Case Study : Analysis & Evaluation
Due date: 15-Apr-2015
Length: 2000
Task
A fast food chain of restaurants selling burgers, chicken and soft drinks is re-thinking how it will operate in the near future. Currently over the counter orders are slow and this is often due to customers making a slow decision on the food/drink they want to order or customers having a last-minute change of mind and having the order changed. Increasing staffing costs and training are also an issue. The decisions made by the executive board are:
a) to reduce the number of over counter orders and this be replaced by ATM-like machines installed on the restaurant premises
b) to also install ATM-like order machines all over town so people could pre-order and pay for their order and then collect their meal at a restaurant of their choice later.
Question 1 (1000 words)
Write a well presented report for the above outlining the business operation. Do not use any trademarked restaurant name in your report. Provide three recommendations that are well substantiated with journal literature and referenced correctly. (You may use the reasons above or use your own that supports this change)
Question 2 (1000 words)
Provide an alternative to the above suggestion (of ATM-like machines) to improve delivery options.
Provide suggestions into improving business service/operation offerings such as customer feedback, mobile ordering, etc, substantiated with current literature.
Assessment item 3
Critique in Info Systems & Info Technology
Due date: 11-May-2015
Length: 2500
Task
Write a business report based on the following:
Sheltex is the merging of two very popular petrol service stations in Australia. The merging of these two very large chains has caused a problem. Their traditional proximity to each other (previously for competition) is now a non-issue. Senior management has finalised on the following decisions:
Service stations nearby each other (defined as 1km apart) will be converted to :
OPTION 1: One station selling certain fuels such as E10 and RON95 and the other station selling the other fuel: RON98 and Diesel.
OPTION 2: One station to continue selling the entire range of fuel and the other station converting solely to be a small supermarket, taking advantage of the short term parking space available (where pumps were previously)
To prevent customer confusion, only one option will be selected throughout Australia. No hybrid solution will be adopted such as Option 1 in New South Wales and Option 2 in Victoria.
Write a business report outlining the above case, stating assumptions you make. Provide critique into the management decisions substantiating with reference to literature. In your report, make the difference between Information Systems (IS) and Information Technology (IT) issues and how it will affect customer choice, continued patronage, etc. [Note that other service stations still exist in the market.] Suggest how to attract new customers (from competitors) into these new stores and any other new business opportunities that may arise with such a set up (a car maintenance facility, tyre and battery change, short term child care and other small businesses). All these should be substantiated with references to IS and IT literature.
Optional: You may also take on the issue of stations that are further than 1km apart and how you would operate these stations.