| Course | DDBA 4990 Business Essentials |
|---|---|
| Week | Week 9 |
| Paper type | Systems memo |
| Length | About 680 words, 4 pages |
| Format | Memo, APA 7 citations |
| School | Walden University |
| Program | Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for DDBA 4990 Week 9
Memorandum
To: Owner, Prairie Stem Wholesale Florist
From: Business essentials student consultant
Date: October 7, 2026
Re: Information for trade credit decisions on new restaurant accounts
The Decision
About twice a month, a new restaurant or event venue asks Prairie Stem, a composite wholesale florist in Kansas City, to deliver weekly arrangements and flowers on 30-day terms rather than paying on delivery. The decision to say yes or no is made by the owner, usually the same day, based on a phone conversation and the size of the first order. Last year Prairie Stem extended credit to 19 new hospitality accounts; four of them paid more than 60 days late, and two closed owing a combined $11,400 that was written off. This memo lists what the credit decision requires, what the firm actually holds and the least costly change that would bridge it.
Required, Held and the Gap
Table 1
Information for the Trade Credit Decision
| What the decision requires | What Prairie Stem holds today | Gap | |
|---|---|---|
| The account's payment record with other suppliers | Nothing; owner sometimes asks the caller | No information | |
| Expected weekly order volume | First order size, in the order spreadsheet | Partial; first orders run larger than later ones | |
| Prairie Stem's current total owed by slow payers | Spreadsheet of open invoices kept by one clerk, updated Fridays | Held but not seen by the owner when deciding | |
| Margin on this account's likely orders | Margins by product in the accounting system | Held but not linked to the account | |
| How long the business has operated | Nothing | No information | |
Based on a walk-through with the owner and the bookkeeping clerk on October 2.
Why the Gaps Matter
Galbraith (1974) argued that organizations must match their capacity to process information to the uncertainty of the tasks they face, either by reducing the need for information or by increasing the capacity to gather and use it. Credit to a new restaurant is a high-uncertainty decision: restaurants fail at high rates in their first years, and a florist cannot easily recover flowers already delivered. Prairie Stem makes the decision with almost no information about the customer and with its own exposure to slow payers sitting in a spreadsheet the owner does not see when she decides. Tushman and Nadler (1978) described the same fit between information needs and processing capacity as the core of organizational design; here the mismatch is small in scale but costly.
Petersen and Rajan (1997) found that sellers lend to buyers on credit partly because routine dealings let them learn about those buyers, such as watching how orders and payments evolve. Prairie Stem has that advantage only for customers it already knows, not for new ones.
The Smallest Change That Closes the Gap
No new software is needed. Three changes would close most of the gap.
First, a one-page credit application for every new account requesting terms, asking for two supplier references, the date the business opened and expected weekly spend. The clerk calls both references before the account's second delivery.
Second, a rule: new accounts pay on delivery for their first four weeks, which shows their real weekly volume, and may then move to 30-day terms if references check out.
Third, the clerk adds one line to the Friday open-invoice spreadsheet showing total dollars more than 30 days past due, and sends that figure to the owner each week, so she knows the firm's current exposure before approving new credit.
What This Costs
The application and reference calls take about 30 minutes of the clerk's time per new account, roughly 12 hours a year. The weekly figure takes ten minutes. Against $11,400 written off last year, the cost is small. Some new accounts may go elsewhere rather than pay on delivery for a month; the owner may decide to waive the rule for venues she knows personally, and the memo leaves that judgment to her.
What This Memo Does Not Address
It does not set credit limits or collection procedures for existing accounts, which are separate decisions with separate information needs.
References
Galbraith, J. R. (1974). Organization design: An information processing view. Interfaces, 4(3), 28-36. https://doi.org/10.1287/inte.4.3.28
Petersen, M. A., & Rajan, R. G. (1997). Trade credit: Theories and evidence. Review of Financial Studies, 10(3), 661-691. https://doi.org/10.1093/rfs/10.3.661
Tushman, M. L., & Nadler, D. A. (1978). Information processing as an integrating concept in organizational design. Academy of Management Review, 3(3), 613-624. https://doi.org/10.2307/257550
The Walden DDBA 4990 Week 9 instructions
This week asks for a memo about the information behind one recurring business decision. Name the decision precisely: who makes it, how often and on what basis today. List the information the decision needs, then what the firm currently holds, and identify the gap for each item, ideally in a three-column table. Use an information-processing framework to explain why the gap matters for a decision of this uncertainty. Propose the smallest change to people, procedures or records that closes the gap, considering software only if a gap truly requires it. Estimate what the change costs in time or money and weigh it against the losses the gap has caused. Note what the memo leaves out. Two pages in memo format is the usual length.
How the DDBA 4990 Week 9 example is put together
The memo describes 19 new hospitality accounts given credit last year, four paying more than 60 days late and two closing with $11,400 unpaid. Its table lists five needs: payment record with other suppliers, expected weekly volume, the florist's current past-due total, margin on the account's likely orders and how long the business has operated. What is held is thin: first-order size and a Friday spreadsheet of open invoices that the owner never sees when deciding. Galbraith and Tushman and Nadler explain the mismatch for a high-uncertainty decision, and Petersen and Rajan explain why suppliers know more about existing buyers than new ones. Three changes follow: a one-page application with two references, four weeks paid on delivery and a weekly past-due figure for the owner.
Where the marks sit in the DDBA 4990 Week 9 rubric
The memo is judged first on the precision of its decision; a vague topic such as improving credit management cannot support a useful information list. The three-column table carries most of the credit when each row is specific and the gap is stated plainly. Instructors look for a framework applied to explain why the gap matters, not merely named. The proposal should be proportionate: small changes to procedure and records that close the gap earn more than a software purchase the gaps do not require. Costing the change and weighing it against actual losses shows business judgment. Leaving the final judgment, such as waiving a rule for known customers, with the decision maker is a mark of good advisory writing.
DDBA 4990 Week 9 help from the desk
Students often write this memo as a technology pitch. Start with the decision and ask what someone would need to know to make it well. Then find out exactly what the firm holds, where it is kept and who sees it; the gap is often that information exists but not where the decision is made. Keep the table to the five or six items that matter most. Propose the smallest change first, such as a form, a rule or a weekly report. Estimate the time it takes. Compare that with what the gap has cost recently. Leave software out unless a gap cannot be closed any other way. If you are unsure which decision to pick, a tutor can help you find a recurring one in your workplace.
Get a DDBA 4990 Week 9 example written to your instructions
Name the recurring choice your prompt specifies, or one your own organization makes every month, and pass it on with the Week 9 prompt and rubric. The three-column table, the Galbraith framing and a priced recommendation reach you in 24 to 48 hours, and your first sample is free. Software is mentioned only if a gap actually calls for it.
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DDBA 4990 Week 9 questions, answered
Where can I find a free DDBA 4990 Week 9 sample paper?
You can read the whole Week 9 systems memo below, including its three-column table and proposed changes, without paying.
What decision does the DDBA 4990 Week 9 memo examine?
Whether a wholesale florist should grant 30-day trade credit to new restaurant and event accounts.
What information does the florist lack?
Payment records with other suppliers, how long the business has operated and its own past-due exposure at the moment of decision.
Does the memo recommend new software?
No. It proposes a credit application with references, four weeks of payment on delivery and a weekly past-due figure for the owner.
What does the change cost?
About 30 minutes of clerk time per new account and ten minutes a week, against $11,400 written off last year.