Teaching Information Systems Management via Action Memos

Journal of Information Systems Education, Spring 2004 by Wagner, Christian

ABSTRACT

As a variation to the case study method, action memos can be used to educate students about IS management concepts. Action memos are mini-cases, written in the style of an in-basket memo, demanding a response, usually in form of a decision or an opinion. Action memos have several positive characteristics. They have realism, and prepare students for a real world activity. They can be read and comprehended relatively quickly, yet at the same time they can reveal students' knowledge, insight, and problem solving capability.

Keywords: Action memo, case study, information systems management, decision making

1. MOTIVATION

Case based teaching is a popular means for the communication and illustration of IS management concepts. cases offer several advantages over the traditional discussion of concepts. cases create realism, require decision making under uncertainty and lack of information, teach problem structuring and information extraction, and permit role play. As such, case based teaching is very appropriate for courses in IS Management.

Yet this teaching format also has drawbacks. A typical "Harvard"-style IS case (whether developed at HBS, Western Ontario's Ivey School, or the National University of Singapore) usually requires 10 page reading, insight into details of information systems technology, and the review of supporting materials. In addition, (depending on case difficulty), the actual decision situation is not clearly identified. In consequence, students with a limited IS background may find it confusing (even though the decision problem may be of a general managerial nature), and class participants who have not completed the necessary preparatory work (i.e., careful analysis and reading of background materials) are excluded from meaningful learning from the case.

2. ACTION MEMO

The action memo enables case based teaching while overcoming shortcomings of typical cases. The action memo i s essentially a short case (e.g., 1 - 2 paragraphs) presented in memo form. The decision situation is very similar to that faced by company decision maker on a daily basis, in form of in-basket memos, or e-mails.

2.1. Structure

Action memos, properly written, have the same informational content as regular cases, albeit in abbreviated form. They therefore "tell a story" with the following components: organization/company, organization environment, problem area, major players, scenario ("plot"), and decision.

The brevity of action memos makes every word count (see Freeman, 1999). Hence, the company/organiza-tion is introduced via the "From:" or "To:" lines, as are (possibly) the major players. The organization environment is explained in the body of the memo, yet usually in a very abbreviated form. The problem area is introduced in the memo "subject line" ("Re:"), while the decision is typically presented via a question at the end of the memo.

2.2. Managing Difficulty

Case difficulty is managed as in any other case, fundamentally by varying complexity along three dimensions: information dimension (see criteria above), conceptual dimension, and analytical dimension (compare Leenders and Erskine, 1989). On the information dimension, the author can vary difficulty by mixing up the informational elements. Obviously, the short action memo format limits this somewhat. On the conceptual dimension, the author can choose between simple concepts, with few factors and few relationships (e.g., software "make vs. buy"), and complex concepts with many factors and numerous relationships between them (e.g., ERP software selection). Finally, on the analytical dimension, the author can again vary from simple (known problem and known solution) to complex (with unknown problem and solution). Thus, an analytically difficult memo might describe a decision situation which is only the symptom of another, more profound issue.

2.3. Example

The following action memo was used in an introductory MIS course for MBA students. It outlines the potential dangers of developing a new application that integrates with a company's existing systems.

Despite its brevity, the case highlights several issues, such as the danger of bringing a new project manager into an important project at a critical stage, perceived drop in project importance when the project champion (here COO) gives up project ownership, and the management of software developer morale when the project leads to their obsolescence. This case also uses a bit of levity (see e-mail address) to hint that this company is not managing its affairs wisely.

2.4. Solving the case

Action memos can be solved either via in-class discussion, or in written form. When written, the obvious response is another memo. The respondent takes on the role of the recipient of the memo. Part of the problem solving process is to determine the content of the response (i.e., how to solve the core problem), whom to respond to (maybe not the sender of the memo, but some third party who needs to act), and in what manner to respond (responding reasonably or unreasonably). On the latter issue, it may for instance be reasonable for the respondent to reply to the sender that the original memo did not make sense at all, or that it may have contained too much IT jargon.