. DQ1 Tools of Organizational Change   Select one of the following tools: the nine steps in Ackerman and Anderson’s roadmap for change, Cummings and Worley’s five dimensions of leading and managing change, or the three components of organizational change.  Explain how a leader could use this tool in guiding an organizational change.  Review several of your peers’ posts.  Respond to two peers who did not choose the same tool as you.  Discuss the similarities and differences between the tools.  Your initial post should be at least 200 words in length.  Support your claims with examples from required material(s) and/or other scholarly resources, and properly cite any references. Respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts by Day 7. DQ2 Changes at the Top Using at least one resource from the Ashford University Library, or a reputable online source, explain what impact you think the loss of Steve Jobs has, and will have, on Apple's primary stakeholder groups: customers, employees, and investors.  In what ways do you think Tim Cook’s leadership might change Apple?  Review several of your peers’ posts.  Discuss any similar or opposing perspectives you have, with at least two of your peers.  Take care to be professional and polite even if your beliefs or viewpoints Assignment To complete the following assignment, go to this week's Assignment link in the left navigation. Change Model Assignment.  Imagine that you are an executive for XYZ, Inc., a high-end retail chain that sells luxury watches, jewelry, and hand bags.  You’ve just been put in charge of the company’s first international expansion, opening a store in Shanghai, China.  This will be a short-term, small-scale change for the organization.  After one year, you will be expected to begin opening additional stores in Brazil, Russia, India, and China (also known as the BRIC countries).  This will be a long-term, large-scale change. In 3 - 5 pages, explain which change model you would follow for the short-term change and which you would follow for the long-term change. Provide rationale for your decision and discuss the effects that these changes would have on the employees, managers, and executives within the organization. Include at least three references and follow standard APA formatting for your paper. ...

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Information technology
Jeffrey L. Ellis
Argosy University Online
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 1
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Introduction
The analysis of Alpha books is centered on
stake holder and ownership
membership to financial group
business dealership
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 2
Company acquisition changes the face of the company and the
operations of the company. Similarly, when a company stands
on its own, the operations and internal systems change. As we
shall learn in succeeding sections, the changes also affected the
Information systems at Alpha books.
Beginning as a division of Macmillan, Alpha book has grown to
stand on its own and becoming a member of the Penguin group.
It is widely known for its production of the Complete Idiot’s
Guides. One of the key elements of the success story of Alpha
Books is its unique Information systems. In this paper, we
analyze the impact of information systems to the operations of
Alpha books and how it can be made better (Alpha Books). The

2. various aspects of IT management and the divisions within the
IT department at Alpha books are analyzed through topical
questions.
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organization’s current and past use of information systems
There has been change of hands from
Macmillan administration to Alpha Books administration
From Pearson to Penguin
These changes have led to change in the Information
systems at Alpha Books. The changes include from information
systems operation as a branch to operations as a stand alone
company.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 3
The information systems discussed in this section include the
company website, inventory control system, payroll system and
management systems among others.
There has not been much change from in the information
technologies at Alpha books since it moved to Penguin in 2003.
However, that change itself is a significant step that indeed
changed the face of the information systems at Alpha books.
While a division of Macmillan, Alpha books operated at the
discretion of the parent company. The organization did not
have a stand alone data base and the DSS was directly linked to
Macmillan (Alpha Books). The sales at that moment were
under Person Group and marketing was done under the same.
The only systems that were maintained form the Alpha books
departments were routine maintenance, preparation of payroll
for its staff and inventory control (Lucey, 2004).
Currently, Alpha books has its own database that is only
connected to Penguin group. The sales can be undertaken either
from Penguin or from its website. All of its operations have

3. now been incorporated and the DSS is a stand alone.
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impact on efficiency and operations
The efficiency level has changed in the
number of files being catered for in the new systems
Time required to carry out functions
Reduced decisions to be made and also
independence
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 4
The changes that have been evidenced and the current status of
the ICT at Alpha Books have a great impact on both efficiency
and operations. One, there is a difference on the operations of
Person group from that at Penguin group. While penguin
operates on its own, it is owned by shareholders. Thus there is
a limitation of coverage since Penguin just like Alpha books
operates mainly in New York, NY. This is one of the changes
that the operations of Alpha books have to face. The
information technology at Alpha books which includes the
marketing branch covers as far as the bordering states with New
York (Shajahan, 2009).
Changing from a division of Macmillan to stand on its own
increased the efficiency at the decision making level. The DSS
at Alpha books has a relatively less work load to cover and this
makes the time taken to operate a decision less (Alpha Books).
On the other hand, the use of Website helps Alpha books in its
agenda of going national and eventually Global.
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impact on decision making and profitability
This section explains
Number of decisions made by the systems
How Information systems impact labor requirements

4. How the systems help in accurately calculating and reporting
ratios
Production of financial reports using Information systems
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 5
The DSS at Alpha books as noted earlier in this paper has a
lesser work load as compared to the DSS previously at
Macmillan. The DSS covers a wide range of activities;
inventory management, payroll system, and time management
(Shajahan, 2009). The management at Alpha Books have been
able to engage Information systems in coming up with
technologies that have the capacity to facilitate the whole of
customer interrogation up to the point of placing an order
without engaging any of the staff. This indeed increases the
profits of the company since less human input is required.
Also, the ICT at Alpha has a database with all of its staff and is
able to execute periodic statements. The preset systems help
the management thus in not only coming up with the report but
also in making future estimates (Lucey, 2004).
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usage and purpose of the IS system
The purpose of the IS system in Alpha Books is based on three
main aspects; internal and external relations, management, and
decision making, the latter is further explained in previous
sections in this paper.
In managing internal and external relationships, the
management at Alpha Books has always ensured that the IS has
an interface for both. The interaction with internal environment
includes sending of memos, communication on new deliveries,
inter departmental communication as well as preparations of
meetings. The management also convenes virtual meetings using
tele-conference systems in the organization (Alpha Books).
On the other hand, management systems have been another

5. effective role of the IS at Alpha books. The monitoring of staff,
verifiability of processes, and consolidation of reports is easily
done using the IS system at Alpha books (Shajahan, 2009).
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 6
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the improvements that can be made
While the advantages of the information systems noted earlier
in this paper have already been attained, there are still areas
that the management at Alpha books needs to improve on
First, the website usage is yet to be maximized.
Secondly, the IS at Alpha Books should be improved to provide
access to interaction between the company and prospective
human resources.
The management should also be able to increase the internal
communication s through the IS systems.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 7
While the web provides the space required to the management,
the management is not able to use it as an interface to its
stakeholders. The company uses the website mainly as a sales
point and a customer feed back system. Improvement would
include publishing of its financial reports using the website.
This would be largely be appreciated by the stakeholders
(Shajahan, 2009).
While many other companies have been able to utilize internet
based technology to search for human labor, the management at
Alpha books have not been able to achieved this (Lucey, 2004).
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need for an information system
The key requirements for Information Systems in Alpha Books

6. include
Data flow management
Human labor management
Inventory management
Sales management
Marketing management
Financial recording and reporting process
Time management , and,
General management decisions making process (Shajahan, 2009)
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 8
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how decisions are made using the IT system
There are three main decisions made using the IT system
Structured and unstructured problems
Programmed and un-programmed problems, and
Certain and uncertain problems
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 9
The procedure of making decisions in Information technology
takes three steps; having the DSS ready for execution, inputting
all relevant data and receiving the decision. The amount of data
depends with the decision to be made. Also, there are decisions
that cannot be completed without certain data. For example,
decision on pricing cannot be completed without the desired
margin and the price of a commodity.
In all of the above decision making scenarios, the management
has the duty to input data into the system. Structured /
unstructured problems are problems that the system has either to
consult the user of the step to take or take the steps itself. For

7. example, the systems may enquire whether to create a new file
once new employee is employed or not to create. When a new
file is created, the system may require the user to input data
(unstructured) to the system (Lucey, 2004).
In programmed/un-programmed systems, the systems decide
whether the user has a program that can be able to solve the
problem at hand. Were this is not possible, the system notifies
the user. In certain and uncertain problems, the system has two
or more options of steps to make the decision thus is based on
the best step chosen by the user. For example, at the end of an
activity, the user may decide either to save the file, delete the
file or save the file in another location (Lucey, 2004).
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key business requirements or needs that the system must meet
For an information system to be successful, it must be able to
meet the factors that are laid down below
Create an interface between the system and the user
Ability to make key decisions on behalf of the user
Be compatible with the operation of the organizations
Ability to hold all the data that has been in put by the
management (Shajahan, 2009)
The systems must be compatible with future changes or can be
phased out where new system must take over, and
An effective information system must allow the user to execute
all commands.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
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While this section has noted the key elements of an ideal IS,
there are salient features that any organization has and must be
included in the Information system of that company and
industry. The compatibility and capacity factors are notably

8. repeated in this section. This explains the focus on the outcome
that is expected from the information systems.
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types of decision-making support systems
As an IT professional, the efficiency at my department may rely
mostly on the various DSS’s that are available ay my disposal
and how best I am able to use the decision making tolls. Some
of the DSS’s are
Executive support systems (ESS)
Group decision support systems (GDSS)
Decision support systems (DSS)
Management information systems (MIS)
Intelligent systems (Shajahan, 2009)
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
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Each of the Decision Support systems listed above are used
singularly and corporately. They are used singularly in making
departmental decisions and are used corporately in making the
overall decision for the organization. None of the DSS can be
able to be used for the overall decision making on its own.
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Conclusion
From the above data, the importance of information systems to
Alpha Books and to many companies is evident. The operations
using Information Systems are easier not only for management
but also for the staff, the customers and other stakeholders in
that organization (Lucey, 2004). The improvements that are
recommended for the Information Systems at Alpha books are
not final, the field of Information Technology continues to grow
by the day. It is thus important to focus on continued
improvements for the benefit of the company.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

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References
http://www.alphatextbooks.com/
Lucey, T., (2004). Management Information Systems. New
York: SAGE
Shajahan, S., (2009). Management Information Systems. New
York: Willey
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
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