The CEO’s Challenge
Assignment 1: The CEO’s Challenge
Due Week 3 and worth 150 points
You’ve just left an all-hands meeting at your company*. The CEO was very upset at the rise of shadow IT projects – a major indicator that the company’s internal information system has failed to meet its needs.
Because the current information system is inadequate, inefficient, and outdated, the CEO is inviting everyone in the organization to propose a new operational, decision support, or enterprise information system to replace it. The executives have allocated $5 million to fund the most promising idea.
This is your chance to make a difference in the company (not to mention your own career). Write your proposal as a memo that the entire C-suite will review. Include at least these points, in your own words, to be persuasive:
- Identify the main functions of your proposed information system and why they are important to the business.
- Describe what types of data your information system will hold and how data quality will be ensured.
- Explain how the old information system handles the functions you mentioned, the problems that occur, and why your information system will handle things better.
- Offer evidence of feasibility: Show that similar information systems have been built successfully and that they save more money than they cost.
The executives are busy, so keep your memo to 1-4 pages and avoid any extraneous content.
*You may use a current or former employer, but do not disclose anything confidential. Or, you can pick another organization if you are familiar with their internal (not customer-facing) information systems. You can disguise the organization and populate it with famous names. Made-up companies are problematic because of the amount of detail and realism they require.
CIS 500 – Information Systems for Decision-Making
Grading for this assignment will be based on answer quality, logic / organization of the paper, and language and writing skills, using the following rubric.
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Points: 150 |
Assignment 1: The CEO’s Challenge |
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Criteria |
Unacceptable Below 70% F |
Fair 70-79% C |
Proficient 80-89% B |
Exemplary 90-100% A |
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1. Identify the main functions of your proposed information system and why they are important to the business. Weight: 20% (30 points) |
Inadequate or no information system Limited information on the system proposed, inadequate detail Main functions and importance unclear |
Proposed an information system Somewhat identified the main functions Importance of main functions are unclear |
Proposed an original information system Identified the main functions of the system Explained the importance of each function to the business |
Explained the stylistic choices for architecture of information system Connected main functions of system to business needs and shadow IT |
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2. Describe what types of data your information system will hold and how data quality will be ensured. Weight: 25% (37.5 points) |
Inadequate description of data types Inadequate connection of data storage to the system Inadequate explanation of data quality measures |
Described data types, somewhat connected to the system Somewhat explained the data storage in system Reasonable explanation of data quality measures |
Described the data types in the system Explained how the system would hold each data type Proposed how data quality would be ensured |
Explained the system storage and interaction with data Considered the impacts of cost and maintenance on data quality |
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3. Explain how the functions you mentioned are being handled by the old information system, the problems that occur, and why your information system will handle things better. Weight: 25% (37.5 points) |
Limited description of old system, no explanation of functions Inadequate problem identification with old system Limited justification for selecting new system over the old one |
Somewhat explained functions handled by the old information system Reasonable description of problems of the old system Reasonable justification for how the new system is better than the old |
Explained how the main functions are being handled by the old information system Described the problems of the old system Justified why the new system can handle things better than the old system |
Described why inefficiencies of maintenance in the old system persist Provided options for keeping the system separate, integrating with old, or scaling up/down based on business needs |
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CIS 500 Page 2 of 3
CIS 500 – Information Systems for Decision-Making
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4. Offer evidence of feasibility: Show that similar information systems have been built successfully and that they save more money than they cost. Weight: 20% (30 points) |
Inadequate or unsuccessful system selected Limited demonstration of cost savings Inadequate defense of the new system to others |
Identified one similar, successful information system Somewhat demonstrated cost savings comparison Reasonable comparison of the new system to other systems |
Identified similar, successful information systems Demonstrated cost savings comparison Defended how the new system could operate similarly to successful systems |
Explained what makes the information system identified similar to yours Demonstrate how the new system outperforms similar systems |
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5. Clarity, persuasion, proper communication, writing mechanics, and formatting requirements Weight: 10% (15 points) |
Unclear structure, not persuasive, major grammatical errors |
Somewhat clear structure, limited persuasion, grammatical errors, language too simple or too wordy |
Clear structure, persuasive writing, minor or no grammatical errors, length and format within requirements, plain language |
No grammatical errors, plain language, organized by topic, references business needs, connects to technical specs, persuasive |
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