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	Management Information Systems 4/e - James A. O'Brien
	Online Learning Center

Chapter 6: Managerial Overview: Telecommunications

Application Exercises

1. Hands-on Internet for Business Advantage

Learn to use the Internet to access online business information that can give you a competitive advantage. Use your browser and the Web site addresses for each of the services listed below.

Internet Business Center
Visit this clearinghouse of current information on what companies are doing on the Internet and learn how you can conduct business on the Net more effectively. Free.
http://tig.com/IBC/idx.html

Best Markets Reports
Here you'll find information and analysis of markets including apparel auto parts and service equipment software electrical power systems laboratory scientific equipment telecommunications equipment and so on. Free.
http://Libfind.unl.edu:2020/alpha/Best_Market_Reports.html

Quotecom
The Quotecom server offers a wide variety of financial data. Offerings include free stock commodity and mutual fund quotes; Standard & Poor's Stock Guide; Hoover company profiles; European market data; Business Wire news reports; and Freese-Notis weather reports. Some basic services are free; others require a subscription.
http://www.quote.com

City Net
This is a comprehensive international guide to communities around the world. City Net provides easy access to timely information on travel entertainment and local business plus government and community services for all regions of the world. Free.
http://www.city.com

Send a short E-mail message to your instructor's Internet or other E-mail address summarizing something you learned when visiting one or more of the Internet sites in this exercise.
Prepare a one- or two-page summary of specific information gained from several of the above internet sites that would help you start or expand a business analyze an investment opportunity or choose a business career.

This exercise deals with students physically using the Internet to accomplished specific tasks set out in the exercise.

2. Visiting Corporate Internet Web Sites

Visit the Internet World Wide Web sites of Fidelity Investments in Boston Federal Express in Memphis and Capital One in Richmond Virginia.

This exercise requires students to use the Internet to accomplish assigned tasks.

3. Communication Costs at ABC Company

The ABC Company currently uses direct-distance dialing service for all of its long-distance voice and data communications. ABC has a central headquarters and assembly facility in Birmingham Alabama and assembly plants in Atlanta Georgia and Cincinnati Ohio. There is a substantial and growing volume of both voice and data communications among the three locations. Other outgoing communications consist of voice communications to a variety of vendors and customers throughout the country. ABC also has communications expenses associated with incoming calls placed by members of ABC's sales force. Salespersons use telephone credit cards to call headquarters with orders and inquiries while they are in the field.

You have been asked to take a look at trends in ABC's long-distance communications expenses. You are to prepare materials for a presentation to upper management. Your materials should highlight recent trends in ABC's long-distance communications services. You have been asked to also recommend changes in the way ABC purchases its long-distance communications services.

By examining billing records you have been able to obtain the estimates in Figure 6.29. These figures describe long-distance communications expenses by category for the past four years.

Using a spreadsheet software create a spreadsheet application analysing the following information including appropriate reports and graphs to highlight trends in ABC’s long-distance communications costs.
What changes in how they purchase long-distance communications services would you recommend that ABC consider?

See Data/Solution Disk or
Click here to download Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet.

4. Action Products Data Communications

Action Products has a warehouse in Chicago and sales offices in Los Angeles and New York City. Order and invoicing information gathered on personal computers at the sales offices is transmitted to a minicomputer at the Chicago warehouse. On an average day 20 000 invoices are sent by the Chicago Office and 30 000 are sent by the New York City office.

Action Products can either lease telephone lines between its sales offices and the warehouse or use standard dial-up telephone services. If dial-up services are used Action Products will batch its transactions at each sales office. That is all of the transactions generated at each sales site will be stored all day on the PCs at the sales office and sent as a batch to the Chicago warehouse in a single phone call. Using this method 100 transactions per minute can be sent. The cost of dial-up services is as follows:

	1st Minute	Addit. Min.
LA to Chicago	$0.17	$0.13
NYC to Chicago	$0.15	$0.12

Leased phone lines normally have three components. Lines must be leased from the local phone company in each city to the nearest switching office (called a point-of-presence) of the long-distance phone company. Then a line must be leased from the long-distance company between that company's switching offices in the two cities. The circuit components and distances are illustrated in Figure 6.30.

Leased line rates commonly have fixed component and a per mile rate that declines as distance increases. If leased lines are used invoices can be transmitted to the Chicago office immediately when the sale is made. Assume the monthly rates in Figure 6.31 apply for the phone companies that Action Products will be dealing with.

Based on the figures given generate a spreadsheet to compute Action Product’s monthly costs to transmit its invoices using dial-up lines and using leased lines.
Would you recommend that Action Products lease its lines or use dial-up services? What factors other than costs would influence your decision?

See Data/Solution Disk or
Click here to download Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet.

Answers will vary. However perhaps the company should look into leased lines versus paying for direct lines.

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