PROJECT #2 -- Zebat Corporation Case
Located in Chicago, Illinois, the Zebat Corporation is the largest chain manufacturer in
the state. The company manufactures a variety of chains, ranging from those used on bicycles to those used on ship anchors.
The company is known throughout the Chicago area as being one of the better companies in
which to work. Because of its favourable reputation, the company has been able to use walk-ins and unsolicited applications
as its only recruiting sources. The personnel manager believed until recently that walk-ins and unsolicited applications
yielded results comparable to other recruiting sources. An increasing number of department heads are now complaining
that they have had to hire individuals whose qualifications do not exactly match the position requirements.
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Is the exlusive use of walk-ins and unsolicited applicants likely to be responsible for
producing the situation about which the department heads complain? Explain.
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Identify the negative aspects of using only walk-ins and unsolicited applications.
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What other recruiting sources might the company investigate?
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Explain how the company might assess the effectiveness of the other recruitng sources
it tries.
If the words or terms used in the
above case are unfamiliar to you, please look up their meanings from a good dictionary first. You must also read Chapter
7 thoroughly.
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Project #1 is purposely left on this page for future reference.
PROJECT #1 -- Identifying System Concept in
a College Registration System.
After a class discussion of the main concepts found in administrative office systems,
your instructor asks you to observe the operating procedures of a "real-world" organization in order to understand better
the functions of office systems. As a practical and timely way of completing the assignment, you have selected the registration
system of your college as you are about to complete your registration for five three-hour courses for your next and last semester
in college.
After obtaining the apparent approval of your adviser, you take the required registration
form to the registrar's office to complete your computerized registration. The assistant registrar (A/R) takes your
form, keys the information, and obtains feedback information on the computer screen. Shortly thereafter, this conversation
takes place:
A/R: I'm sorry, but Advanced Cost Accounting 455 and
Management of Change and Conflict 499 are both closed.
You: But these are required courses for my major.
If I don't complete these courses by the end of the next semester, I'll have to stay in school an additional semester.
Isn't there anything I can do -- maybe put my name on a waiting list?
A/R: I'm sorry. All I do here is operate the
computer and tell you whether you are registered or not. The registrar has told me to tell students with this problem
to contact their department advisers or check with the heads of the departments concerned. Of course, if you want to
go higher, you can always appeal your case to the dean of the college. Maybe the department heads will waive the course
requirements for you. By the way, I noticed that your adviser failed to initial the five courses listed on your schedule,
so they aren't officially approved. You'll have to get these initialed before I can complete your registration on the
computer.
Feeling frustrated and angry, you leave the registrar's office.
1. What is the systems structure (from total
system to subsystems) involved in this administrative office system?
2. What specific controls are built into such
a system? Using as a guide the general systems model, construct a registration model that includes all the phases of
this operating system. Please refer to Figure 4-5 (page 88 -- 1996 Edition of Keeling & Kallaus) or
Figure 19-3 (page 504 -- 1984 Edition of Keeling & Kallaus).
3. How are human beings and human relationships
an integral part of the system(s) issues raised here?