Kahuna Cleaning Supply    Kahuna Cleaning Supply is a family-run business based in New Haven, Connecticut that  specializes in commercial cleaning supplies and...

Kahuna Cleaning Supply 

Kahuna Cleaning Supply is a family-run business based in New Haven, Connecticut that 

specializes in commercial cleaning supplies and business support products for commercial, 

industrial, and institutional clients. Only a few computerized operations are in the business. In an 

effort to become more efficient and profitable, the vice president, Julia Thompson, has hired a 

systems analyst, Robert Hanover. 

Background 

Julia and Robert have made progress in the development of a strategic plan for Kahuna Cleaning 

Supply. Robert is anxious to define the requirements for the new system. He has gathered more 

information and has created the following organization chart for Kahuna Cleaning Supply. 

Robert: Julia, it’s time to start moving on the system investigation. The mission statement is 

finalized and strategic planning is well underway. I can see that the directors are beginning to 

think about how their departments can benefit from better information management. 

Charles Edwards 

President 

Julia Edwards 

Vice President 

Andrew McClean 

Director of Sales 

Anna McNally 

Director of Finance 

Martha Seymour 

Director of Operations 

Dennis Martin 

Shipping/Receiving 

Manager 

George Thompson 

Warehouse Manager 

Sales Rep (6) Accounting/Billing Clerk (2) 

Customer 

Service Rep (3)  

Julia: You’re right! Andrew McClean found out that we lost a big order the other day because 

the customer was able to get the estimate much more quickly from a company in the Midwest 

because of their online presence. He’s wondering just how many sales we are losing because of 

timeliness issues. I had Anna’s group gather numbers for the directors about how many times our 

profit margin has been reduced because of human error somewhere along the order process. We 

are profitable, but could be more so by reducing error and becoming more competitive with 

timely information to our potential customers. 

Robert: Andrew’s area of sales is a logical place to start the investigation. I need to interview 

sales and customer service representatives to get an idea of the requirements for the new 

information system. What kind of information will we include? What do we want to get out? 

What processes need to be managed? What are our business needs? 

Julia: This will take some time, and a lot of information needs to be gathered. You should make 

sure you spend some time with the accounting clerks too, because they fill in for customer 

service representatives. 

Robert: I’m ready to get started! 

Tasks 

1. Develop a fact-finding plan including interviews, documentation review, observation, 

questionnaires, sampling, and research. (25%) 

2. Review the organizational model above and list the individuals you would like to 

interview. Prepare a list of objectives for each of the interviews you will conduct. (25%) 

3. Prepare a list of specific questions for each individual you will interview. (25%) 

4. Design a questionnaire that will go to a sample of Kahuna Cleaning Supply customers to 

find out if they were satisfied with the sales and ordering process. Your questionnaire 

should follow the suggestions in this chapter. Also, decide what sampling method you 

will use and explain the reason for your choice. (25%)