Cases Assignment-section E-brm

Dear All, Happy Diwali Greetings. The following two case analyses and design have to be submitted by you on or before 27th November. Those failing to submit will be given zero.

CASE 1 (3 marks) Harvard Cooperative Society From his office window overlooking the main floor of the Harvard Cooperative Society, CEO Jerry Murphy can glance down and see customers shopping. They make their way through the narrow aisles of the crowded department store, picking up a sweatshirt here, trying on a baseball cap there, checking out the endless array of merchandise that bears the Harvard University insignia. Watching Murphy, you can well imagine the Coop's founders, who started the store in 1882, peering through the tiny windowpanes to keep an eye on the shop floor. Was the Harvard Square store attracting steady traffic? Were the college students buying enough books and supplies for the Coop to make a profit? Back then, it was tough to answer those questions precisely. The owners had to watch and wait, relying only on their gut feelings to know how things were going from minute to minute. Now, more than a hundred years later, Murphy can tell you, down to the last stockkeeping unit, how he's doing at any given moment. His window on the business is the PC that sits on his desk. All day long it delivers up-to-the-minute, easy-to-read electronic reports on what's selling and what's not, which items are running low in inventory and which have fallen short of forecast. In a matter of seconds, the computer can report gross margins for any product or supplier, and Murphy can decide whether the margins are fat enough to justify keeping the supplier or product on board. "We were in the 1800s, and we had to move ahead," he says of the $55 million business. Questions What is a decision support system? What advantages does a decision support system have for a small business like the Harvard Cooperative Society? How would the decision support system of a small business like the Harvard Cooperative Society differ from that of a major corporation? Briefly outline the components of the Harvard Cooperative Society's decision support system.

CASE 2

(7 marks)

Tulsa’s Central Business District Developing a Research Project When Bob Griffin, vice president of Williams Realty Corporation, asked the Metropolitan Tulsa Chamber of Commerce to meet with him, he had spent much time thinking how downtown Tulsa was changing. Only a year before, construction had begun on a $2.6 million central pedestrian mall system. Mayor Robert LaFortune said that the carrying out of the downtown revitalization project reflected a solid "partnership of public and private interests .... We have to see great things emerge both in private development and in general use of this facility by all Tulsans." The project called for improving Main Street from Third to Sixth Streets and Fifth Street from Boston to Denver, including landscaping, a multilevel fountain at Fifth and Main, and brick paving. Throughout the mall there would be rest areas, drinking fountains, and other facilities, such as telephone booths and a postal service center. The concept of the central pedestrian system was expected to strengthen the Main Street segment as the prime rental area in downtown Tulsa. NEW WILLIAMS CENTER COMPLEX One of the most obvious symbols of what was happening downtown was the 52-story Bank of Oklahoma (BOK) Tower, the focal point of the new Tulsa skyline. The Williams Companies had constructed the $18 million tower, the state's tallest building, and office space was beginning to be leased. This was the first of several Williams Center projects to be completed. The Williams Center was planned as a $50 million complex located in the heart of downtown, consisting of a 52-story office building, a hotel, a shopping center, and a performing arts center. Twenty-five thousand square feet would be given over to food service establishments. There would be a cafeteria and several fast-food places on the first floor; on the second floor, overlooking a skating rink from the west end, would be a restaurant that would likely specialize in crepes. A first-rate restaurant would be on the third, or plaza, level-the same level as Bank of Oklahoma's main banking facilities. In addition to casual shoppers, the retail area was expected to draw from 7,000 people working in the BOK Tower plus 500 guests of the hotel. PLANNING FOR REVITALIZATION Bob Griffin was responsible for the development of the Williams Center. He had asked two members of the Metropolitan Tulsa Chamber of Commerce-Don Wolfe, manager of community relations, and John Piercey, manager of research-to meet with him in his office. The Williams Company was incorporated on February 3, 1949, as the Williams Brothers Company, the successor to an oil-related business established in 1908. Its headquarters were in Tulsa. The company was primarily engaged in the

chemical fertilizer, energy, and metals businesses. In its chemical fertilizer business, the company manufactured and marketed chemical fertilizer materials worldwide (Agrico Chemical Company). Its energy-related activities included operating the largest independently owned pipeline system in the United States (Williams Pipeline Company), retailing and wholesaling liquefied petroleum gas (Williams Energy Company), exploring for and developing oil and gas properties (Williams Exploration Company), and operating an intrastate natural gas pipeline in Louisiana. In its metals business the company purchased, processed, and distributed steel and other metals, principally on the East Coast (Edgecomb Steel Company) and in the Midwest (Steel Sales Corporation). The company's activities also included investing in short-term paper, marketable securities, and equity interests. The Williams Realty Corporation's primary purpose was to develop a major area of downtown Tulsa. The company had a rich history. In 1908 two young brothers were sent by their employer, a Kansas City contractor, to begin a highway paving job. When the bond issue for this project was delayed, the contractor decided to move on-but not David R. and S. Miller Williams, Jr. The brothers persuaded their employer to accept their note for the equipment and supplies and agreed to complete the city's project piecemeal as funds permitted. Thus the Williams Brothers Company was founded. The company's first pipeline venture, in 1915, established Williams Brothers as the principal builder in this new field. Ever since, the name Williams has been synonymous with pipelines. Williams Brothers expanded beyond Canada and the United States in the late 1930s. An important milestone occurred when the company purchased the assets of the 6,200-mile Great Lakes Pipe Line Company in 1966 and subsequently expanded this system to provide more complete coverage of its upper Midwest distribution area. The Williams Companies consisted of the founding organization, Williams Pipeline, Williams Energy, Williams Exploration Company, Agrico Fertilizer Company, and Williams Realty. WilLIAMS REALTY WORKS WITH THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE Bob Griffin's chief responsibility as vice president of Williams Realty was to sell the idea that downtown Tulsa was revitalizing and the Williams Center in particular would be a good place to locate offices and a shopping center. After the usual informal chitchat about goings-on in the city, Griffin addressed the group. "I've found out many things since the Williams Companies made the decision to develop the Williams Center. One is that we need to know more about the central business district. As I speak to prospective occupants of our space, one question almost universally asked is "How many people work in the downtown area?" I have been able to do some rough computations by estimating the average number of workers per square foot and then multiplying that figure times our estimate of the square footage in the downtown area. That is the answer I give people. Nevertheless, we do not have a reliable estimate of how many people work in the downtown area. Knowing how many people work here is only the tip of the information iceberg. There are a number of other things I'd like to know about the downtown area,"

John Piercey commented, "You know, Bob, the future of Tulsa's central business district has been a topic of concern for many years. Its present conditions and its future are perceived to be an indication of the vitality and future of the entire city. Just a few years ago, Tulsa's CBD was in a state of decline. At that time there was every indication that Tulsa's downtown was going the way of those in so many other cities. But the Chamber of Commerce and Downtown Tulsa Unlimited started revitalization plans, hoping to reverse the declining trend. Many major private investments have been made in the last few years. But most of these efforts have been made on the basis of intuitive feelings about the CBD. I think you're right. The lack of timely information is hampering industrial decision making and commercial marketing efforts in the downtown area. If the Chamber of Commerce is going to help the central business district, we have to eliminate the information gap about the central business district. We need information on (1) the quantity and nature of the downtown population, (2) commercial enterprise (and vacancy) inventory, (3) business's opinions about the CBD, and (4) shoppers' opinions about the CBD." Don Wolfe suggested that many downtown firms might be interested in the type of information that the Williams Companies desired. He said, "I believe the Chamber of Commerce should develop a statement of information needs and determine our research objectives; then we can see if any of the firms in the central business district would be willing to support some research." John Piercey added, "I think this is going to be an extremely big task. The chamber's research department is not going to be able to collect such massive amounts of data. Perhaps we can utilize the services of an outside consultant, perhaps one of the universities in the area." Don Wolfe said, "Yes, I believe we need someone who could help us out substantially in defining our research objectives and collection of the data." Bob Griffin said, "Fine, gentlemen, I think we've made an important decision." The Chamber of Commerce decided that the project would require extensive fieldwork in four interrelated areas: # A survey of the central business district employers and employees (characteristics, work habits, and attitudes) . # A survey of commercial establishments and offstreet parking facilities (type, size, and location). # A survey of commercial vacancies (concentrating on ground-floor space, but with some consideration given to multistory commercial buildings). # An on-the-street sample survey of shopping attitudes and preferences (which would also address attitudes toward working and living downtown). Questions Do you agree with the Chamber of Commerce's research objectives and proposed methods of data collection? Why or why not? Briefly outline a research proposal by listing the appropriate techniques for collection of these data.