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Abstract:
This case focuses on issues surrounding the computerisation of the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) at its head office, factories and auction operations in Mombasa, and their interconnection. The case describes the tea industry in Kenya and the functions performed by the major players. It describes the tea manufacturing process in factories managed by KTDA, and shows the company's organisational structure and the various functions. The reasons that drove the organisation to computerisation have also been discussed. The case dilemma centres around the concept of islands of information as an option KDTA could have taken versus a wide area network (WAN) solution. In the former, KTDA could have created local networked environments at the head office, Mombasa, and at each of the 45 factories in early 2001, without any interconnections between them due to complexity and cost implications. In the WAN option, KTDA had a choice of rolling out a complete solution of local networks at each of its operational sites then interconnecting them with very small aperture terminals (VSAT) technology.
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