Bill Gates and Microsoft were exceedingly generous in the allocation of stock options

to Microsoft employees, especially during Microsoft's first 20 years. Because of that

generosity, Microsoft created 4 billionaires and an estimated 12,000 millionaires as
Microsoft succeeded and the value of employee stock options soared. Not all of those
millionaires stayed in the Seattle/Redmond! Bellevue, Washington, area, but
thousands did. These thousands of millionaires were joined by a lesser number who
made their millions at Amazon.com and, to a lesser extent, at RealNetworks, Visio
(acquired by Microsoft), and Aldus (acquired by Adobe). Today, some Google
employees who work at Google's Seattle office are joining these ranks.
The influx of this wealth had a strong impact on Seattle and the surrounding
communities. One result has been the creation of a thriving industry in high-end, very
expensive homes. These Microsoft and other millionaires are college educated; many
were exposed to fine arts at the university. They created homes that not just large and
situated on exceedingly valuat property, but that also are appointed with the highe
quality components.
Today, if you drive through a small area just south central Seattle, you will find a half
dozen vendors of pi mium granite, marble, limestone, soapstone, quartzi and other
types of stone slabs within a few blocks each other. These materials cover counters,
bathroon and other surfaces in the new and remodeled homes this millionaire class.
The stone is quarried in Bray India, Italy, Turkey, and other countries and either cw its
origin or sent to Italy for cutting. Huge cut slahs, feet by 10 feet, arrive at the stone
vendors in so Seattle, who stock them in their warehouses. The sum slabs vary not
only in material, but also in color, vein pattern, and overall beauty. Choosing these
slabs is selecting fine art. (Visit www. pen talonline. corr. I www.metamarble.com to
understand the premI quality of these vendors and products.)
Typically, the client (homeowner) hires an archiect who either draws plans for the
kitchen, bath, or ther stone area as part of the overall house design or rho hires a
specialized kitchen architect who draws hose plans. Most of these clients also hire
interior [ecorators who help them select colors, fabrics, furniure, art, and other home
furnishings. Because select- rig a stone slab is like selecting art, clients usually visit
he stone vendors' warehouses personally. They walk hrough the warehouses, often
accompanied by their nterior designer, and maybe also their kitchen archiect,
carrying little boxes into which stone vendor mployees place chips of slabs in which
the client xpresses interest.
Usually, the team selects several stone slabs for :onsideration, and those are set
aside for that client. 'he name of the client or the decorator is written in ndelible ink on
the side of the stone to reserve it. Vhen the client or design team makes a final
selecion, the name is crossed out on the stone slabs they to not purchase. The
purchased slabs are set aside for hipping.
During the construction process, the contractor vul have selected a stone fabricator,
who will cut the tone slab to fit the client's counters. The fabricator will iso treat the
stone's edges, possibly repolish the stone, nd cut holes for sinks and faucets.
Fabricators move he slabs from the stone vendor to their workshops, repare the slab,

and eventually install it in the client's iome.

Questions
1. Identify the activities that are performed in the process of selecting and installing
stone countertops. Ensure that each activity is a service.
2. Identify the resources that apply to these activities.
3. Identify the data that flows among activities.
4. Model the stone selection process using BPMN notation. Use PowerPoint to create
your model and construct it in swim-lane format.
5. Suppose that you work for a stone vendor and you realize that there are many slabs
of stone that are reserved that ought not to be. (The clients have selected other
slabs.) Identify possible causes for this situation and suggest a process remedy.
6. Suppose that you work for a stone vendor and have just learned that seven slabs of
rare and expensive stone were installed that the client did not purchase. The slabs
that were installed had been selected as a possibility by the client, but the client had
intended to purchase a different set of stone slabs. Identify possible causes for this
situation. Explain why the interorganizational scope of this process will make
problem-resolution difficult. Suggest changes to the process that would prevent this
error from occurring again.
7. Explain how a knowledge of business process management could help you become
a stone slab client rather than a stone chipper.

Reference: Kroenke David,"Experiencing MIS", 2ed, 2010, printicehall