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Journal of Information Systems Education

Abstract

The FastFit Case Study and its companion, the Winter Gear Distributors Case Study provide undergraduate business students with a suitable and even familiar business context within which to initially consider the role of information management (IM) and to a lesser extent the role of information technology (IT) systems in enabling a business. FastFit is a small sports retail chain and Winter Gear Distributors is a key FastFit supplier. The day-to-day operations, control and management needs, and business innovation potential of these fictitious companies provide a rich but not overly complex starting point for the student’s consideration of enterprise IM requirements. Furthermore, the information technologies mentioned or implied in these cases fall within the compass of an undergraduate’s own experiences as a consumer and perhaps as an employee. These case studies call upon the student to analyze current operations, to assess the quality of corporate processes and information flows, and even to consider such subjects as the enterprise’s overall IT infrastructure, the uses of/need for business intelligence (i.e. data-driven decision making), customer relationship management, supply chain management, and the Web-enabled disintermediation of more traditional business practices. In use for over four years and in more than one hundred MIS classes, this set of intentionally brief cases is thoroughly field tested. The accompanying teaching note with its pedagogical and class discussion suggestions assists MIS faculty in integrating these two cases into an established curriculum.

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