ERIC EJ1144021: An Integrative Framework for the Teaching of Information Management in a Business Context

2013·0.53 MB·English

by  ERIC

An Integrative Framework for the
Teaching of Information Management in a
Business Context
Richard M. Kesner
Mike Zack
Bruce Russell
Martin Dias
Northeastern University
D’Amore-McKim School of Business
Boston, Massachusetts
ABSTRACT
As professional, academic and accrediting bodies have periodically reviewed the need for and con-
tent of foundational college curricula in information management, a broad-based consensus has
emerged as to what is to be covered in the standard management information systems (MIS) course.
Within U.S. business schools today, there is little debate over the need for MIS courses and the topics
addressed therein. On the other hand, those who teach information management continue to face
challenges in connecting their sometimes highly-technical subject matter to the rest of the business
school curriculum and more importantly in winning over their students to the fact that MIS plays
a central role in the successful operations and competitive standing of all organizations. This lack
of connection manifests itself very clearly in the serious drop witnessed over recent years in business
school student interest in MIS as a major area of study and as a post-graduation career option.
The purpose of this article is to present a framework for thinking about and teaching MIS that in
the view of the authors better integrates the learnings of a MIS offering with the rest of the business
school curriculum. The framework includes business needs, information requirements, and infor-
mation systems elements. The objectives of this framework are three fold:
1. to more accurately relate the processes and technologies of information management to the opera-
tional, managerial, and strategic needs of the enterprise.
2. to provide the student with a lens through which to better appreciate the connections between the
effective deployment and use of MIS and the realization of the organization’s goals and objec-
tives.
3. to better enable the team of instructors who typically teach these courses within a business school
program to provide a uniform and substantive MIS learning experience for their students while
at the same time allowing individual instructors flexibility in their coverage of course materials.
To these ends, the authors provide a historical context for the creation of their integrative learning
and teaching model, an explication of the model itself, and then several illustrations of the applica-
tion of this model in the teaching of representative business cases. We also outline course, student,
and instructor-related benefits of employing the framework.
undergraduate business programs must offer at
INTRODUCTION
least a single introductory course in informa-
The accrediting body for U.S. business schools tion management (Stephens and O’Hara, 2001;
(the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools Foltz, O’Hara, and Wise 2004; Gorgone, et al.,
of Business - AACSB) has mandated that all 2006). Given the critical role that information
Journal of Learning in Higher Education
1
Richard M. Kesner, Mike Zack, Bruce Russell, & Martin Dias
management plays in organizations of all sizes might educators more effectively associate the
and descriptions, there is little debate on this meaning, role, and importance of information
point. Over the years, various professional and management with the rest of the business school
academic bodies have studied and offered rec- curriculum, and as a desired outcome draw more
ommendations as to what such a course should students into information management-related
include (Ives, et al., 2002; Cater-Steel, et al., careers?
2004; Beachboard and Parker, 2005; Andriole,
In contemplating these issues, Professors Mike
2006; Gorgone, et al., 2006; Wang, 2007, Kes-
Zack, Bruce Russell and Richard Kesner, a fac-
ner 2008). More recently studies of employer and
ulty team at Northeastern University’s (NEU)
post-graduate student assessments of these cur-
D’Amore-McKim School of Business (DMSB),
ricular designs have emphasized the need for a
concluded that what was needed in MIS teaching
greater focus on the development of student data
was a learning framework that better connected
analysis, project management, and interpersonal
information management thinking with the
skills but have not otherwise seriously challenged
greater business goals and objectives of the enter-
these course content models (Romm and Pliskin,
prise. Such a framework would draw heavily on
2000; Sirias, 2002; McGann and Cahill, 2005;
the substantial work of others, and in particular
Johnson, Bartholomew, and Miller, 2006; and
that of Michael Porter, Michael Treacy, and Fred
Wang and Wang 2011). Similarly, even a sum-
Wiersema (Porter, 1985; Treacy and Wiersema,
mary review of MIS textbook offerings will con-
1997), while providing a lens through which
firm that the authors of these volumes pursue a
to better understand the complex relationships
fairly consistent scope of coverage, supplement-
among a business’ goals, its information needs,
ing traditional textbook materials with videos,
and its choices among an array of MIS solutions.
interactive case studies, and automated learning
This lens would then serve as the integrative ele-
exercises (Kroenke, 2010; Laudon and Laudon,
ment for viewing and filtering knowledge about
2010; O’Brien and Marakas, 2010; Rainer and
organizations and their MIS practices. Further-
Cegielski, 2012).
more, given the practical needs of Northeastern
These textbooks are not without their critics and other university programs to offer multiple
(Changchit, Cutshall and Gonsalves, 2006; iterations of the standard MIS course, some of
Chen, 2006; Mallach, 2006; Harper, Lamb and which are necessarily taught by adjunct instruc-
Buffington, 2008), but overall they represent a tors, this integrative framework could also serve
clear consensus as to what a standard business as a unifying element in the delivery of a com-
school MIS course ought to include. Although mon learning experience across the multiple sec-
the high level topic challenges to information tions of a MIS course offering.
management course relevance, content, and de-
In the article that follows, the authors chronicle
sign are largely behind us, MIS educators still
the evolution and current form of the North-
face any number of formidable barriers in the de-
eastern MIS Integrative Learning Framework as
livery of their subject matter to students.
employed in the teaching of its business school’s
The first and perhaps the most formidable of MIS courses. (See Exhibit 1). After document-
these is that - despite the technological savvy of ing the framework itself, the authors apply the
current students - student appreciation of the Framework in the teaching of four representative
information management resources and tools at MIS case studies drawn from Northeastern’s in-
their disposal is rather limited. They are engaged troductory course – MISM 2301. We conclude
but not enlightened users of MIS. For many of with an assessment of teaching outcomes in em-
these students, the subject of MIS signifies a ploying the Framework.
technical field that does not connect with many
of their other business school classes and even less
AN INTEGRATIVE LEARNING
with their personal interests and career plans. In-
FRAMEWORK FOR
deed the precipitous decline of U.S. university
INFORMATION MANAGEMENT
students majoring in information management-
related fields has caused concern among profes- Turn to any established information manage-
sional associations and employers alike (Abra- ment textbook and you will find any number of
ham, et al., 2006; Chrysler and Van Auken, frameworks for the study of MIS content. The
2006; Smith, Salaway, and Caruso, 2009). How authors of this article take no exception to any
2 Spring 2013 (Volume 9 Issue 1)
An Integrative Framework for the Teaching of Information Management in a Business Context
Exhibit 1
The MIS Integrated Framework

C. Information
A. Business Drives B. Information Drives
Processing
Drivers/ Requirements
Infrastructure and
Needs/Results 1. Operations and 
Applications
1. Operational  Transaction 
1. Business 
Excellence  Alignment Processing  Alignment
Process 
2. Customer  2. Management 
Integration 
Intimacy  and Control 
2. Information 
3. Product  3. Innovation, 
Technology  
Leadership  Strategy and  3. People and 
4. (some  Enables Corporate  Enables
Organization 
combination)  Learning 
structure 
Business Results/Lessons Learned/Innovation
Source: Zack, Michael, Russell, Bruce, and Kesner, Richard M. (2008). Revised by Kesner (2011).
Northeastern University, D’Amore-McKim School of Business, MISM 2301: Introduction to In-
formation Management in the Enterprise.
of these approaches other than to suggest that introductory information management course,
many of these frameworks tend to be more heav- the MIS faculty have settled on the authoring
ily weighted towards the consideration of infor- and use of their own customized case studies
mation technology than they are towards busi- – about twenty-five in all – that consider a di-
ness processes and the operational, managerial, verse spectrum of enterprise types and business
and innovation needs of the enterprise (Kroenke, contexts. In so doing, we have joined other col-
2010; Laudon and Laudon, 2010; O’Brien and leagues who bring their own real-world business
Marakas, 2010; Rainer and Cegielski, 2012). In experiences to bear in the teaching of MIS. (Fox,
the same vein, these published works are replete 2002; Green, 2002; David and Comeau, 2004;
with case studies that attempt to connect real- Kumar, 2006; Kesner and Russell, 2008; Lucas,
world situations to textbook content. Many of et al., 2009) The NEU/DMSB library of home-
these stories pertain to large, global enterprises grown case studies covers well known organiza-
and to their respective successes in the deploy- tions (e.g., Progressive Insurance, Amazon.com,
ment of IT systems. Some of these cases are dat- and Boeing). The case study library also includes
ed; others misrepresent what actually happened; lesser known not-for-profit organizations (e.g.,
and still others do not necessarily align with Young Audiences, Inc., and Partners Health-
the particulars of the course content addressed Care), retailers and wholesalers (e.g., PepsiAmer-
in the textbook narrative but most of all they ics), and global engineering-oriented enterprises
do not sufficiently bring the real world into the (e.g., Brose Automotive, and CDM/Smith, Inc).
classroom (Cannon, et al., 2004; Mallach, 2006;
Though each case study in question is tailored to
Janicki, Fischetti and Burns, 2007; Abrahams,
align with the subject for that class session (e.g.
2010; Ajendla 2011; Han and Rienzo, 2011;
computer software, decision support systems, in-
Hepner and Swanson, 2011).
formation security, et al.), the revised course still
After considering the costs and benefits of us- lacked an integrating framework that brought all
ing some standard textbook for Northeastern’s of the subject matter together. To address this
Journal of Learning in Higher Education 3
Richard M. Kesner, Mike Zack, Bruce Russell, & Martin Dias
major shortcoming, a team of NEU/CBA facul- advertising firms, consulting practices, and of
ty that included, Mike Zack, Bruce Russell, and course institutions of higher education.
Richard Kesner, came together to devise a heuris-
In applying the Treacy/Wiersema to informa-
tic tool that would close this gap. It was from this
tion management, the NEU team considered the
effort in 2007 that the current MIS Integrative
relationship between an organization’s particular
Learning Framework was born.
competitive competency (i.e. either operational
The framework itself draws on several semi- excellence, customer intimacy, product leader-
nal works in the literature as well as the exten- ship, or some blend thereof) and its information
sive professional experiences of its authors, all needs. These needs occur at three levels, namely
of whom worked in industry before joining the the information required to transact (operate)
ranks of academe. First among our inspirations with the customer, to manage and control opera-
was provided by Michael Porter through his val- tions, and to innovate and transform the organi-
ue chain model, (Porter, 1985) which speaks to zation for competitive advantage. We found that
the integrated nature of core business processes it was relatively easy to get undergraduate stu-
within the enterprise and therefore the inter- dents to identify the competitive competency of
relatedness of the information used and gener- an enterprise featured in one of our case studies,
ated by these processes. Porter also identifies but more challenging to get them to differentiate
information technology as one of the supporting the ways that an organization employed informa-
structures of the modern organization and the tion at the three levels mentioned above to help
pathway through which vital information pass- realize that competitive competency. And yet, it
es from one core process to another. The Porter was the student’s ability to connect the strategic
model has stood the test of time and remains and business needs of the organization to its informa-
excellent lens through which to study the design tion requirements that we saw as a critical take-
and operation of complex enterprises. away from our introduction to information man-
agement course.
If Porter’s work speaks to the need to connect the
functions and information of business operations Indeed, by characterizing a tier approach to in-
to one another, Michael Treacy and Fred Wi- formation use within the enterprise, we encour-
ersema’s work on the discipline of market leaders age our students to better understand the enter-
serves as yet another key stimulant in the creation prise at three levels of information processing
of our integrative model. (Treacy and Wiersema, needs: transacting, managing, and innovating.
1997) In their book on market leadership, Treacy
1. Transacting: How does the organiza-
and Wiersema posit that successful enterprises
tion operate? What processes do its
focus on one of three core competencies: opera-
tional excellence, customer intimacy, or product workers execute to create value? What
leadership. An operationally excellent business is information do they need to succeed in
one that focuses on low-cost, error-free transac- these operational processes? Here we
tion process in the delivery of products and ser- stress the use of information to oper-
vices to its customers. Wal-Mart, Amazon.com, ate the company more efficiently and
Bank of America, and Progressive Insurance are
effectively.  To operate effectively and
examples of companies who thrive in this space.
efficiently individual workers must have
By comparison, customer intimate organizations access to information that enables them
focus on anticipating the individual and personal to fulfill customer requests accurately,
needs of the customer, and effectively providing comprehensively, and in real-time. Be-
very tailored and customized products and ser-
fore information systems, it would have
vices to meet those needs. In this category one
been impossible to gather this compre-
would place the services of doctors, lawyers, fi-
hensive information along these lines in
nancial planners, architects, and boutique cloth-
a timely manner.
iers. The final category of the Treacy/Wiersema
model includes those firms that emphasize prod- 2. Managing: How does the organization
uct or service innovation as their competitive
maintain control? What processes do
objective, a grouping that would include such
managers engage to assess corporate
organizations as Apple and 3M, but also most
value creation and performance? What
4 Spring 2013 (Volume 9 Issue 1)
An Integrative Framework for the Teaching of Information Management in a Business Context
information do they need to succeed in With these connections firmly established, case
these tactical processes? Here we explore study discussion in class may next move towards
a consideration of how the required information
the use of information to inform how
is collected, aggregated, analyzed, and shared
we are doing relative to our expectations. 
across the enterprise. Here the emphasis is first
To maintain control, managers need to
on the organization’s core business processes and
know whether the organization is per-
then upon the enabling information processing
forming better or worse than expected
infrastructure (people, processes and IT) that
(“are we doing things right”).  Manag- complement those core business processes. This
ers can then take appropriate action to approach lends itself towards emphasizing the
correct any problems. Before informa- need for alignment between business processes
tion systems it would have been almost and their supporting application-specific soft-
impossible to get this kind of integrated ware and a number of other key learnings that are
not at all apparent to students with only limited
information in time to take effective cor-
corporate work experience, including:
rective action.
• a core business process may be supported
3. Innovating (corporate learning, trans-
by any number of application-specific
forming and competing): How does the
software products;
organization learn? What processes do
• these software products clearly align with
leaders initiate to identify new streams
one or more components of the process;
of value? What information do leaders
need to succeed in these transforma- • more often than not, these information
tional (or strategic) processes? Here we systems must past data to one another as
emphasize the use of information to part of the business process that they en-
able; and
provide feedback regarding the results
of research and experimentation (“are • any given information system may serve
we doing the right things”).  To facilitate the information needs of the enterprise
learning and transformation requires at any or all three levels, i.e. transacting,
the ability to measure the outcomes of managing, and innovating.
experiments rapidly and continually While these observations may be all too apparent
- and this can be done efficiently and to our readers, we found that they were revela-
effectively only with use of information tions to our students.
systems.
In aligning particular corporate business process-
Identifying and understanding these connec- es and their associated information systems with
tions does not come easily to the undergraduate the three tiers of enterprise information process-
student whose exposure to the real working world ing needs, we complete our integrative model as
is somewhat limited. Through the repetitive use depicted in Exhibit 1. As drawn, the MIS Inte-
of the framework across numerous business case grative Learning Framework represents a closed
studies over the duration of the academic term, loop of activities. From right to left, the organi-
the student develops a clearer understanding of zation’s business needs drive its information re-
the connections between the goals of the business quirements - that in turn drive investments in
and its information needs, as well as the ability to business process design, information technology,
apply our model in any business setting that he/ people, and organizational structures. We recog-
she might encounter in the future. Note too that nize the role of environmental influences on or-
up to this point our approach has not taken up ganizations, but include those influences in the
the question of the role of specific information business demands of the organization and the
technologies within the enterprise. Instead our organization’s strategic response.
conversation with students has focused on the
From left to right, the MIS Integrative Learning
requirements of the business and its uses of infor-
Framework indicates that effective processes, in-
mation more generally.
formation systems and so forth enable the collec-
tion, manipulation and sharing of information
Journal of Learning in Higher Education 5
Richard M. Kesner, Mike Zack, Bruce Russell, & Martin Dias
that in turn enables the business to achieve its taking MISM 2301 are second or third year stu-
goals and objectives. When all of these moving dents, only 30-35% percent of whom have had
pieces are properly integrated, then organiza- their first co-operative experience working for an
tional alignment is expected. In the absence of off-campus employer prior to taking the course.
the right choices regarding business demands, in- The four cases below help highlight the four ben-
formation requirements, or information systems efits noted above (parsimony, internal validity,
investments, then misalignment and corporate external validity, and flexible conformity). The
dysfunction is expected. To reinforce the fact cases are listed below in accordance with their
that this framework reflects dynamic activities, sequence in the MISM 2301 course schedule in
we added a flow at the bottom labeled “business order to highlight the progressive level of sophis-
results and lessons learned.” The framework does tication in student learning that the framework
not assume that business processes are autonomic facilitates.
(i.e., not self-correcting), but that organizational
leadership will refocus goals and refine business
The Case of Progressive Insurance
processes according to information gathered at
A Study in the Use of Computer Hardware
the transacting, managing, and innovating levels.
Introduction: The Progressive Insurance Case is
As a teaching approach the MIS Integrative
employed in MISM 2301 as the case study for the
Learning Framework offers four benefits. The
class session concerning computer hardware and
first benefit involves parsimony. Like its predeces-
its business-related benefits. As such it is one of
sor Porter and Treacy/Wiersema models, it takes
the early cases where the framework is employed
a complex set of organizational dynamics and
as part of the teaching process. This case was
summarizes them - while at the same time em-
adapted by Prof. Mike Zack from the “The Check
phasizing the most important elements of those
is in the Car,” Business 2.0, article July 2003, pp.
interactions. The second benefit involves inter-
44-45. It was subsequently revised by Professor
nal validity. For our introductory MIS course,
Richard M. Kesner for use in the standard course
whose main themes are alignment, integration
template used by MISM 2301 instructors.
and innovation within the enterprise, the frame-
work fits perfectly and reflects all three of these The Case Study: If you‘ve ever been in a car acci-
themes. The third benefit involves external valid- dent, you know how it feels to wait for your claim
ity. As a template, the framework may be readily payment to arrive. Insurance companies love to
applied to each and every case study in the course hold the money as long as possible to keep every
without forcing the issue or seeming repetitive penny of interest. Progressive Insurance is the no-
– a point the authors will demonstrate below table exception to the industry rule. It tries to pay
as we employ the framework in the teaching of as quickly as it can – by getting claims adjusters
four different case studies. The fourth and last out of the office and onto the street where they
benefit involves flexible conformity. The frame- can interact with clients. The logic behind such
work serves as a mechanism to ensure that our a radical notion? Happier customers and more
part-time faculty members cover a common body productive claims reps will more than make up
of content - while still affording individuality in for the lost interest revenue.
addressing the particulars of the course syllabus.
At Progressive, that radical notion is based on its
“immediate response vehicles” (IRV’s) - a fleet of
APPLYING THE INTEGRATIVE SUVs loaded with enough communications gear
LEARNING FRAMEWORK – laptops, printers, and cell phones – to allow ad-
justers to settle claims right at the scene of the
In this section, the authors employ our MIS In-
accident. That’s a big improvement over the sce-
tegrative Learning Framework in the teaching
nario that still pervades the industry, namely: to
of four representative case studies that appear
wait a week or two to see the car and make hand
in NEU/DMSB MISM 2301, An Introduction
written notes, snap photos, drive back to the of-
to Information Management in the Enterprise.
fice, type it all into the mainframe computer, and
This course is typically offered through twenty-
issue a request for a check.
four class sections each academic year, reaching
approximately one thousand business school In 1993, the IRV initiative involved just 10 ad-
undergraduates annually. Most of the students justers in Florida. By 2003 more than 18,000
6 Spring 2013 (Volume 9 Issue 1)
An Integrative Framework for the Teaching of Information Management in a Business Context
mobile claims reps shared a fleet of 2,600 IRVs. Progressive’s business goals and objectives. Given
Not only did the program help improve custom- the early positioning of this case in the course syl-
er retention by 20% last year; it has helped Pro- labus, the instructor typically leads the students
gressive shave labor costs. Progressive’s mobile through this exercise but because the case itself is
adjusters can handle nearly twice the workload so accessible, students are already building their
they could a decade ago. IRVs have also helped skills with and appreciation of the framework as
revenues climb from $1.8 billion to more than $9 a learning tool.
billion during that period.
A wireless laptop provides around the clock ac- The Case of Brose Automotive
cess to Progressive’s mainframe computer. An A Study in the Use of Enterprise Systems
adjuster can type a claim while sitting in a body
Introduction: The Brose Automotive Case is em-
shop and go over it with the policy-holder right
ployed in MISM 2301 in the first class session
on the screen. The laptops also let agents use fax
devoted to the use of enterprise software within
machines around the country as printers when a
a global enterprise. This case initially drew upon
satellite office needs a hard copy instead of e-mail.
a 2004 Brose news release www.brose.de/en/pub/
Agents spend hours every day talking to clients, company. It was subsequently revised in 2010
auto shops, and other adjusters on their cell by Professor Richard M. Kesner, drawing upon
phones, but it’s the two-way radio feature that www.brose.firmenverzeichnis, for use in the stan-
gets the most use. Dispatchers monitor agents’ dard course template used by MISM 2301 in-
locations, sending the closest adjuster to inves- structors.
tigate a scene. Digital cameras let agents snap as
The Case Study: The Brose Group supplies win-
many pictures as they need, upload them to Pro-
dows, doors, seat adjusters, and related products
gressive’s computers for storage, and share them
for more than 40 auto brands. Major customers
with managers if necessary. Some adjusters even
include General Motors, Ford, DaimlerChrys-
film short videos that are used to document traf-
ler, BMW, Porsche, Volkswagen, Toyota, and
fic patterns at accident prone intersections. Each
Honda. Founded as an auto and aircraft parts
IRV includes an ink-jet printer to spit out paper
manufacturer in Berlin in 1908, the company to-
copies of estimates, claims, and, of course, checks.
day has facilities in more than 48 locations in 25
The Application of the MIS Integrative Learning different countries and including a world-wide
Framework: In teaching the Progressive Insur- workforce of 14,000 employees. Revenues for
ance case, we employ our framework in several 2009 exceeded 2.6 billion euros.
different but related ways. First we use it to intro-
In the 1990s, Brose enjoyed rapid growth- some
duce the company to the class by asking students
of it coming from the acquisition of existing com-
to identify Progressive’s key business drivers and
panies and some of it coming from the organic ex-
success factors. We then ask them to identify the
pansion of Brose’s own facilities. As it grew Brose
information needs of the company in terms of the
inherited or acquired a wide range of functional
three processing levels listed in the middle box of
software applications; including accounting, hu-
the framework. With this conversation as con-
man resources, manufacturing, and supply chain
text, we have the class walk through the various
management applications. But as their business
steps in Progressive’s IRV-enabled claims process,
grew and became both more complex and more
identifying among other things the information
interdependent, Brose Group management
needs and the enabling computer hardware em-
found that existing information systems were
ployed in each process step.
unable to support the company’s emerging opera-
We then return to the framework (see Exhibit  2) tional, control, and planning/innovation needs.
where we review the connection between the Too many different information systems meant
deployment of well-integrated, low-cost com- a lack of standardization and hampered commu-
puter hardware in the IRV and the IT-enabled nication among suppliers, plants, and customers.
collection of information at the transactional, Brose decided to standardize operations on R/3,
managerial and innovational levels within the an ERP application licensed by SAP that sup-
enterprise’s claims process. Our goal here is to get ports more than a thousand different business
our students to associate the aligned investment processes. There were distinct advantages for the
in computer hardware with the realizations of corporation in making this choice:
Journal of Learning in Higher Education 7
Richard M. Kesner, Mike Zack, Bruce Russell, & Martin Dias
Exhibit 2
MIS Integrative Learning Framework and the Progressive Insurance Case

Strategic Information Information
Impact Processing Processing
Drive Drives
Impact Infrastructure
•
•   •
Alignment
Alignment    
Better   • Operations • Data/  
  product or   • Informati on
• service   Management • Hardware
• and Control Software
Lower c ost Integrated 
product or
Innovatio n • Busine ss
service
Enable and Corporate Enables Processes
Learning People
The Impact of Computer Hardware on
Levels of Information Use:
Core Process Information Management
• Fewer steps/less direct data entry
• Less labor/more efficient
Operations • Less paper/no mail
• More convenient
• More effective dispatching of agents
• Goal = correct probability of accidents  premium
revenue > claims = expenses
Management and control • Compare actual vs. expected claims in more timely
manner
• Better data means better control/less fraud
• Learn more about characteristics of high/low risk
Innovation and corporate learning classes
• Improve underwriting/actuarial models
Source: Zack, Michael (2010). Revised by Richard M. Kesner (2012). Northeastern University,
D’Amore-McKim School of Business, MISM 2301: Introduction to Information Management in
the Enterprise.
1. The SAP suite of enterprise software 3. The software suite also allowed Brose to
applications aligned nicely with Brose accumulate comprehensive and accurate
business processes – although in a data about key processes and business
number of instances Brose reengineered performance that was subsequently
and standardized established business employed to learn about organizational
processes to make better use of SAP weaknesses and best practices (leading to
ERP capabilities. process improvements and better enter-
prise business forecasting and long-term
2. The SAP package afforded better
planning).
oversight and measure of Brose business
processes through real-time report and Brose’s conversion of its core information man-
process value chain integration. agement systems to the SAP ERP system has
contributed to dramatic improvements in enter-
8 Spring 2013 (Volume 9 Issue 1)
An Integrative Framework for the Teaching of Information Management in a Business Context
prise-wide productivity. In 1994, Brose achieved tion systems. The point here was to get the class
sales of 541 million euros with 2,900 employees, to appreciate the interconnectedness of these
or 186,000 euros per employee. Ten years later, in various functions within Brose and their need to
2004, Brose attained sales of 2 billion euros with share information. Once the description of each
8,200 employees, or 240,000 euros per employee. role was detailed on the chalk board in class, it
In terms of expenses, over it lifetime the ERP was easy for all to see the connections. The high
adoption also lowered the total cost of informa- level learning from this particular conversation is
tion management and information technology summarized below (and in Exhibit 3).
investments. And in 2009, despite a world-wide
• To succeed Brose needed to ensure the
economic downturn and the nearly doubling of
alignment of its information systems with
its size, the Brose Group has maintained these
particular business functions and the core
impressive numbers.
needs of the organization.
In terms of the formidable challenge in imple-
• It was critical that Brose operations and
menting SAP across Brose, the Brose/SAP con-
management could access and share infor-
sulting team decided on a pilot approach. The
mation across global geographies.
first installation was conducted at a new plant
in Curitiba, Brazil. The team constructed the • It was also critical that Brose integrated
implementation to be used as a prototype for in- its business processes and therefore the
stallations at additional plants. Developing the information required for/generated by
first implementation was no small feat, because these processes.
it involved information systems for sales and
• The deployment of single (standardized)
distribution, materials management, production
information systems across numerous
planning, quality management, and financial ac-
company functions and departments en-
counting and control. Once the initial system was
abled significant improvements in process
operational at the Curitiba plant, the prototype
coordination and information sharing.
was rolled out to additional facilities. The second
implementation, in Puebla, Mexico, required just • These same systems provided the mea-
6 months for first operational capability, and the surement mechanisms needed for process
next implementation in Meerane, Germany, was improvement, optimization of resources,
operational in just 19 weeks. and risk management.
The Application of the MIS Integrative Learning • Finally, the data generated by these
Framework: As with many of the case studies em- systems provided the means for near- and
ployed in MISM 2301, our students are obliged long-term forecasting of product and
to read the Brose case in advance of the session process costs so critical to the success of
and to answer a series of questions, including Brose’s contract negotiations with custom-
what does Brose do and what factors are critical ers.
to its success. They are also asked about the role
The reader will hopefully agree that these are
of information resources in enabling operations,
fairly sophisticated observations coming from
management, and competitive advantage at
students without any real hands-on experience
Brose. This preparatory work facilitates the ini-
within a global supply-chain-driven enterprise.
tial case discussion that focused on relating what
Our framework clearly contributed to their abil-
the class knew about Brose to the three elements
ity to draw these and similar conclusions from a
represented in the framework.
facilitated discussion of the case study.
At the next level of analysis, the class drilled
down on particular roles within the Brose orga-
The Case of CDM/Smith, Inc.
nization- including those of the chief financial of-
A Study in the Use of
ficer, the directors of procurement and logistics, a
Knowledge Management Systems
typical factory manager, and the vice president
of human resources. For each of these roles, the Introduction: The CDM/Smith Case serves sev-
instructor asked the class to identify the respon- eral purposes within the MISM 2301 curricu-
sibilities of each job, the information required to lum. It introduces students to a different type
perform that role, and the Brose source informa- of business – an engineering/consulting firm. It
Journal of Learning in Higher Education 9
Richard M. Kesner, Mike Zack, Bruce Russell, & Martin Dias
Exhibit 3
The MIS Integrative Learning Framework and the Brose Automotive Case

Strategic Information Information
Impact Processing Processing
Drive Drives
• Impact Infrastructure
•   •
On time, Alignment
Alignment    
error free   • Operations • Data/  
• contract   • Informati on
fulfillment
  Management • Hardware
Higher
• and Control Software
margins  of Integrated 
• return per Innovatio n • Busine ss
contract   Enable and Corporate Enables Processes
Customer
Learning People
retention
The Impact of Computer Enterprise Information Systems on
Levels of Information Use:
Core Process Information Management
• Timely acquisition of raw materials
• Optimal allocation and set-up of appropriate factory
space
Operations • Timely delivery of product that meets the strict
design specifications of the contract
• Proactive sales and contracting processes in anticipa-
tion of new model years
• Forecasting raw materials, labor and overhead costs to
affect accurate contract pricing
• Optimize factory, warehousing, and distribution
Management and control
capabilities
• Managing and coordinating global process quality
and cost controls
• Share material sciences innovations with clients
• Exploit intellectual capital and manufacturing/ sup-
Innovation and corporate learning
ply chain process improvements to offer new prod-
ucts/services
Source: Kesner, Richard M. (2012). Northeastern University, D’Amore-McKim School of Business,
MISM 2301: Introduction to Information Management in the Enterprise.
provides a context for the consideration of a topic ciation with CDM, Inc. (then Camp, Dress, and
that is somewhat remote from the undergradu- McKee, Inc.) goes back to 1992. In consultation
ate student experience, namely: the process of with this global environmental engineering firm,
knowledge management. Also, it nicely reinforc- he assisted in the evolution of their MIS organi-
es the need for the system alignment, integration, zation (Kesner 1996). Since then he has worked
and innovation to strengthen the overall perfor- directly with CDM/Smith on numerous deci-
mance of the enterprise. Professor Kesner’s asso- sion support and knowledge management proj-
10 Spring 2013 (Volume 9 Issue 1)