Republic of the Philippines

TARLAC STATE UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF BUSINESS AND ACCOUNTANCY
Tarlac City

CASE STUDY I-1

IMT Custom Machine Company, Inc.: Selection of an

Information Technology Platform

In partial fulfillment of the requirements of AIS 3: Managing Information Technology

Submitted by:
Camarador, Anne Jessie Mae A.
Campit, Justine B.
Casanova, Kimberly Joy M.

Submitted to:
Liezl D. Taruc

August 2023
 CASE STUDY I-1
IMT Custom Machine Company, Inc.: Selection of an Information
Technology Platform

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

IMT Custom Machine Company, INC. (CMC), a subsidiary of IMT-USA, experienced a

decline in production in the mid-1970s due to a lack of coordination among its engineers,
designers, and software developers. The company had two main plants in Chicago, Illinois and
Fort Wayne, Indiana, and a lack of connectivity between the mainframe and Chicago. June Page,
a Vice President with 18 years of experience in custom machine making, was appointed to uplift
production and create an organizational environment for IMT-USA employees. To develop a
strong company culture, a clear vision and strategy were needed to anticipate real issues and
implement necessary changes. June Page, with her extensive computing background, conducted
a six-week investigation and identified four plausible solutions for the company's ongoing
computing problems. By addressing these issues, the company's production decreased and the
company's overall performance improved.
The company has four potential solutions for improving its information system. First,
focusing on centralization and removing existing workstations like Sun and IBM, which would
free up the mainframe. This would require more money for new software and relocation costs.
Second, improving workstation computing would spread information to all workstations, but
current staff may not be familiar with distributed computing. Third, introducing a Linux-based
system connected to a data hosting company, which is portable and can be used on multiple
machines without investing in new hardware. However, this could place sensitive data in the
hands of another company. Finally, a wait and watch policy, which allows companies to wait for
future developments and only apply system changes, if necessary, could negatively impact the
company's long-term success.
Developing and implementing an information system platform for an organization is a
complex task involving multiple agents, factors, and components. Investing in mainframe
systems offers a centralized working environment and cost-effectiveness. Mainframes, being
powerful AS/400 systems, support all necessary applications and can be controlled through a
control database. However, mainframes need to overcome issues like replacing workstations,
sharing data, and training employees on the new operating system. Proper leadership and inter-
organizational coordination can help achieve this goal.
INTRODUCTION
IMT Custom Machine Company Incorporation, built multimillion-dollar, large customer-
made production machines in the 1970s. The organization operated in a matrix-style, focusing on
national needs and goals while focusing on technology on a global scale. However, IMT
struggled with a defined mission statement and needed to align its business strategy with its
information system. In 1999, Vice President and division manager June Page appointed Charles
Browning to investigate the issue and provide four alternative solutions for the 2003 business
plan. Browning, a staff engineer with a background in scientific computing and business, was an
ideal candidate for this case.

ANALYSIS

IMT Custom Machine Company suffered losses from the 1970s to 1980s due to poor
communication and coordination between its primary plants. It was due to not having par
knowledge about the use of information technology in the market. This section will provide an
analysis of the problems they suffered and what caused these problems.
1. Incompetent awareness about improving their knowledge of information systems.
Causes:
 They have addressed several issues by trying to patch problems, and attempt to get up
to speed with newer technology

 The organization did not consider the use for information technology, and the benefits
that it can provide an organization
2. The lack of similarity between the information systems results in a breakdown of the
work-flow
Causes:

 Utilization of two different main frames in the different locations

 In some cases, the locations were operating under a main frame that was leased called
the IBM S/390 and within that same location was also operating under the IBM
AS/400
 Work and data were being transmitted and shared between the two locations and in
the Fort Wayne location the use of RS/4000’s was being used for development
3. IMT are having two different objectives, mission, and vision statement systems
Causes:

 IMT US- president had announced one and another one had been announced by
CMC’s Quality Assurance manager
ALTERNATIVES AND DECISION CRITERIA

1. Change workstations and have it replaced by operating systems like Linux.

To maximize the use of the lower cost, energy-efficient mainframe CMC should adapt this
solution, this change would be possible by highly relying on mainframe system for running
all the major and important applications.

2. Establish clear objectives, vision and mission statements.

The choice to develop an information system will be guided by a clear objective of CMC.

DECISION CRITERIA

1. The ease of implementation

2. Cost
3. Long-term value

RECOMMENDATIONS AND IMPLEMENTATION PLAN

1. Gradual transition to a workstation-computing environment

With the transition of all the information from the mainframe to the workstations, allows data
availability on a much broader scale with the help of high-speed network

2. Implementation of Linux workstations

Implement Linux as their operating system can run large number of networks and workstations
simultaneously without compromising efficiency, also Linux supports the execution of almost all
possible file formats and with the low storage issues it does not compromise the performance of
software or applications.

3. Employ the use of WAN consisting of interconnected LANs to share information

The client-server architecture of the workstation gives system developers a way to create while
delivering new processing capabilities to users through the workstation. The networks between
the divisions and departments will be interconnected through local area networks (LANs) and
even wide area networks (WAN).

4. Utilize senior level executive to function as CIO

To guarantee that results are produced that meet the objectives of the business, CMC requires
individuals who supervise the people, processes, and technology inside a firm's IT department.
IMPLEMENTATION PLAN

IMT Custom Machine Company must begin focusing on the process of implementing a
new system platform. The pros and cons of the possible solution should be considered carefully
because it could cause disruption in the normal functioning of the plant. Since the mainframe
does not meet the company's technical needs, the business might want to shift out of it and
toward a computed workstation environment, which would be more integrated and spread-out
information to all work stations.
Linux computing environment is feasible for IMT and it minimizes operational risk.
Linux also brings efficiency. The objective of the company is supporting business process,
supporting decision making process and getting competitive advantage through information
technology system. Linux operating system is flexible and affordable by the company.
Therefore, IMT is recommended to install Linux computing environment as an efficient
information system platform that the company required.

CONCLUSION AND REFERENCES

We, therefore, conclude that when it comes to developing implementing a new system
platform for the entire organization is a very complicated process. It is necessary to examine the
scenario from a wider aspect in order to create an effective system.

It is now almost unavoidable to work without an effective information system. The

Information Machine and Tool (IMT) Company in the USA faced a major challenge as they
lacked a strategic direction for their current information system. As a result, it faced a major
dilemma to choose a viable solution for its problem.

The greatest alternative, in our opinion, is the workstation computing environment option
provided by Charles Browning, where Linux will be used as an operating system and
implementation to use WANs and LANs to communicate information. Furthermore, choosing
the right information system for the business will be made much easier if its aim, mission, and
vision statements are clear.

CITING SOURCES

https://www.academia.edu/10712833/IMT_Custom_Machine_Company

https://www.coursehero.com/file/11733200/Case-Study-I/

Brown, C. V., DeHayes, D. W., Hoffer, J. A., Martin, W. W., & Perkins, W. C. (2012).
Managing information technology (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.