Outsourcing Information Technology at Dayton Public Schools
Cincinnati Bell Technology Solutions (CBTS) has engaged with the Dayton Public School District to provide Managed Information Technology Services (MITS) to the staff and students. CBTS has been a partner of DPS since June of 2000. The existing contract, initiated on May 8, 2005, is a seven year contract. The program is just ending the first two-year option or year five. Sharing the DPS vision has forged a partnership that we value and look forward to continuing. However, current economic conditions have resulted in the need to reduce human resources and still position the MITS program to be a viable option for the district.
The purpose of this case analysis is to provide a framework for making strategic marketing decisions by: 1) documenting the internal and external environment, 2) understanding the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, 3) identifying the opportunity, 4) developing and evaluating alternatives, and 5) make a recommendation based on organizational strengths.
Situational Analysis
In order to make a good decision, it is important to understand the general environment and the environment of the industry.
External Environmental Analysis
The general environment.
The Dayton Public School District has lost millions of dollars due to a declining tax base, default on mortgages and taxes, and the exodus of major employers like NCR. In an effort to reduce costs to meet budgetary constraints, the core competency of teaching and learning has suffered. The district receives state and federal funding and in order to maintain those dollars, certain technologies must be provided to the students. “Outsourcing in school districts is driven by the ...
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...ort payroll, end of year and tax preparation. The IT resources that are required to support this department are the equivalent of two (2) fulltime employees. In order to provide the same level of support, the Office of the Treasurer will need to provide funding for the cost of these recourses.
Conclusion
The effect of these tough economic times has touched the lives of many. Dayton Public Schools cannot receive the same level of service with fewer resources. However, the Department of Information Technology can survive the budget reductions by seeking funding outside the normal channels and reach out to other stakeholders for financial assistance.
Works Cited
Dayton Public Schools Managed IT Services Contract. RFP Nol. 04-009. (2004).
Dickinson, R. (2000). Outsourcing in K-Through-12 Education. Gartner.
Retrieved from http://www.ponitzctc.org/.
Kerin, Roger A., and Robert A. Peterson. Strategic marketing problems: cases and comments. 12th ed. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 2010. Print.
Cravens, D. W., & Piercy, N. F. (2009). Strategic marketing (9th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Company.
The Chicago Public School District is the third largest school district in the United States educating around 400,000 students. Back in 1987 CPS was named “the worst in the nation”(). Moving its way up to the top, since then, CPS had completely rebuilt its structure, appointing leaders and reformed ideas. Now, with a deficit projected to be around $1 billion CPS is headed back in a downwards path, money being the biggest issue. The United States Federal Government already has financial issues of its own, which makes dealing with a CPS budget a problem within a problem. CPS, with a $6.6 billion FY2013 budget, is now taking a new strategy based upon a flawed “Student-Based Budgeting System”. The Board of Education is also struggling to solve the debt they have reached, and with their FY2014 plans this year’s budget book is argued to be “one of the most poorly written budgets”(). The way CPS is handling their budget is not benefiting the lives and education of students and is leaving CPS at a loss with giant financial issues.
Texas Center for Educational Technology. (1994). Technology helping year-round to rebuild the education puzzle at Driscoll ISD. Retrieved November 6, 2004, from www.tcet.unt.edu/images/i0601.pdf
... past decade has not only affected teachers and valuable elective programs, but mostly importantly the education of today’s youth. The Georgia school districts have exhausted almost every way to make up for the billions of dollars of lost state financial support and they have reached the tipping point. Since over 9,000 teachers have lost their jobs, students are being forced into already bulging classes where they do not receive the kind of individual attention needed in order to boost student achievement. If Georgia leaders expect student achievements to improve, they must invest the necessary economic resources needed to achieve this goal. At the end of the day, one of the most important things in life is a good education, so we need to start putting more money into the K-12 school funding and help build back what years of austerity cuts have nearly destroyed.
The American public school system faces an education crisis. According to Benjamin Barber, American children barely surpass the lowest standards set for education, especially in literacy, throughout the county’s history. Barber supports the existence of this crisis in his essay “America Skips School”, but argues against a solution to remedy the numerous problems facing the system. Although he acknowledges no solution, Barber suggests a smarter flow of financial resources will address many of the issues, however, he fails to acknowledge the distribution of this money. Barber’s suggestion for smarter financial resources for schools can be effectively implemented through a structured committee focused solely on the distribution of money.
By the end of 1998 though, there was evidence of a crisis occurring. Customers and media pulled together to assist senior management partake in an internal audit to identify the problems and see if they could come to a solution. The purpose of this assignment is to construct a SWOT analysis, highlighting each of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that were highlighted in the internal audit. The SWOT analysis is contained within the marketing plan and is the third step in the marketing planning process, coming after the Marketing audit and before any assumptions. (Joisce, Ted (2002), Marketing Planning Lecture Notes – 14/10/02, Mission, Objectives, Strategy, Tactics)
Even in this time of struggle, with billions of dollars going towards various war efforts overseas, America still has managed to keep taxpayer investments in education higher than that of funds for national defense (U.S Department of Education). In the 2004-05 school year, there was an estimated amount of 536 billion dollars set aside from taxpayer investment for education purposes. Without a doubt, education is a priority for the American government, and if these funds are used in the correct way, there is no reason why each and every kid in the United States shouldn’t be getting a quality education. However, the organization of the financial system is flawed, funds are not handled proportionately at the state level; rather, this system favors the wealthier districts and hands more funds to them while the less wealthier districts are handed a smaller pool of funds. This really affects America’s quality of education, which also reflects upon how America fairs on the world stage when it comes to competition in education with other countries. The disorganization of funds in the United States can be seen in the Hoover City School district, which has bought every student in that district an iPad for use in school. The first problem with this is that this school district does not even have a viable bus system that can transport students to and from school. Secondly, not even 20 miles from this district lies the Birmingham City School district where a little more than half the students are graduating, compared to Hoover City Schools where a bit more than 90 percent of the students are graduating. If anything, the state should be working towards improving educational standards in lower-income communities rather than debating on the log...
There are a number of key reasons why we must ensure adequate funding of our schools. To start, we must increase the accessibility of the Internet in our schools. With our society growing by the minute the need for technology is rapidly on the run. Today we depend heavily on the Internet to provide us with fast information. It is used in high tech businesses, in homes and in schools. Through the Internet we enable students to explore new and interesting issues. In addition to the books found in our local library, the Internet serves as a fundamental tool for education. With all of the assets that the Internet provides not all schools have it at their disposal. “According to a 1999 survey, conducted by Education Week only 87%, in states like Pennsylvania had Internet access” (Gazette 99). “This number however rose to 90% in 1999.” Although the numbers did rise there are other states that are not even close to that number of access. This poses as a major problem because while other students are building their skills and are learning more, others still rely on books and articles. Through Internet use students will not only be introduced to a wide a ray of topics and search engines but will also be able to familiarize themselves with technology.
A marketer doesn’t just have a plan. Marketers now open up to a wider strategic plan and it’s based on steps that balance out what the market is offering consumers. These marketers must analyze their production with these steps, then make a portfolio of the growth and even their down falls therefore this keeps these marketers to continuously innovate and create even a greater amount of value for their customers. Marketing management functions are discussed along with the marketing mix and strategy.
Cravens, D. W., & Piercy, N. F. (2009). Strategic marketing (9th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
It is important not to put too many resources at the hands of the contractors.
This work will determine the baseline of the current market situation for the company, which is essential for any further exercise and analysis. To understand how the business model correlates with the product marketing, need to see if there is any evident cause-effect relationship between product characteristics and the nature of the product company. If such correlation exists, it will be important to see the transition of such characteristics into the company marketing strategy. It can show how company’s strategies can be successfully addressed in a real-world scenario. Both internal and external analysis, SWOT matrix will help to determine the company’s current market position.
Today, schools are being pressured more and more to improve the technology they use and teach in the classrooms. Parents are placing this pressure on schools so that their students have the skills needed to compete in the real world job market. Students are placing pressure on the schools to improve technology by having more knowledge of
Closing the digital divide involves many components, starting with the education program and teachers. While schools are integrating new technologies into their programs, teachers are supposed to keep up with the latest technologies and use them in their curriculum to teach students. According to a U.S. Department of Education Report (1999), only 24 percent of new teachers felt sufficiently prepared to integrate technology into the curriculum they were using (Brogan, 2000). The problem is, many teachers did not grow up with computers and are not receiving the training they need to operate them (Brogan, 2000). Starting work as early as 7 a.m. and leaving school as late as 5 p.m. to go home and do even more work, leaves teachers lacking the time to learn new technological skills. Many schools offer training programs for teachers. For example, the Palm Beach County, Florida school district teaches Web basics for teachers at middle schools and magnet schools (Brogan, 2000). This is a great idea because it is giving teachers the opportunity to learn about technology and it is showing that the school district is interested in helping its employees become better at what they do.