Need a case study about 3 to for pages.

User Generated

Fnagvn

Business Finance

Broward Community College

Description

As the business analyst in the CIO's department of Maryland Technology Consulting (MTC), your next task in working towards an IT solution to improve the hiring process at MTC is to write a justification and implementation plan for a system that the CIO has decided will meet MTC's needs. The system, EZ-ATS, is described in the vendor brochure provided with this assignment.The vendor, UMUC Hiring Solutions, Inc., and EZ-ATS are fictitious names created for use with this case study but based on real-world SaaS application information. In this Stage 4 assignment, you will explain how the selected system meets MTC's requirements, and what needs to be done to implement the system within MTC.

Unformatted Attachment Preview

Page 1 EZ-ATS APPLICANT TRACKING SOFTWARE EZ-ATS Brought to you by UMUC Hiring Solutions, Inc . Applicant Tracking Software that provides everything you need to create a high performing Hiring Process and a great Candidate Experience! More Efficient and Cost-Effective Hiring! Easy to implement…..and Easy to use! Guaranteed! EZ-ATS is a single platform for all of your applicant tracking needs. We guarantee that we'll improve your total hiring system results or your money back! Do you need to replace your paper applications and spreadsheets, but don't have a big budget? We make it easy to get a hiring system without breaking the bank! With EZ-ATS you'll see: With EZ-ATS you'll get:       Increased Collaboration and Communication with Hiring Managers Decreased Time to Fill Positions Applicants' Skills Highlighted The Best Candidates Before Others Hire Them Decreased Cost-per-Hire Less work for HR to Manage and Report on the Hiring Process         No Long-Term Contracts Required Access to all EZ-ATS Capabilities Global access 24/7 System and data security Mobile device access Unlimited Support at No Additional Cost Pricing Based on Number of Users ($50 to $500/month) Free 30-day Trial What You Get Custom Implementation Dedicated Account Manager Automatic Software Updates UMUC Hiring Solutions, Inc. is a fictitious company designed for the UMUC IFSM 300 case study and is representative of typical SaaS products. Page 2 EZ-ATS APPLICANT TRACKING SOFTWARE Use EZ-ATS to:     Attract top talent with a responsive, professional interaction with applicants. Retain and motivate top HR talent with a flexible, workflowdriven applicant tracking system. Align hiring goals with corporate goals with clear visibility into how efficiently hiring the right talent contributes to the success of the organization. Drive a strategic, end-to-end hiring strategy with a single, integrated system for all hiring-related activities. Customers love our:     Configurability: Arrange your dashboards and workflows however you like, to meet your needs. Custom Reports: Create customizable reports to track performance and recruit more effectively. Workflow: Expedite approval processes for job openings, candidates, and formal offers. Customer Support: Our mission is your success — our customers are our top priority. Cloud-Based Software as a Service (SaaS) √ Connect Anywhere – Just connect with Internet or Wifi √ Use Any Device – PC, laptop, mobile devices √ No New Hardware – Systems at our data centers √ Unlimited data storage – Online and archived data √ Secure Your Data – Professional protection UMUC Hiring Solutions, Inc. is a fictitious company designed for the UMUC IFSM 300 case study and is representative of typical SaaS products. Page 3 EZ-ATS APPLICANT TRACKING SOFTWARE Everything You Need to Track and Manage Applications Preparation: Work seamlessly with hiring managers to develop job requisitions that will allow automatic screening. Advertise: Post your job to hundreds of job boards, social media sites, workforce services, colleges, and associations with a click of the mouse. Screening: Automate your screening of new applicants by having the system compare the application to the requisition and highlight resumes with requisite expertise and/or experience. Evaluation: Easily review and evaluate candidates to ensure minimum qualifications are met. Workflow: Use the system to automate your company's steps in the hiring procedure workflow from recruiter to reviewer to hiring manager as tasks are completed – working the way your company already works. Dashboards: All authorized stakeholders in the organization can have a custom dashboard with relevant information and notices of actions that need to be taken in the system. Collaboration: Quickly coordinate actions while maintaining transparency and security in the hiring process. Interview Scheduling: Coordinate electronic calendars to schedule interviews to include all participants. Selection: Obtain the best candidates before they are hired by others by using a streamlined hiring process. Communication: Efficiently and effectively communicate with job seekers and hiring managers throughout the hiring process using our integrated email and QuickText communication inbox. Metrics: Generate real time hiring metrics to help you identify opportunities for improvement in your process and job requirements. Integration: Easy integration with your corporate email, existing systems, website, and social media sites. Impress the Candidates: Impress applicants with the efficiency of the process and professional communication, including offer letters. Capture Skills of New Hires: As applicants are hired, their information and skills can be exported to your employee management system. Try EZ-ATS for FREE! FREE 30-day trial No obligation, no credit card needed. Getting started is as easy as 1-2-3! Test drive EZ-ATS and when you have decided it is the system for you, visit our website and sign up! UMUC Hiring Solutions, Inc. is a fictitious company designed for the UMUC IFSM 300 case study and is representative of typical SaaS products. Page 4 EZ-ATS APPLICANT TRACKING SOFTWARE Launching EZ-ATS 1. Select the services you need at a price that fits your budget  Up to 25 system users $50 per month  25-100 system users $100 per month  101-1000 system users $200 per month  Over 1000 system users $500 per month  One-time system setup fee $1,000 to initialize system connections  One-time configuration fee $2,500 to individualize system for your company  Web-based training $295 for "Train the Trainers" course  Unlimited data storage FREE!  Comprehensive security FREE!  System maintenance FREE!  Regular updates FREE!  Offsite backup and recovery FREE! 2. Sign the User Agreement with the vendor and provide credit card or purchase order information. 3. When your User Agreement and payment are received, your dedicated Account Manager will contact you to help you with the configuration steps and preparation to "go live."  Use your company name and logo  Link to your corporate email and social media sites  Link to the LinkedIn and job boards you use to post job announcements  Show you how to  Set up custom reports  Set up user accounts for your employees  Set up your custom workflow  Redesign and upload your job requisitions to use the automated screening function  Test each function to ensure it is working as intended Deploying EZ-ATS is just as simple! 1. Train your employees  Using free EZ-ATS website videos  Using EZ-ATS training resources to develop on-site training to meet your needs 2. Provide users with account and login information, including one -time password 3. Identify user support resources provided by your company Using the system is even easier! 1. Authorized users can access EZ-ATS  From any device  From any location  At any time 2. System maintenance does not interrupt user experience 3. Security and other updates are automatically installed – with no action on your part required! UMUC Hiring Solutions, Inc. is a fictitious company designed for the UMUC IFSM 300 case study and is representative of typical SaaS products. Page 5 EZ-ATS APPLICANT TRACKING SOFTWARE About Software as a Service (SaaS) What is Software-as-a-Service?  Available to customers over the Internet; available from anywhere  Application is hosted by a third-party provider; typically no additional IT infrastructure or expertise required for customer; low startup costs for customer  Updates and data backups automatically available  Subscription services available; cost based on number of users; predictable scheduled payments Key Benefits of EZ-ATS Cloud-based SaaS to Your Organization        Cost efficiency and fixed payment schedule Saves time and money on implementing a solution; low up-front costs No disruption due to product installation Frees staff to focus on key business activities Greater flexibility – available anywhere, anytime, from any device More efficient support – controlled environment managed by experts Safety and security of systems and data through access control, network security using firewalls, and data encryption  Easy scalability as business grows  Free upgrades and enhancements Reference Listing and Citation for this Brochure UMUC Hiring Solutions, Inc. (2019). EZ-ATS Brochure [Course Resources]. In IFSM 300: Information Systems in Organizations. Retrieved from http://learn.umuc.edu In-text citation (UMUC Hiring Solutions, 2019) UMUC Hiring Solutions, Inc. is a fictitious company designed for the UMUC IFSM 300 case study and is representative of typical SaaS products. Stage 4: System Recommendation and Final BA&SR Report Before you begin work on this assignment, be sure you have read the Case Study, and reviewed the feedback received on your Stage 1, 2 and 3 assignments. Overview As the business analyst in the CIO's department of Maryland Technology Consulting (MTC), your next task in working towards an IT solution to improve the hiring process at MTC is to write a justification and implementation plan for a system that the CIO has decided will meet MTC's needs. The system, EZ-ATS, is described in the vendor brochure provided with this assignment. The vendor, UMUC Hiring Solutions, Inc., and EZ-ATS are fictitious names created for use with this case study but based on real-world SaaS application information. In this Stage 4 assignment, you will explain how the selected system meets MTC's requirements, and what needs to be done to implement the system within MTC. You will combine Stages 1-4 to provide a complete final BA&SR Report. Assignment – BA&SR Section IV. System Recommendation and Summary & Conclusion The first step is to review any feedback from previous stages to help improve the effectiveness of your overall report and then add the new section to your report. Part of the grading criteria for this final stage includes evaluating if the document is a very effective and cohesive assemblage of the four sections, is well formatted and flows smoothly from one section to the next Section IV of the Business Analysis and System Recommendation Report will explain how the selected system helps MTC achieve its strategy, improve its hiring process, and meet its system requirements, and you will explain how each implementation area might be addressed to help ensure a successful implementation of the technology solution. Using the case study, assignment instructions, vendor brochure, Course readings (in particular, Implementing a SaaS Solution and Developing a System Proposal) and external research, develop your Section IV. System Recommendation. Approximate lengths for each section are provided as a guideline; be sure to provide all pertinent information. As you review the case study, use the assignment instructions to take notes to assist in your analysis; in addition, review information provided in earlier stages of this report to identify where the proposed solution can address the needs and requirements. Use the outline format and headings provided and follow all formatting instructions below. Stage 4: System Recommendation 7/5/19 ver. 4 1 IV. System Recommendation A. System Justification Provided with the Stage 4 Assignment Instructions is a brochure that describes an IT solution that the CIO has selected, with the HR Director’s endorsement, to meet the needs of improving MTC’s hiring process. In Stage 1, you analyzed the strategy and objectives for MTC and how a technology solution to improve the hiring process would contribute. In Stage 2, you analyzed how to improve the hiring process with a technology solution, and in Stage 3 you identified specific requirements. After reviewing the EZ-ATS Brochure, briefly describe the selected solution. Then, describe how that selected solution aligns with achieving the strategy, improves the process, and meets the requirements. Write two to three clear, concise, well-organized paragraphs to summarize this assessment. Don’t just repeat information from previous stages but synthesize this information and provide strong information and justification to explain why this proposed solution is a good fit for MTC. Remember you are writing a report to your boss, the CIO of MTC, that he can use to convince the leadership team why this is the best solution based on your analysis. B. Implementation Areas To successfully implement this technology solution, MTC will need to develop an Implementation Plan and below is a list of key implementation areas that should be included. First, provide a brief introduction to this section – what it contains and why an Implementation Plan is so important for MTC. Then address each of the seven (7) areas below to explain what MTC needs to do (with support by the vendor). Below the numbered heading, write one to two paragraphs to address the area. The sub-areas (a,b,c, etc.) contain questions and areas to help guide your thinking about what should be covered and should be incorporated within your response to the major category. For an explanation of the implementation areas, refer to the Week 7 Reading "Implementing a SaaS Solution". The vendor brochure provides information for some of these areas, but you need to include what MTC must do as well. Remember you are writing this section to help MTC plan for a successful implementation. It is not sufficient to just indicate “Vendor provides” or “employees need to be trained." In addition to incorporating course content, external research on implementation areas will strengthen your understanding and explanation. The goal for this section is to help MTC know what needs to happen in each area to help support a successful implementation of EZ-ATS. 1. Vendor agreement (MTC must enter into a contractual agreement with the vendor before full implementation. This identifies responsibilities as well as costs.) Incorporate answers to the following questions in your paragraph – do not include the questions themselves. a. What does the vendor require from MTC to be able to start using the system? b. How much will it cost to get access to and configure the system for MTC's use? c. How much will it cost per month to support 60 system users? d. What option is offered for MTC to just try out the system to see how it works? 2. Hardware and telecommunications (Although this is a SaaS solution, MTC must ensure that its IT infrastructure can support the use of the system and that its employees can correctly access the system.) Include the following: Stage 4: System Recommendation 7/5/19 ver. 4 2 a. List the types of hardware MTC employees can use to access the system. b. Identify what kind of telecommunications will be used for the solution, including local connectivity inside MTC and Internet access from outside MTC. 3. Configuration (Even SaaS solutions require a degree of configuration for each client. What needs to be done to implement the MTC job requisitions, workflow, reports, terminology and/or logo/graphics?) Include the answers to the questions below, but not the questions themselves. a. What options does the vendor offer for configuring the off-the-shelf system to MTC's needs? b. How will the configuration be done and by whom? 4. Testing a. Once MTC has signed up and configured the system, how will it test the system to see if it is working properly for its needs? Describe how MTC will conduct User Acceptance Testing. (This would be a good area for you to research.) b. Choose one of the user requirements (listed in Section III of your BA&SR Report) and explain how that requirement will be specifically tested to ensure it is working properly and the requirement is met. (Note: A free trial period does not suffice as software testing) 5. Employee preparation and support – Identify what MTC should do in each area below to prepare the employees (including the hiring managers in the various departments) for the introduction and use of the new applicant tracking system. Identify who (by their title or role) should do what in each area. (Incorporate information from Course readings on Leadership and Change Management.) a. Leadership (2-3 sentences) b. Change Management (2-3 sentences) c. Training (2-3 sentences) d. User Support (2-3 sentences) 6. Data Migration – Consider what existing data (applications in process with the manual process) would need to be entered into the system to get started and how this might be accomplished. 7. Maintenance – How will updates and enhancements to the EZ-ATS system be made? What will the vendor be responsible for and what should MTC address? Again, provide the information, but not the questions themselves. Summary and Conclusion: Close your Business Analysis and System Recommendation Report with a summary of the key points including the benefits MTC can expect to gain from this solution and the alignment with strategic objectives. (One well-written paragraph). Don’t just repeat information presented earlier but put it in context of a conclusion to provide a strong finish to this report. Just as your introduction informed your reader about why you’re writing and what’s to come, the conclusion Stage 4: System Recommendation 7/5/19 ver. 4 3 should provide a clear and concise final paragraph to reinforce/emphasize key points and a compelling argument for the chosen solution – and it should urge the reader to take action. Formatting Your Assignment NOTE: This final submission should be a cohesive Business Analysis and Systems Recommendation Report for the CIO of Maryland Technology Consulting. The formatting should be consistent throughout the document, and the writing should flow well from beginning to end. Headings, section and page numbering should be correct for a final submission. Although you prepared this in stages, the final product should not seem to be piecemeal or disconnected. Any track changes or feedback from previous versions should be removed once addressed. Consider your audience – you are writing in the role of a MTC business analyst and your audience is MTC and your boss, the CIO. Don’t discuss MTC as if the reader has no knowledge of the organization. Use third person consistently throughout the report. In third person, the writer avoids the pronouns I, we, my, and ours. The third person is used to make the writing more objective by taking the individual, the “self,” out of the writing. This method is very helpful for effective business writing, a form in which facts, not opinion, drive the tone of the text. Writing in the third person allows the writer to come across as unbiased and thus more informed. • In Stage 4, you are preparing the final part of a 4-stage report. Use the structure, headings, and outline format provided here for your report. Use the numbering/lettering in the assignment instructions as shown below. IV. System Recommendation A. System Justification B. Implementation Areas Summary and Conclusion • Begin with Sections I, II and III, considering any feedback received, and add Section IV to your final report. Write a complete, well organized paper that includes the four sections of the Business Analysis and System Recommendations (BA&SR) report. Use the recommendations provided in each area for length of response. It’s important to value quality over quantity. Length for Section IV should not exceed five (5) pages in addition to Sections I, II and III. Content areas should be double spaced; table entries should be single-spaced. Ensure that each of the tables in the final report is preceded by an introductory sentence that explains what is contained in the table, so the reader understands why the table has been included. Continue to use the title page created in Stage 1 that includes: The company name, title of report, your name, Course and Section Number, and date of this submission. For Section IV, use at least three resources with APA formatted citation and reference. One reference must be from an external source, one must be the EZ-ATS Brochure, and one must be another reference from the IFSM 300 course content. Course content should be from the class reading content, not the assignment instructions or case study itself. For information on APA format, refer to Content>Course Resources>Writing Resources. Finalize the Reference Page for resources required for all sections of the report. The final document should contain all references from all stages appropriately formatted and alphabetized. Running headers are not required for this report. • • • • • • • Stage 4: System Recommendation 7/5/19 ver. 4 4 • Compare your work to the Grading Rubric below to be sure you have met content and quality criteria. • Submit your paper as a Word document, or a document that can be read in Word. Keep tables in Word format – do not paste in graphics. Your submission should include your last name first in the filename: Lastname_firstname_Stage_4 Stage 4: System Recommendation 7/5/19 ver. 4 5 GRADING RUBRIC: Criteria How the Proposed IT Solution Meets the Requirements How the IT solution aligns with achieving the strategy, improves the process, and meets the requirements Implementation Steps 90-100% 80-89% 70-79% 60-69% < 60% Far Above Standards 14-15 Points Above Standards Meets Standards Below Standards 12-13 Points 10-11 Points 9 Points Well Below Standards 0-8 Points Clear, complete, compelling and related to the Case Study and Vendor Brochure; demonstrates sophisticated analysis and writing. Complete and related to the Case Study and Vendor Brochure; demonstrates effective analysis. Provided and related to the Case Study. Incomplete, inaccurate and/or not related to the Case Study. 31.5-35 Points 28-31 Points 24.5-27 Points 21-24 Points An introduction and all areas (vendor agreement, hardware/ telecom, configuration, testing, employee preparation, data migration, and maintenance) Clearly and thoroughly included introduction and covered all areas, strongly derived from the Case Study and vendor brochure, and demonstrates sophisticated analysis and writing. Clearly covered and included introduction and all areas, derived from the Case Study and vendor brochure, and demonstrates effective analysis and writing. Covered and included introduction and majority of areas and related to the Case Study and the vendor brochure. All areas not covered, and/or are not related to the Case Study and/or the vendor brochure. Generally, 0-5 points each. Both quantity and quality evaluated. All 7 areas well done. 6 areas covered. 5 areas covered. 4 areas covered. Possible Points 15 Content missing or extremely incomplete, did not reflect the assignment instructions, showed little or no originality, demonstrated little effort, is not supported with information from the Case Study; and/or is not original work for this class section. 0-20 Points 35 Content missing or extremely incomplete, did not reflect the assignment instructions, showed little or no originality, demonstrated little effort, is not supported with information from the Case Study; and/or is not original work for this class section. 3 or fewer areas covered. Stage 4: System Recommendation 7/5/19 ver. 4 6 Summary and Conclusion Summarizes the BA&SR and provides a compelling explanation of benefits to be gained Research Three or more sources—one is the vendor brochure, one from within the IFSM 300 course content, and one external (other than the course materials) 9-10 Points Provides strong, clear and concise summary; demonstrates sophisticated analysis and writing. 14-15 Points Required resources are incorporated and used effectively. Sources used are relevant and timely and contribute strongly to the analysis. References are appropriately incorporated and cited using APA style. 8.5 Points 7.5 Points 6.5 Points 0-5 Point 10 Provides summary. Lacks sufficient information to provide adequate summary. 12-13 Points 10-11 Points 9 Points Content missing or extremely incomplete, did not reflect the assignment instructions, showed little or no originality, demonstrated little effort, is not supported with information from the Case Study; and/or is not original work for this class section. 0-8 Points 15 At least three sources are incorporated (vendor, course content and external) and are relevant and somewhat support the analysis. References are appropriately incorporated and cited using APA style. Fewer than 3 resources properly incorporated, and/or reference(s) are not cited using APA style. A source may be used, but is not properly incorporated or used, and/or is not effective or appropriate; and/or does not follow APA style for references and citations. Provides clear summary; demonstrates effective analysis and writing. Stage 4: System Recommendation 7/5/19 ver. 4 No course content or external research incorporated; or reference listed is not cited within the text 7 Complete BA&SR Report Well organized and clearly presented information for all four stages. ` Format Uses outline format provided; includes Title Page and complete Reference Page including sources for all 4 stages. 14-15 points Document is a very effective and cohesive assemblage of the four sections, is well formatted and flows smoothly from one section to the next. 12-13 Points Document is a good assemblage of the four sections with appropriate formatting and flow. 10-11 Points 9 Points 0-8 Points Document includes content for all four stages; lacks a cohesive presentation and flow. Incomplete stages; lack of continuity of flow and presentation of final information. Incomplete report, missing stages, is not supported with information from the Case Study; and/or not well compiled and presented as a cohesive document. 9-10 Points 8.5 Points 7.5 Points 6.5 Points 0-5 Points Very well organized and is easy to read. Very few or no errors in sentence structure, grammar, and spelling; doublespaced, written in third person, contains all required references, and presented in a professional format. Effective organization; has few errors in sentence structure, grammar, and spelling; doublespaced, written in third person, contains all required references, and presented in a professional format. Some organization; may have some errors in sentence structure, grammar, and spelling; missing some required references. Report is double spaced, and written in third person. Not well organized, and/or contains several grammar and/or spelling errors; and/or is not double-spaced, missing several required references, and written in third person. Extremely poorly written, has many grammar and/or spelling errors, missing required references, or does not convey the information. TOTAL Possible Points Stage 4: System Recommendation 7/5/19 ver. 4 15 10 100 8 Maryland Technology Consultants, Inc. Maryland Technology Consultants (MTC) is a successful Information Technology consulting services firm that utilizes proven IT and management methodologies to achieve measurable results for its customers. Its customer base includes small to mid-tier businesses, non-profit organizations and governmental agencies at the local, state and federal levels. MTC feels strongly that its success is dependent on the combination of the talent of its IT consultants, the best practices MTC employs, and a dedication to delivering truly beneficial IT solutions to their clients. Corporate Profile Corporate Name: Maryland Technology Consultants, Inc. Founded: May 2008 Headquarters: Baltimore, Maryland Satellite Locations: Herndon, Virginia; Bethesda, Maryland Number of Employees: 450 Total Annual Gross Revenue: $95,000,000 President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO): Samuel Johnson Business Areas MTC provides consulting services in the following areas: • Business Process Consulting - Business process redesign, process improvement • IT Consulting - IT strategy, analysis, planning, system development, implementation, and network support • IT Outsourcing Consulting – Requirements analysis; vendor evaluation, due diligence, selection and performance management; Service Level Agreements Business Strategy MTC's business strategy is to provide extraordinary consulting services and recommendations to its customers by employing highly skilled consultants and staying abreast of new business concepts and technology and/or developing new business concepts and best practices of its own. Maryland Technology Consultants is a fictitious company created for the IFSM 300 Case Study. MTC Case Study 12/5/2018 1 Excerpt from the MTC Strategic Business Plan While the complete strategic plan touches on many areas, below is an excerpt from MTC’s latest Strategic Business Plan that identifies a few of MTC's Goals. Goal 1: Increase MTC Business Development by winning new contracts in the areas of IT consulting. Goal 2: Build a cadre of consultants internationally to provide remote research and analysis support to MTC’s onsite teams in the U. S. Goal 3: Continue to increase MTC’s ability to quickly provide high quality consultants to awarded contracts to best serve the clients’ needs. Goal 4: Increase MTC’s competitive advantage in the IT consulting marketplace by increasing its reputation for having IT consultants who are highly skilled in leading edge technologies and innovative solutions for its clients. Current Business Environment MTC provides consultants on-site to work with its clients, delivering a wide variety of IT-related services. MTC obtains most of its business through competitively bidding on Requests for Proposals issued by business, government and non-profit organizations. A small but growing portion of its business is through referrals and follow-on contracts from satisfied clients. MTC anticipates it will win two large contracts in the near future and is preparing proposals for several other large projects. MTC, as a consulting company, relies on the quality and expertise of its employees to provide the services needed by the clients. When it is awarded a contract, the customer expects MTC to quickly provide the consultants and begin work on the project. MTC, like other consulting companies, cannot afford to carry a large number of employees that are not assigned to contracts. Therefore, they need to determine the likelihood of winning a new contract and ensure the appropriately skilled consultants are ready to go to work when needed. MTC relies on its Human Resources (HR) Department to find and hire the personnel that the line managers need for upcoming contracts. It is very much a "just in time" hiring situation. The Headquarters in Baltimore, Maryland, houses approximately 350 employees. Satellite offices have been opened in the last two years in both Herndon, Virginia and Bethesda, Maryland to provide close proximity to existing clients. It is anticipated that new pending contracts would add staff to all locations. The management team believes there is capacity at all locations, as much of the consultants' work is done on-site at the customers' locations. Strategic Direction As a small to mid-size business (SMB), MTC recognizes that it needs to carefully plan its future strategy. Considering the competitive environment that contains many very large IT consulting firms, such as Hewlett-Packard (HP), Booz Allen Hamilton (BAH), and Science Applications Maryland Technology Consultants is a fictitious company created for the IFSM 300 Case Study. MTC Case Study 12/5/2018 2 International Corporation (SAIC), as well as numerous smaller companies with various skill sets, market niches, and established customer bases, MTC will be evaluating how best to position itself for the future and recognizes that its ability to identify its core competencies, move with agility and flexibility, and deliver consistent high quality service to its clients is critical for continued success. One area that is critical to a consulting company is the ability to have employees who possess the necessary knowledge and skills to fulfill current and future contracts. Given the intense competition in the IT consulting sector, MTC is planning to incorporate a few consultants in other countries to provide remote research and analysis support to the on-site U. S. teams. Since MTC has no experience in the global marketplace, the Director of HR has begun examining international labor laws to determine where MTC should recruit and hire employees. Challenges The two contracts that MTC expects to win very soon will require the hiring of an additional 75 consultants very quickly. The Director of HR is concerned that the current manual process of recruiting and hiring employees will not allow his department to be responsive to these needs as well as the demands of future growth and increased hiring requirements. He is looking for a near-term solution that will automate many of the manual hiring process steps and reduce the time it takes to hire new staff. He is also looking for a solution that will allow MTC to hire employees located in other countries around the world. Management Direction The management team has been discussing how to ramp up to fill the requirements of the two new contracts and prepare the company to continue growing as additional contracts are awarded in the future. The company has been steadily growing and thus far hiring of new employees has been handled through a process that is largely manual. The HR Director reported that his staff will be unable to accommodate the hiring of the 75 new employees in the timeframe required as well as continue to handle the expanded hiring projections. The Chief Information Officer (CIO) then recommended that the company look for a commercial offthe-shelf software product that can dramatically improve the hiring process and shorten the time it takes to hire new employees. The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) wants to ensure that all investments are in line with the corporate mission and will achieve the desired return on investment. She will be looking for clear information that proposals have been well researched, provide a needed capability for the organization, and can be cost-effectively implemented in a relatively short period of time to reap the benefits. The CEO has asked the CIO to work with HR to recommend a solution. Your Task As a business analyst in the CIO's department, you have been assigned to conduct an analysis, develop a set of system requirements, evaluate a proposed solution, and develop an implementation plan for an IT solution (applicant tracking system or recruiting system) to improve the hiring process. The CIO has set up a series of interviews for you to collect Maryland Technology Consultants is a fictitious company created for the IFSM 300 Case Study. MTC Case Study 12/5/2018 3 information about the current hiring process and the requirements for a system. He has asked you to produce a Business Analysis and System Recommendation Report (BA&SR) as your final deliverable. Interviews In the interviews you conduct with the organizational leaders, you hear the comments recorded below. CEO: Samuel Johnson “While I trust my HR staff to address the nuts and bolts of the staffing processes, what is critically important to me is that the right people can be in place to fulfill our current contracts and additional talented staff can be quickly hired to address needs of future contracts we win. I can’t be out in the market soliciting new business if we can’t deliver on what we’re selling. Our reputation is largely dependent on having knowledgeable and capable staff to deliver the services our clients are paying for and expect from MTC.” CFO: Evelyn Liu “So glad we’re talking about this initiative. As CFO, obviously I’m focused on the bottom line. I also recognize it’s necessary to invest in certain areas to ensure our viability moving forward. I recognize that the current manual hiring process is inefficient and not cost-effective. Having technology solutions that improve current processes and enable future functionality is very important to MTC’s success. We must consider the total cost of ownership of any technology we adopt. MTC is run as a lean-and-mean organization and support processes must be effective but not overbuilt. We do want to think towards the future as well and don’t want to invest in technology with a short shelf-life. Along those lines, we currently have a timekeeping and payroll system; and to help support our bottom line financially, any new solution should effectively integrate with, but not replace, that system. CIO: Raj Patel “As a member of the IT Department, you have a good understanding of our overall architecture and strategy; however, let me emphasize a few things I want to be sure we keep in mind for this project. Any solution needs to be compatible with our existing architecture and systems as appropriate. Obviously, we have chosen not to maintain a large software development staff so building a solution from the ground up does not fit our IT strategic plan. Our current strategy has been to adopt Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions that can be deployed relatively quickly and leverage industry best practices. In addition, our distributed workforce means we are very dependent on mobile computing – this brings some challenges in term of portability, maintenance, and solutions that present well on mobile devices. We’ve been expanding at a rapid rate and are seeking to expand internationally so any solution will need to be viable globally And last, but certainly not least, MTC’s success is largely dependent on our ability to satisfy the requirements of our clients and maintain a reputation of high credibility, reliability and security. Any security breach of our applicants’ data could have a devastating effect to our Maryland Technology Consultants is a fictitious company created for the IFSM 300 Case Study. MTC Case Study 12/5/2018 4 ability to compete for new business as well as maintain current clients. I recognize that MTC can no longer rely on a manual hiring process to meet these needs.” Director of HR: Joseph Cummings “Thanks for talking with me today. I see this effort as very important to the success of MTC. The rapid growth to date and future plans for expansion have pushed our recruiting staff, and we recognize we can no longer meet the hiring and staffing demands with manual processes. I’m also interested in solutions that are easy-to-use and can interface with our existing systems and enhance processes. I’m willing to consider a basic system that can grow as MTC grows and provide more capabilities in the future. I’m sure Sofia, our Manager of Recruiting, can provide more specifics.” Manager of Recruiting: Sofia Perez “You don’t know how long I’ve been waiting to begin the process of finding a technology solution to support our recruiting processes. In addition to myself, there are 2-3 full-time recruiters who have been very busy keeping up with the increased hiring at MTC. It goes without saying that a consulting company is dependent on having well-qualified employees to deliver to our customers. We’re in a competitive market for IT talent and want to be able to recruit efficiently, process applicants quickly, and move to making a job offer to the best candidate before the competition snaps him/her up. When I talk with my colleagues in other companies, they mention applicant tracking systems that have enabled them to reduce their hiring time by 15-20%. I’m so envious of them and look forward to having our new solution in place before the next set of contracts are won and we need to hire 75 (to as many as 150) staff in a 3-month period. I do not think my team can handle such an increase in an efficient and effective manner. On-going growth at MTC will continue to increase the demands to hire more consultants quickly. It really seems like there would be a rapid return on investment in a technology solution to support and improve the hiring process.” Recruiters: Peter O’Neil (along with Mike Thomas and Jennifer Blackwell) “This project should have happened 2 years ago but glad it’s finally getting some attention. As a recruiter, I’m sort of the middleperson in this process. On one hand, we have the job applicant who is anxious to know the status of his/her application and fit for the advertised position. It’s important that the recruiters represent MTC well, as we want the best applicants to want to come to work for us. Then we have the actual hiring manager in one of our business areas who has issued the job requisition and wants to get the best applicant hired as quickly as possible. Obviously recruiting is not the hiring manager’s full-time job, so we’re always competing for time with other job responsibilities, so we can keep things moving as quickly as possible. They look to us to screen resumes and only forward the best qualified applicants to them so they can quickly identify their top candidates. Working with Tom, our administrative assistant, we need interviews to be scheduled to accommodate everyone’s calendars. After the hiring managers make their final selections of who they would like to hire, it is our task to get the job offers presented to the candidates - hopefully for their acceptance. Everything is very time sensitive, and the current process is not nearly as efficient as it could be. Applications and Maryland Technology Consultants is a fictitious company created for the IFSM 300 Case Study. MTC Case Study 12/5/2018 5 resumes can get lost in interoffice mail or buried in email; and, when a hiring manager calls us, we often cannot immediately provide the status of where an applicant is in the process. This can be very frustrating all around. Speaking for myself and the other recruiters, I have high expectations for this solution. We need to really be able to deliver world-class service to MTC in the recruiting and hiring areas to meet the business goals.” Administrative Assistant: Tom Arbuckle “I support the recruiters in the hiring process. After the recruiters screen the resumes and select the best candidates for a position, my job is to route those applications and resumes via interoffice mail to the respective functional/hiring manager, receive his or her feedback on who to interview and who should be involved in the interviews, schedule the interviews based on availability of applicants and the interview team members, collect the feedback from the interview team and inform the assigned recruiter of the status of each candidate who was interviewed. Then, after a job offer has been made and accepted, I coordinate the paperwork for the new hire with HR and Payroll to ensure everything is ready to go on the first day. As you can imagine when hiring volume is up, I’m buried in paperwork and trying to keep all the applicants and their resumes straight, track their status in the process, and ensure everyone has what they need is very challenging. Any tool that would help the workflow and enable many steps in the process to be done electronically would be wonderful.” Hiring Manager (in functional area; this person would be the supervisor of the new employee and would likely issue the job requisition to fill a need in his/her department/team): “While it’s a good problem to have – new business means new hires -- the current method for screening applications, scheduling interviews, identifying the best qualified applicants, and getting a job offer to them is not working. My team is evaluated on the level of service we provide our clients, and it is very important that we have well-qualified staff members to fulfill our contracts. Turnover is common in the IT world and that along with new business development, makes the need for hiring new staff critical and time-sensitive. I confess that sometimes I’m not as responsive to HR as I should be, but this is only one of several areas I’m responsible for. I look to the recruiters to stay on top of this for me. In the ideal world, I’d like an electronic dashboard from which I can see the status of any job openings in my area, information on all qualified candidates who have applied and where they are in the pipeline. Electronic scheduling of interviews on my calendar would be a real time saver. It’s important that we impress candidates with our technology and efficiency – after all we are an IT consulting company—and using manual processes makes us look bad. And, this system must be easy to use – I don’t have time for training or reading a 100-page user’s manual. Just need to get my job done." Maryland Technology Consultants is a fictitious company created for the IFSM 300 Case Study. MTC Case Study 12/5/2018 6
Purchase answer to see full attachment
User generated content is uploaded by users for the purposes of learning and should be used following Studypool's honor code & terms of service.

Explanation & Answer

Here you go! Let me know if you need any edits or have any questions

Running head: STRATEGIC USE OF TECHNOLOGY

Maryland technology consultants, Inc.

Strategic Use of Technology

IFSM 300
12/01/2019

1

STRATEGIC USE OF TECHNOLOGY

2

Introduction
Over time, MTC has experienced tremendous growth due to its dedicated team and
quality IT-related services. Its growing number of clientele means that the company should come
up with an effective system to facilitate its future growth. This involves creating an effective
hiring system to ensure that the company gets a skilled workforce at the right time. MTC can
only achieve that by bringing the necessary resources and technology to ensure that the right
workers are recruited. It is for this reason that I will develop a recommendation system on how
the company can hire the right employees who will oversee the growth of the company. The
business analysis and system recommendation report will provide a report that will provide a
clear path on how Maryland Technology Consulting can improve its operations. The four
sections will then be combined and later presented to the Chief Information Officer for
implementation. To come up with a perfect system for tracking and hiring employees.
Business Strategy
The current business strategy for the company is to provide its customers with
extraordinary services. The company understands that for it to beat the current competition, it
needs to provide its clients with quality services so that they can stick with the company. To
achieve this, MTC has decided to embark on a plan to ensure that it brings skilled workers.
These workers will provide the necessary experience for the already growing company
(Caramela, 2018). By combing skills from different employees, the company will have a
competent team that can meet the expectations of its customers.
The current hiring process has proved to be a challenge for the company. The two
contracts MTC expects will require an additional team of 75 consultants, and this might be viable
with the current system. It is because it would take a lot of time for the company to get the

STRATEGIC USE OF TECHNOLOGY

3

expected number of employees. On top of that, MTC might not get the right skills to serve the
new customers. This is because the current manual hiring system has various flaws that make it
hard to identify the right employee for the company. Therefore, improving the hiring process
would ensure that the company has the right team to provide the best consulting services to its
customers (Caramela, 2018). It would also put MTC in a competitive position, thus making it
easy for the company to expand its operations.
Competitive Advantage
Currently, MTC is faced with massive competition from large companies in the industry,
such as Booz Allen Hamilton, Hewlett-Packard, and Science Applications International
Corporations. The company is also facing massive competition from other small companies that
have an already established customer base. Despite this, MTC has a strong workforce with the
necessary skills that help in providing quality services to the customers. The company can thus
tap into the new hiring system to get the best workers to strengthen its already skilled workforce.
Doing so can also ensure that the company gets the opportunity to retain and attract new clients
(Madadipouya, 2015).
Strategic Objectives
The table below shows the strategic objectives that will be supported by the new
technology to improve the hiring process.
Strategic Goal
(from case study)
Increase MTC Business
Development by
winning new contracts
in the areas of IT
Consulting

Objective
(clear, measurable and timebound)
Employ 75 new skilled
employed who will join the
already competent to increase
the number of contracts that the
company can run at a time.

Explanation
(2-3 sentences)
The new hiring system
will enable the company
to hire the 75 new
employees on time to
handle the expected two
contracts. It will also
equip MTC with skilled

STRATEGIC USE OF TECHNOLOGY

4

manpower so that the
company can win and
handle more contracts.
This would in turn,
facilitate business
development.
Build a cadre of
Increase international recruiting The new hiring system
consultants
efforts and employ 5 research
would allow applicants
internationally to
analysts in the next 12 months.
from around the world to
provide remote research
apply online, increasing
and analysis support to
the number of
MTC’s onsite teams in
international applicants.
the U. S.
It would enable the
recruiters to carefully
monitor the applications
for these positions,
identify the necessary
research and analysis
skills needed, and screen
resumes for these key
skills. Recruiters could
quickly view the number
of applicants and
identify when additional
recruiting efforts are
needed to meet the
objective.
Continue to increase
Conduct training programs after To increase MTC’s
MTC’s ability to quickly every 3 months to educate
ability to provide high
provide high quality
employees on the changing
quality consultants
consultants to awarded
customers’ need, thus enhancing quickly, the company
contracts to best serve
quality services.
will be providing
the clients’ needs
training every three
months. This will give
the employees with an
opportunity to
understand changes in
the industry and how
they can evolve to serve
the clients better.
Increase MTC’s
Ensure that only the qualified
Increasing the number of
competitive advantage
personnel are recruited for the
competent workers in the
in the IT consulting
available 75 slots.
company would ensure
marketplace by
that MTC can compete
increasing its reputation
effectively with other
for having IT
major companies in the

STRATEGIC USE OF TECHNOLOGY

5

consultants who are
highly skilled in
leading-edge
technologies and
innovative solutions for
its clients

industry. Through the
hiring platform, MTC
will be able to get the
most competent workers,
thus enhancing
innovation and fast
solutions to customer
problems.

Decision Making
The table below provides decision making in MTC raging from the senior management,
middle management, all the way to the operational management.
Role

Senior/Executive
Managers
(Decisions made by
the CEO and the
CFO at MTC
supported by the
hiring system.)

Level as
defined in
Course
Content
Reading
Strategic
level

Middle Managers
Managerial
(Decisions made by
level
the Director of HR
and the Manager of
Recruiting supported
by the hiring system.)

Operational
Managers
(Decisions made by
the line managers in
the organization who
are hiring for their

Operational
level

Example of Possible
Decision Supported
by Hiring System

Example of
Information the
Hiring System
Could Provide to
Support Your
Example Decision
The CFO decides to
The CFO can make
increase funding of the this decision because
new hiring system to
the new hiring
ensure quality
system has the
employees are hired
ability to identify
which employee is
best qualified for
different roles in the
company.
Director of HR decides The director of HR
to subdivide the
can make this
departments for ease in decision considering
service delivery
that the hiring
system can provide
the best workers who
can head these
departments.
The operations
The operations
manager can introduce manager can make
shifts to better serve
this decision
the clients and finish
considering that the
their work on time
hiring system can
provide more

STRATEGIC USE OF TECHNOLOGY
projects supported
by the hiring system.)

6
workers for the new
shifts.

Section II. Process Analysis
Maryland Technology Consulting (MTC) needs to implement a technology backed hiring
system. The company has an enormous task that needs an automated system to deliver
satisfactorily. The current manual process is technically unable to hire 75 new employees in a
short time before the commencement of the new contracts. The most viable solution to Maryland
Technology Consulting (MTC) problem is the implementation of automated employee hiring
systems that would automatically assess and recommend the most qualified candidates from a
pool of IT consulting job applicants. MTC requires the system as a near-term solution to address
the immense pressure in workforce acquisition and retaining (Gough, 2007). The HR director
intents to hire employees, locally and internationally, which is not possible in a manual hiring
process that requires candidates to be within the US territory. The conceptualized solution is the
acquisition of commercial off-the-shelf software that addresses the HR department challenge at
hand.
A. Hiring Process
As the business analyst, acting on behalf of the CIO, I have applied an impactful strategy
to solve the HR department challenge. The task at hand, hiring new employees, requires
systematic problem analyses that address concepts to do with system requirements, the viability
of the proposed solution, and the implementation plan for the new HR hiring system. The various
managers in the company acknowledge the need at hand and are willing to contribute to the
development of a new hiring stem for use in the current challenge and going to the future

STRATEGIC USE OF TECHNOLOGY

7

(Gough, 2007). As a business analyst, I conducted interviews with various managers at different
levels to hear their views on the proposed system. CEO Samuel Johnson acknowledges the need
to install a better hiring process because he expects the client to get the best from the company.
The Chief Financial officer is excited at the initiative, reinstates the need for viability. She
recommends...


Anonymous
Just what I needed…Fantastic!

Studypool
4.7
Trustpilot
4.5
Sitejabber
4.4

Similar Content

Related Tags