We all know that technology has changed the way we work, the way we play and the way we live. We sometimes just don’t realize how much. Changes can be very, very subtle. We all have some sort of mobile or hand held device. Some of you have several! These devices have also changed the way we work, the way we play, the way we live. No longer do we have just portable phones or that allow voice and text. These devices do much more than just allowing us to check email. We have smart phones and tablets that operate the same as any PC. We are no longer tied to a desk! We can work anywhere, any time. These digital devices allow us to communicate instantly, anywhere, any time. Let’s take a look at the introductory case at the very beginning of Chapter 1: Shortening Lines at Disney World: Technology to the Rescue. We don’t normally think of Disney World being a high tech operation, but this amusement park is certainly cutting edge. Read this short case and respond to the following questions. Remember to write in complete sentences. 1. Describe the “command center” at Disney. 2. Explain how Disney uses “Move it! Shake it! Celebrate it!”. 3. How are information systems improving operations at Disney? 4. Give an example of two management decisions that are improved and streamlined by Disney’s information systems. 5. Disney is not in a position to expand the park and the park holds only so many people at one time. This means Disney must increase revenue by adding to the customer experience. How is Disney increasing the restaurant and food service revenues through information services? 6. What are some applications for hand held devices that Disney provides customers? 7. Assume you are a business or MIS manager at Disney World. Think of a new use or application for video, digital or a mobile device that would help Disney to increase revenue and the customer experience. Insert your answers directly under each question Shortening Lines at Disney World: Technology to the Rescue No one likes standing in line at Orlando’s Walt Disney World, least of all parents with several young children in tow. In recent years, the average Magic Kingdom visitor only had time for nine rides because of lengthy waits and crowded restaurants and walkways. Disney’s management is unhappy with these long lines as well, and is using information technology to change that experience. Disney handles over 30 million visitors each year, many of them during peak family vacation times, such as Christmas, Thanksgiving, and summer vacations. Disney has been treating crowd control as a science for a long time, and now it wants to quicken the pace even more. Customers accustomed to video games and smartphones expect entertainment to be immediately available. Disney World’s management would genuinely like to make its guests happier. In order to increase revenue at Disney’s theme parks, it must try to wring more expenditures from existing customers. So it’s definitely in Disney’s interest to in.

1. We all know that technology has changed the way we work, the
way we play and the way we live. We sometimes just don’t
realize how much. Changes can be very, very subtle. We all
have some sort of mobile or hand held device. Some of you
have several! These devices have also changed the way we
work, the way we play, the way we live. No longer do we have
just portable phones or that allow voice and text. These devices
do much more than just allowing us to check email. We have
smart phones and tablets that operate the same as any PC. We
are no longer tied to a desk! We can work anywhere, any time.
These digital devices allow us to communicate instantly,
anywhere, any time.
Let’s take a look at the introductory case at the very beginning
of Chapter 1: Shortening Lines at Disney World: Technology to
the Rescue. We don’t normally think of Disney World being a
high tech operation, but this amusement park is certainly cutting
edge. Read this short case and respond to the following
questions. Remember to write in complete sentences.
1. Describe the “command center” at Disney.
2. Explain how Disney uses “Move it! Shake it! Celebrate
it!”.
3. How are information systems improving operations at
Disney?
4. Give an example of two management decisions that are
improved and streamlined by Disney’s information systems.
5. Disney is not in a position to expand the park and the park
holds only so many people at one time. This means Disney must
increase revenue by adding to the customer experience. How is
Disney increasing the restaurant and food service revenues
through information services?
6. What are some applications for hand held devices that
Disney provides customers?
7. Assume you are a business or MIS manager at Disney
World. Think of a new use or application for video, digital or a

2. mobile device that would help Disney to increase revenue and
the customer experience.
Insert your answers directly under each question
Shortening Lines at Disney World: Technology to the Rescue
No one likes standing in line at Orlando’s Walt Disney World,
least of all parents with several young children in tow. In recent
years, the average Magic Kingdom visitor only had time for
nine rides because of lengthy waits and crowded restaurants and
walkways. Disney’s management is unhappy with these long
lines as well, and is using information technology to change that
experience.
Disney handles over 30 million visitors each year, many of them
during peak family vacation times, such as Christmas,
Thanksgiving, and summer vacations. Disney has been treating
crowd control as a science for a long time, and now it wants to
quicken the pace even more. Customers accustomed to video
games and smartphones expect entertainment to be immediately
available.
Disney World’s management would genuinely like to make its
guests happier. In order to increase revenue at Disney’s theme
parks, it must try to wring more expenditures from existing
customers. So it’s definitely in Disney’s interest to invest in
giving guests faster and better access to fun if that encourages
them to return more often. And if Disney can also increase
guests’ average number of restaurant or shop visits, this will
boost per capita spending as well.
Beneath the Cinderella Castle lies a Disney Operational
Command Center, which uses video cameras, digital park maps,
computer programs, and other tools to spot gridlock before it
forms and immediately launch countermeasures. The center’s
information systems determine ride capacity in part by
analyzing airline bookings, hotel reservations, and historic
attendance data. Satellites supply up-to-the-minute weather

3. analysis. Employees monitor flat-screen televisions displaying
various Disney attractions outlined in red, yellow, and green.
They are constantly on the lookout for ways to speed up lines or
make more efficient use of Disney facilities.
As Bob Schlinger, a writer on Disney for the Frommers.com
travel site notes, you only have so many options once the
bathtub is full. So, for example, if the outline for the Pirates of
the Caribbean ride changes from green to yellow, the center
might alert managers to launch more boats. Alternatively,
managers might choose to dispatch Captain Jack Sparrow or
Goofy to entertain people as they wait in line. Video game
stations help visitors pass the time at wait areas for rides such
as Space Mountain.
If Fantasyland is overcrowded but nearby Tomorrow land has
more room, the command center might route a miniparade called
“Move it! Shake it! Celebrate it!” into the less-crowded area to
attract guests in that direction. Other command center
technicians monitor restaurants to see if additional registers
need to be opened or if more greeters are required to hand
menus to people waiting to order. By using information
technology to improve the flow of crowds, the Operational
Command Center has managed to raise the average number of
daily rides for Disney World visitors to 10.
© Yellow Moon Photography / Alamy
Disney has started to harness mobile technology. Disney’s own
mobile application called Mobile Magic provides additional
tools for guiding visitors more efficiently, including displaying
wait times for rides and the ability to locate Disney characters,
such as Sleeping Beauty, along with directions to where they
are entertaining visitors.
Sources: Chad Storlie, “Walt Disney-Learning from the
Military,” Military.com, January 4, 2011; Jeremy Olson,
“Surviving Disney World,” Minneapolis Star-Tribune, April 4,
2011; www.disneyworld.disney.go.com, accessed September 2,
2012; and Brooks Barnes, “Disney Tackles Major Theme Park

4. Problem: Lines,” The New York Times, December 27, 2010.
The challenges facing Disney World and other theme parks
show why information systems are so essential today. There is a
limit to the number of people Disney World can handle at one
time. In order to keep increasing revenue, Disney needs to find
more efficient and productive ways to utilize its existing
facilities. In Disney’s case, this means encouraging customers
to spend more time on the premises and to make repeat visits.
The chapter-opening diagram calls attention to important points
raised by this case and this chapter. To increase revenue,
Disney management chose to use information technology to
improve the customer experience. Disney uses video cameras,
television displays, and specialized computer software to
calculate visitor capacity, identify gridlock, and launch
activities that will help re-flow crowds. In addition to reducing
wait times, Disney uses information technology to provide new
interactive services, such as video games, to guests waiting in
line, and mobile applications to help visitors navigate the theme
park more efficiently.
It is also important to note that using information technology
for crowd control has changed the way Disney World runs its
business. Disney World’s systems for managing people in lines
changed procedures for ticketing, crowd management, and
ordering food from restaurants. These changes had to be
carefully planned to make sure they enhanced service,
efficiency, and profitability.
Here are some questions to think about: How are information
systems improving operations at Disney? Give examples of two
management decisions that are facilitated by Disney’s
information systems.
Copy and paste these questions into a Word document so you
can insert your responses directly under each question.

5. You should work on this assignment as you go through the
assigned readings and chapters in your textbook. Avoid copying
directly from the text. Your responses should be in your own
words, with your own thoughts, opinions, interpretations,
examples, and conclusions.
If you take information from the text (and you will), you must
cite the book as your resource. If you take text directly from our
book, you must put this text in quotation marks and cite our
book as your resource.
Chapter 1
1. Define the term “big data.”
2. Explain how virtual meetings affect business management.
Identify one virtual meeting tools.
3. Identify two ways Management Information Systems has
enabled a global economy?
4. Businesses invest in MIS to meet six strategic goals or
objectives: operational excellence, new products and services,
customer and supplier intimacy, improved decision making,
competitive advantage and survival. Select one of these goals
and describe how MIS helps a business to meet this goal.
5. Define the term “information system.” How is “IS” broader
in scope than just Information technology?
Chapter 2
1. Business processes deal with how work is organized and
performed to provide a service or produce a product. Identify
and explain one way Management Information Systems (MIS)
helps to improve business processes.
2. Define the term “business intelligence.”
3. Customer relationship management (CRM) is critical to the
success of any organization. Define the term customer
relationship management systems.
4. Explain how social business enhances collaboration.
Chapter 3
1. MIS helps businesses to compete on different levels.
Identify two ways MIS provides competitive advantage to
companies.

6. It seems that every day we read or hear about a change in
technology – some new product or new capability. All of us
probably well remember our first desktop computer. (Some of
us may remember when a server occupied an entire room that
had to be kept dark and cold. Technology now extends far
beyond the simple PC, especially in the business world.
The changes in management information systems that affect
business can be organized into three categories or themes:
technology, management, and organizations. In technology, we
now have cloud computing, big data and mobile platforms.
Management has focused on online collaboration and social
networking, business intelligence and virtual meetings.
Organizations have focused on the social media, a
telecommuting workforce and increased business value.
If you have used XenDesktop here at ECPI, then you have used
cloud computing. We have all used some form of social media
in the last year, probably in the last few minutes. And, we all
carry around some form of mobile device. We use MIS whether
we know it or not! For this discussion forum, respond to the
following points:
1. Give an example, other than XenDesktop, of how you have
used or might use cloud computing here in school or at work.
2. How might cloud computing save a business money and
time?
3. What MIS tools allow workers to work remotely and
telecommute?
4. Identify any challenges or issues that companies might
have with workers who telecommute.
Unit 1 Discussion 2: Corporate Financial Goals

7. 2 2 unread replies. 2 2 replies.
The main goal of financial management is to maximize the
wealth of the shareholders. In simple terms, this means the goal
of any business is to use its resources efficiently while earning
the highest profits possible. Another goal of financial
management is to minimize risk. While financial managers want
to earn maximum returns, they do not want to put their company
in jeopardy.
Firms want to maximum returns at minimum risk, while
attracting capital, providing stable employment for its people
and benefitting the community. The way firms go about
reaching these goals varies with each individual company.
1. Choose a publically traded company to research. You may
use any company as long as it is publically traded and has not
already been selected by a fellow classmate. To be sure that the
company is publically traded, you can search for its "“ticker
symbol"” on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
website:
http://www.sec.gov/edgar/searchedgar/companysearch.html
(Links to an external site.). If you cannot find the ticker symbol
on this site, then the company is not publically traded in the
United States.
2. Identify the company in the title of your post. Be sure no
one else has selected this company!
3. Give a short summary of the main business operations.
4. From the Annual Report (search for this under "“Investor
Information"” on the Corporate website), record the following
information for the most recent year and the past year:
· Total Revenue (Sales)
· Net Income
· Fixed Assets
· Total Liabilities
· Profit Margin
· Return on Equity (ROE)
· Earnings per share
· Consider what issues over the last two years have impacted

8. the firm"’s financial position. Use this information to compare
the report for this current year with the previous year(s).
Generally speaking, did this company grow or decline from the
previous year? Do you believe that managers have accomplished
the goal of maximizing shareholder wealth? Explain why you
think this is so.