs since meeting customers needs is the ultimate goal of the company. Finally, Jerry and other managers should be interviewed to get their insights about the problems and possible solutions. Interviewing from the bottom up will result in better problem identification and solutions than from the top down. Lower level employees are more likely to accept a change in the system when they were the ones who first suggested the changes.At this stage, the consultant will find interviewing techniques most useful in developing a problem statement. He will probably find observation and reviewing whatever documentation is available to also be of some use. A customer questionnaire may also produce useful information.18-5 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice HallAccounting Information Systems 18.8Questions that will aid in understanding the concerns about product quality include: What is it, specifically, that customers are complaining about? Has anything happened to change product quality during the past few years? Is poor product quality the result of: Poor quality materials? Inadequate product specifications? If so, can specifications be altered to improve quality? Low employee morale? Changes in production procedures? (Expand to include other possibilities for the poor quality) Does the company employ a total quality management (TQM) program? Would a TQM program be beneficial?Questions that will aid in understanding the bad debt problem include: Has the company recently changed its credit policy? If so, why? Are certain customer groups more delinquent than others? What collection procedures does the company employ? Are they adequate? Are early payment discounts and late payment penalties adequate? Are current economic conditions affecting delinquency rates?Questions that will aid in understanding the cost problem include: What production scheduling system does the company employ? Are delays in receiving materials occurring? What are the current policies to handle the receipt of raw materials? What is the reason for the overtime problem? Is it increasing sales, understaffed lines, inefficient workers, etc? Is rework the result of poor employee performance, lower quality materials, a poor production process, etc.? What economic conditions are affecting production costs?18.9a.Observation of procedures, interviews with employees, and documentation reviews (of document or control flowcharts, for example) will all aid in understanding purchase requisition procedures. Each type of procedure will identify different aspects of the internal controls in the purchasing department.b.An in-depth interview with the controller is the one way to determine her information needs. However, managers often dont know what information they need and they tend to say they need the information they are now getting and little else. Therefore the interviewer/analyst must understand the managers function and the role of that function in the organization. Interviewing is an efficient fact-finding technique and it allows a prepared and informed interviewer to ask why or probing questions to better identify the controllers needs. Reviewing the reports that the controller currently receives is also a good way to identify her needs. The interviewer should also ask the controller what information she would like to receive that she is not now receiving.c.If the cash procedures are documented, a review of that documentation will help understand how it is supposed to work. The best way to understand how cash disbursement procedures are actually performed is to interview employees and to observe them and then prepare flowcharts and notes.d.By using a questionnaire the opinions of many different employees can be gathered. Questionnaires also produce information in a standardized format. A questionnaire allows employees to think about the questions before giving answers and it is more objective than other data gathering methods. Anonymous questionnaires will encourage employees to give honest answers. Questionnaires produce a breadth but not a depth of information. To go beyond the questions in the questionnaire, interviews should be held with selected employees. The purpose of the interviews is to probe deeper to find out why employees feel as they do. e.Interviews with employees and examination of documents will provide good initial sources of information to investigate the problem. Documents will show which accounts are uncollectible and help with an understanding of the companys collection policies. Interviews will help determine why uncollectible accounts have increased.SUGGESTED ANSWERS TO THE PROBLEMS18.1a.Employee reaction to the installation of a new information system is often diverse and unpredictable. In many cases, employees must make significant behavioral adjustments to ensure the future success of the new system. These adjustments go well beyond mere surface anxieties such as fear of the unknown. Adverse behavior may result for several reasons. Items to be discussed include: Is Chais adverse behavior due to a need to protect her ego? Is she afraid she could not use the computer properly and would look foolish? Was Chai excluded from the decision to automate the office? As a result, does she feel resentment and refuse to use a system she wasnt asked to help design? Is she fearful because computers sometimes cause people to overcommunicate? (i.e., with capabilities such as electronic mail, executives and employees can always be reached anywhere and any time, making it difficult to get away from all the interruptions that are part of the daily grind.) Is she worried that the computer will impose its own structure on the organization? Managers and professionals have their own way of filing, doling out assignments, and reading mail. The computer can considerably narrow that freedom causing the professional to view the computer as structure and constraint. Did she have an adverse experience with previous changes to her work environment and as a result is suspicious of any new system? Chai may have some legitimate concerns and we should not dismiss those concerns out of hand.b.To ensure the success of the new system it is critical that Chai, as a member of top management, fully support the new system and demand the same support from all company employees. This can best be achieved through the following methods: Provide training, in private if necessary, allowing executives to protect their egos and learn the capabilities of the system that will assist them in their daily routines. Maintain open lines of communication to ensure that individuals affected by the system are active in decision making and planning processes and to keep them fully informed and updated concerning systems changes. Clarify the purpose of the system and emphasize the personal benefits that can be derived from learning and using the new system. Managers and executives are often interested in the systems ability to reduce operating costs, streamline operations, and reduce personnel. Humanize the system to facilitate the idea of sharing control. Users want to feel in control and are often reluctant to admit that computer systems tell them what to do. Include Chai in subsequent computer decisions. Her enthusiasm for the system will likely increase if her input is included in the changes. 18.2This is an actual case with the facts presented as accurately as possible. The objective of the case is to familiarize students with the behavioral issues surrounding a systems change. In some parts of the problem, it is less important to determine the right answer (there may not be one) as it is to discuss the issues. Important points to cover are:a.The company contributed to the initial failure in the following ways: Clearly the company did not involve Mary in the systems change. They did not ask for her thoughts, ideas, or input. Evidently, she was not informed of the change until the computer was moved into her office and the furniture rearranged to make room for it. It would be easy for her to get the feeling she was not a very valued employee of the company. The company did not explain why the system was being implemented, what the company hoped to achieve by installing the system, and why the system was so important to the companys operations. The company did not explain the likely changes, if any, that would take place with Marys job and responsibilities. Mary was not given any assurance that she would not be replaced by the system. The company did not alleviate Marys fear by reassuring her that training would be provided to help her adapt to the new system and her duties. Running two systems longer than it took to test system reliability was a mistake, as was having Dave do the work.b.Fewer problems would have been encountered if the company had followed a few simple steps. Some of these are listed below. Mary should have been informed of the change to take place, the purpose of the change, and why it was important to the company. Through discussing these areas with Mary, the company could have created an attitude of trust and cooperation and set an example for what they expected of Mary. The company should have allowed Mary to make suggestions concerning the system and what would help her do her job more efficiently. Mary should be reassured that she has control over the system and not the other way around and that the system will help her perform her job more effectively. Perhaps education prior to the systems implementation would have helped Mary adapt to the system more readily.c.The questions asked in part C are answered in order. Mary should have at least been informed as soon as the decision was made to purchase the system. Preferably, Mary should have been informed at the very start when the company began thinking about the computer system. This would have allowed Mary to give valuable input and to be involved throughout the entire process.18-15 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall Because Mary was only a bookkeeper and did not fully understand the necessity of the system, she should not have been allowed to make the final decision on acquiring the system. However, if Mary had been involved from the beginning it is possible that she would have been in favor of the system. Even though she should not make the final decision, if her input had been considered it would have helped her accept the decision better. An effort should have been made to persuade her of the systems viability. If that is unsuccessful then consideration should be given to relocating her within the company. If both previous plans fail then termination is the only alternative available. Mary should have been given an opportunity for greater input. The company should have solicited her suggestions concerning how the system would best assist her with her job and how the system could achieve success in general terms. This participation would have likely increased Marys self-esteem and security with the new system and changed her whole outlook about the system.d.There are advantages and disadvantages to each of the four options. Students will come to different conclusions based on their background. It is important to bring out the advantages and disadvantages of each approach. A few of these concerns are shown below. This problem works well when the instructor determines which students support which alternative and plays them off against each other.1. Firing can have the following advantages: The company can hire a more qualified individual who can perform the job more efficiently. The company can rid itself of an uncooperative employee and replace her with someone with a more positive attitude. Firing can have the following disadvantages: The company sends messages to other employees and perhaps the community in general that they dont care about their employees as much as they do about profits and operations. This may significantly lower company morale. The firm may have higher training and hiring costs. The person hired may cost more and bring unknown problems to the job. 2. Transferring employees can have the following advantages: The company is less likely to communicate that it does not care for its employees. The transferred person has experience with the company and may be of greater value to the company in another area than a newly hired person. Also, training and hiring costs remain constant.Transferring can have the following disadvantages: Employees may resent being transferred and not perform well in their n
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