Page 290 - Electronic Commerce

Business-to-Business Activities: Improving Efficiency and Reducing Costs

4. The Payroll Department will send an electronic summary of the payroll information, includ-
ing deductions, to the Accounting Department, which will prepare payroll tax returns and
make the necessary entries in the APM accounting system to record payroll and the related
tax expenses.
5. The Payroll Department will send electronic authorizations to APM’s bank to make the nec-
essary EFTs to deposit: the amount of each technician’s net pay to that technician’s bank
account; the amount of each tax withheld to the account of the appropriate government 265
agency; the amount of the total contributions to the medical insurance premium to the
insurance company’s account; and the amount of the union dues withheld to the IBEW’s
account. Most of these accounts are at other banks.
6. The Payroll Department will send electronic notifications to Prudential Trust and the IBEW
regional office, notifying them of the transferred amounts each week.
7. The Payroll Department will send an electronic summary of the hours worked by each
technician and the amount of gross pay, including overtime and holiday/weekend pay, to
the APM union steward’s desktop computer. The union steward is an APM technician who
is elected by the technicians to monitor the terms of the union contract and handle any
grievances that arise between the technicians and APM management.

Required:
1. Draw a diagram of the proposed payroll EDI and EFT system (you can use Figure 5-6 as a
guide).
2. In about 100 words, explain how mobile technologies (smartphones or tablet devices) might
be useful in the new system. Be specific about which functions would benefit from the use
of mobile technologies.
3. List and briefly describe any problems or issues that you think might arise in the design or
implementation of the new system.
4. Provide a rationale and recommendation as to which elements of this system—if any—you
think APM should hire an outside company to implement.
Note: Your instructor might assign you to a group to complete this case, and might ask you
to prepare a formal presentation of your results to your class.

For Further Study and Research

Adesnik, C. 2013. “Internet-Powered Jobs Transform Impoverished Youth Into Lifelong Workers,”
The Huffington Post, July 30. (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/charu-adesnik/cisco-internet-
powered-jobs-tra_b_3676395.html)
Albrecht, C., D. Dean, and J. Hansen. 2005. “Marketplace and Technology Standards for B2B
E-commerce: Progress, Challenges, and the State of the Art,” Information & Management,
42(6), September, 865–875.

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