The Clarion School for Boys, Inc. is an institution that provides support, diagnosis and treatment, as well as the discipline to wayward boys so that they can become productive elements in the society. It was established in 1989 by investors from humble backgrounds who had envisioned the creation an environment for such affected boys and also gain some benefits from the investment. Since then, the school has successfully opened other branches, Milwaukee being one of its divisions (Brown, Daniel, Jeffrey, Wainright, & William, 2004, p. 46). Because of the rising operating expenses and capital requirements, Milwaukee school drafted proposals for three main projects that were to be implemented in the fiscal year 2006-2007.
The Milwaukee division was started in early 1990s, becoming one-old-institution operating under this system of Schools. Though it collected from the parents the tuition fees, the major source of finance was per diem charges that was paid by different government agencies (an amount payable for accommodation and treatment of headstrong boys). Thereafter, it became a private residential treatment facility for delinquent teenage boys.
In 2006, the Clarion School for Boys—Milwaukee Division had 120 students with a total of 128 employees, both full and part-time. Because of its ability to assist children with severe behavioral problems, Milwaukee school registered a high enrollment compared to other residential childcare facilities in Wisconsin. This necessitated the expansion of their information systems, capacity, among other kinds of operations. However, the expenditure was to be kept in check so as to remain within the budget (Brown et al., 2004, p. 50).
The IS Task Force report cited the inefficiencies of the information systems of the Milwaukee Division as the principal reason for costly operations. For that reason, the management needed to consider the reorganization of their information systems to the computing system to adhere to IBM standards, enhance the performance of their existing hardware, install new and powerful softwares, and also improve networking within the institution. This would not only reduce the labor cost, which represented 68 percent of the operational cost, but also increase staff effectiveness, productivity, especially in accessing information and communication flow. Therefore, this project was to be their first priority.
The ISIS program that was initiated in 2001 was a noble idea for the division to accentuate its objective of increasing its profits. Considering the high returns from the ISIS program ($197.00 per day for each student) compared to the regular program ($150.00 per day for each student), the division needed to remodel the living unit so as to expand the ISIS student enrollment (Brown et al., 2004). With efficient information systems that was already in place, the project deserved the second priority.
The construction of an accommodation facility for ten additional students in the regular program required a long term implementation. This was so because it was projected raise the daily collection of revenue by $ 1500 only. Therefore, it was prudent for the management to categorize it as a last priority among the three key projects.
From the foregoing discussion, one can deduce that the success of Clarion School For Boys, Inc.- Milwaukee Division in the fiscal year 2006-2007 depended on the information system upgrade and the expansion of ISIS program. The construction of a cottage for ten additional students for the regular program project would have been implemented thereafter because of the cost incurred.
Reference
Brown, V., Daniel, W., Jeffrey, A., Wainright, E., & William, C. (2004). Managing Information Technology for DeVry University. (7th ed.). Chicago, USA: Pearson Learning Solutions.