Just choose one of the projects cases there are below. Don't use the one that requires MyMISLab's , chose the ones that do not require special software.
Complete and submit ONE Hands-on MIS Project
There is no word/length requirement. Just try to answer in a way that's clear and makes sense.
Don't use the MIS project that requires MyMISLab
Chapter 11
Hands-On MIS Projects
The projects in this section give you hands-on experience designing a knowledge portal, identifying opportunities for knowledge anagement, creating a simple expert system, and using intelligent agents to research products for sale on the web. Visit MyMISLab's Multimedia Library to access this chapter's Hands-On MIS Projects.
Management Decision Problems
1. 11-8 U.S. Pharma Corporation is headquartered in New Jersey but has research sites in Germany, France, the United Kingdom, witzerland, and Australia. Research and development of new pharmaceuticals is key to ongoing profits, and U.S. Pharma researches and tests thousands of possible drugs.
The company's researchers need to share information with others within and outside the company, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the World Health Organization, and the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations.
Also critical is access to health information sites, such as the U.S. National Library of Medicine, and to industry conferences and professional journals. Design a knowledge portal for U.S. Pharma's researchers. Include in your design specifications relevant internal systems and databases, external sources of information, and internal and external communication and collaboration tools. Design a home page for your portal.
2. 11-9 Canadian Tire is one of Canada's largest companies, with 50,000 employees and 1,100 stores and gas bars (gas stations) across Canada selling sports, leisure, home products, apparel, and financial services as well as automotive and petroleum products. The retail outlets are independently owned and operated.
Canadian Tire has been using daily mailings and thick product catalogs to inform its dealers about new products, merchandise setups, best practices, product ordering, and problem resolution, and it is looking for a better way to provide employees with human resources and administrative documents. Describe the problems created by this way of doing business and how knowledge management systems might help.
Improving Decision Making: Building a Simple Expert System for Retirement Planning
Software skills: Spreadsheet formulas and IF function or expert system tool
Business skills: Benefits eligibility determination
1. 11-10 Expert systems typically use a large number of rules. This project has been simplified to reduce the number of rules, but it will give you experience working with a series of rules to develop an application.
When employees at your company retire, they are given cash bonuses. These cash bonuses are based on the length of employment and the retiree's age. To receive a bonus, an employee must be at least 50 years of age and have worked for the company for more than five years. The following table summarizes the criteria for determining bonuses.
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LENGTH OF EMPLOYMENT
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BONUS
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<5 years
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No bonus
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5-10 years
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20 percent of current annual salary
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11-15 years
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30 percent of current annual salary
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16-20 years
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40 percent of current annual salary
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21-25 years
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50 percent of current annual salary
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26 or more years
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100 percent of current annual salary
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Using the information provided, build a simple expert system. Find a demonstration copy of an expert system software tool on the web that you can download. Alternatively, use your spreadsheet software to build the expert system. (If you are using spreadsheet software, we suggest using the IF function so you can see how rules are created.)
Improving Decision Making: Using Intelligent Agents for Comparison Shopping
Software skills: Web browser and shopping bot software
Business skills: Product evaluation and selection
1. 11-11 This project will give you experience using shopping bots to search online for products, find product information, and find the best prices and vendors.
Select a digital camera you might want to purchase, such as the Canon PowerShot SX530 or the Olympus Tough TG-4. Visit MySimon, and Google Shopping to do price comparisons for you.
Evaluate these shopping sites in terms of their ease of use, number of offerings, speed in obtaining information, thoroughness of information offered about the product and seller, and price selection. Which site or sites would you use, and why? Which camera would you select, and why? How helpful were these sites for making your decision?