Mrs. Fields had partially lost control due to their rapid expansion and changing organizational structure. They recorded losses in 1988 as their stores were closing. Their expenses had increased more than their sales. Their information system was not efficient after acquiring another company since applications needed updating and knowledge was lost due to staff downsizing. A modified information system was needed to meet their goals of personal involvement, less hierarchy, and quality control while helping with decision making and coordination as the company grew.

1. Ishpreet Singh – 12P139
Karan Jaidka – 12P141
Lucky Sharma – 12P145
Prabhat Singh– 12P154
Vignesh Patil – 12P177
Viswanath Kuppa – 12P180
PGPM – Section C – Group 9

2. 1. Had Mrs Field’s lost control?
• They had partially lost control due to transition phase
• With rapid expansion, organizational and financial structure was
changing
• The primary motive was to serve customers better, rather than to
make profits
• However, with diversification, they were in a state of flux and
recorded losses in 1988
• Their stores were closing, which was not a good sign
• Suffered a loss of $18 million in 1988
• Sales General & Administration expenses has increased by around
50%,
though sales increased by 17% only
• Losses from closed stores more than tripled

3. 2. Was the information system cornucopia?
Requirement of MIS for Mrs Fields:
1. To make stores more independent
2. Information loss – Managers had to print a 300 page report everyday,
which lead to wastage of time
3. IS plays a role in automating routine work in order to have a better
communication
4. Improvement of control with expansion
5. Informed decision making
6. Minimize the paperwork
—Post the acquisition of LPB, MIS was not efficient because
1. Applications like Day planner, Labor scheduler need to be updated to
accommodate the combination store in approach
2. Loss of tacit knowledge due to downsizing of acquired store’s administrative
staff from 53 to 3 adversely affected the updating of MIS

4. 3. The Fields had accommodated past expansion by modifying
their information system. Was that what was needed?
• Need for a modified information system
• There was a need for modified information system and the initial goals of
Mrs. Fields:
• Personal Involvement
• Less hierarchy in the system
• Maintain quality of cookies
• Here, better information led to better decision making through efficient IS
• Historical data storage and analysis helps them to predict how many cookies
to bake and of what type
• Integration of their MIS with MIS of LPB in order to meet the objectives of
information system at Mrs Fields
• Strengthening the existing MIS to help regain control and help in effective
decision making
• IS focus on external coordination( Suppliers and Customers) becomes
important with growth
• New applications like knowledge management system need to be
considered