BUSI 2073: Jefferson County School System Management Case Analysis

This case analysis examines the challenges faced by Jefferson County School System (JCSS) during the implementation of a new student management system. The transition from a custom-developed system to a generic software package was fraught with difficulties, including a sudden change in IT leadership, inadequate training, and insufficient stakeholder involvement. The analysis highlights the negative impacts of these issues on user adoption and system effectiveness. Recommendations are provided to improve future change management processes, emphasizing stakeholder engagement, comprehensive training programs, and user-friendly system design. The document references the importance of decision-making systems and transparency in data collection to ensure successful system implementation and organizational development. Desklib provides access to this and other solved assignments.

Running Header: Jefferson County School System
Team Case Analysis: Jefferson County School System
Marisela Barajas Rodriguez
Mustafa Salem
Kevin Viana
Brian Divers
Yorkville University
BUSI 2073-19W-O-1A: Management of Technology and Innovation
Professor Aniket Mahanti
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Running Header: Jefferson County School System
Introduction [Divers]
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Challenges [Viana]
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Change/Change Management [Rodriguez]
Impact of Management Changes
Through more than 30 years, the school’s applications were custom developed by the
director of data processing (DDP) and his team of two programmers. Suddenly, in less than a
year, the new superintendent decided, based on the evaluation and recommendations of the task
force group, to change the type of software JCSS would use. Hence, the DDP resigned and the
need for a new manager for the school system was cover by Carol Andrews. This sudden
changed created a negative impact in the short run for the designing and implementation of the
new purchased software. The inability to have an experienced employee that could make the link
between the old system and the new one, undermined the possibility to have a steadier transition
between the two systems. This also complicated the continuity of use of the system that
combined with the lack of detail and effective participation of the members of the selection
committee, derived in design failures.
Also, the management of the new system became more difficult due to vendor’s failures.
These failures emerged from an unsatisfactory ability to link specific requirements of JCSS with
the new software, as well as poor training that hindered the implementation of the system within
the primary users. This caused the need to hire outside clerical workers to help teachers and users
catch up with current responsibilities.
Impact of software changes
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The school system went through a mayor change regarding the nature of its software.
After years of being used to have a custom-developed system they had to adapt to a generic
software with new processes and which required a considerable amount of training due in a short
period of time. The project management was deficient and did not considered the possible delays
and risks that a new implementation may cause. Neither it accounted the insufficient training
experience of the vendor. All these factors created obstacles that hindered adaptation of the new
software. Consequently, a negative response characterized the implementation phase of the new
software.
Nevertheless, although the custom software proved to be very useful, the new software
created relevant improvements- especially in data sharing and processing- that were gradually
recognized by the users and which are positively impacting its current usage.
On the overall, failure to properly design, construct and implement the purchased
software impacted negatively the transition from the custom one. Hence, creating users
resistance, diminishing the perceived value it could provide to the schools system and increasing
the time gap to leverage this new technology.
Recommendations
There are some recommendations that can be applied in the organization for better
performance. These recommendations are as below:
Management of change for stakeholders: Stakeholders have been an important part of the
organization. Stakeholders are important in order to make decisions in the organizations.
Therefore, it is recommended that all stakeholders need to be involved in the decision making
process (Laudon & Laudon, 2016). Decision making systems have been important for
development of the organization in the market.
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There has been a need of transition program for employees to get addicted to the change in
the organization. The inability to have an experienced employee that could make the link
between the old system and the new one, undermined the possibility to have a steadier transition
between the two systems. The organizational change has been an important aspect for the
development. Training programs need to be arranged for the staffs and teachers in the school for
enhancing their skills and knowledge.
System Scoping: End user need to be aware of the data collection and need to be shared
with each end user. This help in creating transparency in the employees of the organization.
Software packages used in the school need to be user friendly. This help in proper management
of the system in the school (Smith & Wong, 2016). The software need to have proper database
facility to store all data and information related to the employee and staffs in the school. This
help in proper analysis of the employee and staffs in the school. Implications of software need to
be developed in the school. Allowing end user to generate custom reporting on the fly.
Conclusion [Viana]
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References
Laudon, K. C., & Laudon, J. P. (2016). Management information system. Pearson
Education India.
Smith, L. C., & Wong, M. A. (Eds.). (2016). Reference and Information Services: An
Introduction: An Introduction. ABC-CLIO.
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