1. What major organizational change recently took place at MRE? What department(s) was (or were) involved? Why was the change made?
2. What are the goals of the Training and Management Systems Department?
3. Would you categorize MRE as a service industry, a manufacturer, or both? What kind of “products” does MRE “produce”? Suggest how the type of industry MRE is in affects the information systems it uses.
4. What type of organizational structure does MRE have? What are the implications of this structure for MIS?
5. Describe in a paragraph the “politics” of the Training and Management Systems Department at MRE. Who is involved, and what are some of the main issues?
6. Draw a use case diagram representing the activities of the Webster Design group at MRE when developing site and facility master plans (use the MRE Web site to obtain your basic information).

“You seem to have already made a good start at MRE. I’m glad you met Snowden Evans. As you know, you’ll be reporting directly to him during your consulting project. As his administrative assistant for the last five years I can tell you a lot about the company, but remember that there are a number of ways to find out more. You will want to interview users, observe their decision- making settings, and look at archival reports, charts, and diagrams. To do so, you can click on the phone directory to get an appointment with an interviewee, click on the building map to view the layout of the building, or click on the corporate Web site to see the functional areas and formal hierarchical relationships at MRE.