Midsouth Chamber of Commerce

10 Case Study 1 • Midsouth Chamber of Commerce (A)

Case Study 1

Midsouth Chamber of Commerce (A): became an aggressive advocacy organization for the busi-

The Role of the Operating Manager ness community.

in Information Systems The broadening of MSCC’s role brought substan-

It was 7:30 P.M. on September 22, 2006, and Leon tial change to the organization. In 1988 the MSCC had a

Lassiter, Vice President of Marketing with the Midsouth staff of 14, a membership of 3,000 businesses and indi-

Chamber of Commerce (MSCC), was still in his office, viduals, and an annual budget of $1,720,000. Over the

reflecting on the day’s frustrations. Lassiter had met with years, the MSCC had been able to develop a reserve

four territory managers, his marketing support supervi-account of just over $1.5 million.

sor, and a number of other members of his staff. All were By 2000, the staff had grown to 24, the $1.5 million

upset about their lack of access to the new computer sys-cash reserve had been drawn down to $250,000, and memtem

and the problems they were having using their old bership had dropped to 2,300, largely because of the loss of

systems. Lassiter had assured them that the problems some major manufacturers in the region, the bursting of the

were being addressed. He stressed that patience was Internet bubble, and the resulting economic slowdown. The

needed during the ongoing conversion to the new system. reserve reduction, supported by the Board of Directors, had

Now, during his private moment, Lassiter was be-fueled considerable internal growth in terms of staff and

ginning to recognize the problems and complexities he capabilities. During this time, the MSCC also moved into

faced with the system conversion. The work of his mar-larger offices and upgraded their workstations.

keting staff, who were unable to access the new com-In the early 2000s the MSCC was considered the

puter system to handle their accounts, had ground to a most powerful business advocacy organization in the

halt. Even worse, something had happened to the data Midsouth area and one of the most innovative chambers

in most