BackgroundThompson Packaging is a family$-$run business based in Rhode Island. ThompsonPackaging specializes in the production of customized packaging materials formanufacturers, in particular the jewelry industry. In addition to standard packagingmaterials such as boxes and tubes, Thompson Packaging produces unusual displaypackaging materials. Thompson Packaging originated in response to a niche market forthe jewelry manufacturing sector that was once a very vital part of the Rhode Islandeconomy.With the shrinking of the jewelry manufacturing sector in Rhode Island, ThompsonPackaging made a concerted effort to expand their market to other manufacturing sectors$,$first in Rhode Island, and then in the broader southern New England region. The earlyefforts included increased advertising, a presence at more trade shows, and an increase inthe sales force, with an emphasis on cold calls to potential customers. This strategyworked in the $80$s and into the mid$-90$s$.$ Growth stagnated after the mid$-90$s$.$In $2009,$ the next generation of Thompsons joined the company with the addition of JuliaThompson as the vice president of Thompson Packaging. Julia Thompson, a graduate ofthe business school at the University of Rhode Island, is full of ideas for bringingThompson Packaging into the $21$st century and expanding the customer base to thenational arena. She and her father, George Thompson, president of Thompson Packaging,have different ideas about the paths to follow to ensure the fiscal health of the company.Although both agree that the customer base needs expansion, they disagree on how largethis expansion should be$.$ Julia also wants to put an information system in place that canprovide a seamless, efficient, and user$-$friendly environment for their business, with aWeb$-$based component for customers to place and track orders. Up until now, the salesand office staff has been using a series of spreadsheets with macros for taking orders,generating order details for production, and generating billing. Recently the financialdepartment has moved to a software package that handles accounts receivable andaccounts payable, and has expansion capabilities. George understands and can work withspreadsheets, but anything beyond that demonstrated to him has received a negativeresponse, because of his limited comfort level with technology. He also is concernedabout the impact that an information system could have on his workforce, some of whomhave been at the company longer than he has, and most of whom have limited knowledgeof computers. The actual production of the product has been computerized, and George ishesitant to go much further with IT$.$ He is in favor of adding additional salespeople, andexpanding the market along the eastern seaboard.Julia wants to see Thompson Packaging moving toward an online presence and a nationalmarket. She is interested in exploring the possibility of reducing the traditional sales forceand introducing a Web presence that provides information about products and allowspotential customers to use online applets to try out virtual designs.John McClean, the director of sales, is concerned about the direction that Julia isinterested in exploring. He has been with the company since day one, and supportsGeorge Thompsons ideas for increasing sales by expanding the sales force and thegeographical target area. He does acknowledge that there is support from sales people forthe introduction of an information system, and that his hesitancy is influenced largely byhis discomfort with technology. He also acknowledges that customers have expressedfrustration with the time needed to get information for them, because quotes often canrequire turnaround time of a day or more.Anna McNally, the director of finance, would like to see a more integrated solution forfollowing orders from quotes through delivery and billing. She points out that with themultiple solutions currently being used for the various components of orders, errors canbe introduced at several points of the process, whenever information moves from onesolution to another.Dennis Martin, the director of operations, is happy with the actual computerizedproduction process, even though it was implemented several years ago and has not beenupdated. He is concerned with the fact that the link between the spreadsheets used togather the order data and the system that controls the actual production of the packagingallows errors to be introduced, because the link is not automated. The result of this hasbeen some production runs that have been incorrect due to human error. Dennis does notwant to see a change in the production process itself, but if the software they are using tocontrol the machinery can be updated to allow for automatic linking between sales andproduction, he would be supportive.George and Julia have decided to bring in a systems analyst to evaluate their businesssituation and whether or not implementing an IT solution for some or all of their businessneeds make sense. George has decided that he will have Julia be the main contact personfor this, because he does not have the background he feels is necessary to make informeddecisions in a timely fashion. They hired Robert Hanover, a systems analyst who does alot of work for small scale manufacturers.Julia, George, John, Anna, Dennis, and Robert sit down to discuss the business, and mostnotably the areas that Julia feels could benefit most from an IT system.Julia: Robert, I think that the most important issue for our company is coming up with asolution for the fragmented nature of the process that follows orders through fromplacement to completion. We currently have different solutions in place for estimatingorders, taking orders, producing the packaging, tracking the packaging through theproduction and delivery process, and billing the customer. Each one of these sub$-$processes is separate and distinct, and much of the information that follows an order fromstart to finish has to be entered multiple times along the way. We have to come up with asolution that is more efficient for both the company and the customer.John: Well, you know that I am not technology$-$savvy, but I am hearing from my salesforce that we need to be doing something. Sales reps are frustrated that customers canteasily check on orders, or get estimates, without working with the sales rep or someone atthe home office. They are being told that many other companies provide them with thecapability to get estimates and check on orders themselves through some computer$-$basedsystem. Customers seem to be much more self$-$sufficient, and in more of a hurry nowthan they used to be$.$ Our rep$-$dependent system is putting us at a disadvantage.Anna: Im quite happy with my new software that is handling accounts receivable andaccounts payable. My concern right now is that billing still is being generated outside ofthis software, and moving bill info over to accounts receivable requires several steps toprepare and export the information. Each step has the potential to introduce error becauseit is dependent on human intervention. Why cant we move this information over usingan automated process that removes the human element, and therefore the errors?Dennis: Im in the same boat as Anna. Im quite happy with my production system, and Idont want to see that changed. My concern is the link between production and sales,because of the potential for error to be introduced. I know that the vendor who sold us theproduction system has called a couple of times about upgrades, but we have neverpursued this. Perhaps this might be the time to find out more, within the context of a newIS?George: You all know where I stand on this. We built this company with good people,and I do not want to replace people with computers. Is that what would happen if webrought in one of these information systems? I want this company to continue to takecare of its employees, even if that means that we grow a little less. I dont want to seejobs on the chopping block.After the meeting, Julia asked Robert to put together in writing his impressions from themeeting. She is interested in formalizing the goals of the company, planning out how tomeet these goals, and addressing some of the reservations that George and John haveabout introducing an IS at Thompson Packaging. Robert put together a memo for Juliadetailing the need for strategic planning and describing the stages of preliminary systemsinvestigations.Assignment$1.$ Create a risk breakdown structure $($RBS$)$ chart for the above scenario. Referencethe slides in Week $2,$ to remember what is in an RBS$.$ Use the following headingsfor your chart: Organizational; Technological; Security; Investment; Leadership;Communications; Plans; Resources. $(10$ Marks$)2.$ Determine the risks $($if any$)$ in each of the categories based on the scenario andconversations in this case study. Please identify and describe at least $10$ Risks.$($Not every category requires an identified risk, and no more than $3$ risks identifiedper category$).(20$ Marks$)$