Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
CAREER EXERCISES
1.
Organizations can use traditional, project, virtual, and
other organizational structures. For the career of your
choice, describe which organizational structure or struc-
tures are likely to be used and how computers and infor-
mation systems can help you communicate and work with
others in this structure.
2.
Pick the five best companies for your career. Describe the
quality of the products and services offered by each com-
pany. Are the best companies always the ones with the
highest quality products and services?
CASE STUDIES
The system also allows Volvo Cars Belgium to easily
collect sales and service data and apply standardized perfor-
mance metrics across the entire dealer network. This data is
passed on to Volvo headquarters where it is used to target
dealerships that need improvement and reward dealerships
that excel.
Volvo Cars Belgium's new integrated information system
illustrates the emphasis that the company places on cus-
tomer service. The time and investment in the new system has
paid off, with customer-approval ratings increasing for the
first time in years.
You can often gauge the role of information systems within a
business by evaluating how the chief information officer (CIO),
or head of information systems, interacts professionally with
the president, chief executive officer (CEO), and other high-
ranking decision makers. At Volvo Cars Belgium, the com-
pany's Brussels-based subsidiary, the head of information
systems, Michelangelo Adamo, who goes by the title “IT
supervisor,” reports directly to the customer service man-
ager. This relationship is unique since most individuals in
Michelangelo's position would report to the CEO, president,
or even chief operating officer (COO) or chief financial
officer (CFO).
The relationship of Volvo's IT supervisor to the customer
service manager indicates Volvo's strong emphasis on cus-
tomer service as a primary goal of the business. It also
suggests a belief that information systems should always be
designed in a manner that provides additional service to the
customer. While Michelangelo is the IT supervisor for the 65-
dealer network, his ultimate goal is to sell more cars, and to
do so, he needs to make and keep customers happy. Consider
the following example of customer service-driven information
systems.
Recently, Volvo Cars Belgium completed a massive infor-
mation system implementation that connects the 65 Belgium
Volvo dealers over a common network, and to Volvo head-
quarters in Goteborg, Sweden. The overarching goal of the
project was to improve customer service. Through the new
system, Volvo Cars Belgium is able to track a single car
through its entire lifecycle; from the moment the order is
placed, to delivery, to after-sale maintenance and customer
service. This allows Volvo to ensure that customers get the
right service at the right time, regardless of what dealership
they visit. The system also speeds up repairs by allowing a
dealership to order parts for a vehicle from Volvo suppliers at
the same time the service appointment is made.
Discussion Questions
1.
Compare how the goals of information systems may differ
if driven by the CEO, CIO, customer service, or equally by
all business areas.
2.
How did joining the dealerships with a common data
network help Volvo Cars Belgium improve customer
satisfaction?
Critical Thinking Questions
1.
What other information systems could assist an auto
dealer in improving customer service?
2.
How can an auto dealer judge customer satisfaction, and
how can information systems be used to compile an over-
all customer-approval rating for a dealership?
SOURCES:
Briody, Dan, “How SOA Boosts Customer Service,” CIO Insight,
March 7, 2007,
www.cioinsight.com/article2/0,1540,2104339,00.asp.
Volvo
Cars Belgium Web site,
www.volvocars.
be, accessed December 27, 2007.
Johnson & Johnson is the world's most “comprehensive and
broadly based manufacturer of health care products, as well
as a provider of related services, for the consumer, pharma-
ceutical, and medical devices and diagnostic markets”
