Following on from the previous week develop a rough outline of your presentation. Post this rough outline to your blog.

Post an entry to your blog that answers the following questions:

1. What was the most difficult assessment item you completed so far in COIS12073 this term?
2. What was difficult about it and how would you suggest it could be improved?
3. If you could provide three (3) pieces of advice to a student who will be doing this course next term what would they be?
4. How will you be able to use this knowledge/these skills in your future career?

Ans2:    

a.    Dow Corning  has employed two aspects of  business intelligence. They are Business Information Warehouse and Strategic Enterprise Management Tools, both of these are offered by SAP. The business information Warehouse refers to data warehouse. Data warehouse is the collection of known and related historical data. The management use the data warehouse decision making and knowledge management (Sumner 2005). The data for these warehouses are collected from both operational and external data sources. The Strategic Enterprise Management Tools is used for data mining which involves the analysis of large quantities of data. Data mining will allow Dow Corning to utilize its data warehouse to consolidate financial reporting, generate forecasting, evaluate corporate performance and manage risk (SAP 2009).

b.   Integrated and accurate data is very necessary to make data warehouse work efficiently. Large organisations Dow Corning have large flow of data and integration of data is very important for operational efficiency. A data warehouse does not work if information is inconsistent and inaccurate. This would be difficult for a large organization to cope up with so huge amounts of data stored in their own internal databases without having to worry about external databases. All of the data in the warehouse needs to be cleaned of inconsistencies, gaps need to be filled and formats need to be consistent to ensure data integrity and to allow data mining.

c.   An Application Service Provider (ASP) provides the outsourcing of data storage and processing .  The client need not to purchase new software and hardware, all the data will be managed externally and security will be implemented by the service provider. ASP is a very good option for small companies that they can escape of costs of hardware and software. But it may not be that useful for large companies as they need the services for long period in which it may cost more. Most large organisations like Dow Corning’s already have the infrastructure and funds to implement such as service themselves and they need more security to record sensitive data. They just need to train their staff and have lifelong secured system.

References:

Lozinsky, Sergio, 2002,’Enterprise wide software solutions integrated strategies and practices’, 2^th ed., Addison Wesley

Stair, Ralph, Reynolds, George, 2008, ‘Principles of Information system’, 8^th ed., Thomson

Sumner, Mary, 2005, ‘Enterprise resource planning’, 1^st ed., Pearson Education Ltd.        

Rough Outline of Presentation

 Introduction

• Cisco need not to make any change in the existing system
• Upgrading may involve many changes

 Body

• CISCO can proceed with the existing system
• Current ERP is still not outlined as complete failure
• No need for redesigning or customisaton of ERP
• High costs and risks of failures

Q1. What was the most difficult assessment you completed so far in COIS12073 this term?

 Assignment3- Case study report

Q2. What was difficult about it and how would you suggest it could be improved?

My major difficult with this assessment is to make recommendations to solve the problems of CISCO to rectify their current systems. Since the recommendations is to be supported by the information provided in the report. It takes time to gather information and analyze. It can be suggested that some hints can be provided in the assignment and it can asked to support the arguments.

Q3. If you could provide three pieces of advice to a student who will be doing this course next term what would they be?

• Since the report take a long time, it should be started as early as possible.
• Attend all the classes as class discussions are very helpful to develop the idea about concepts
•  Going through the study materials and text book also very helpful for better understanding of the course.

Q4:  How will you be able to use this knowledge/these skills in your future career?

The skills and knowledge gained from this course will be very useful in my future career. It will enable me to address the challenge of successful system implementation in a company. After doing the course, I have come to know about the key concepts of successful system project which will by greatly helpful in my employment or business.

Ans3:    

Following are some of the external factors that could affect how and when an ERP goes live:

Institutional factors: These factors refer to organizations associated with the companies like customers, suppliers, government and other professional bodies. The changes in the policies of these factors dominantly affect the ERP going live. Like changes in taxation policies by the government has to be adjusted with the ERP system.

Vendor support:   Another factor is the vendor support. Expert ERP system support is required for go live to make changes according to the dynamic environmental changes. the other external factors like customers, suppliers and the government. None of these bodies will stop so that the company can have a smooth ERP system transition. Consequently certain events raised by these bodies will delay the go live of an ERP system.

Knowledge of IT and user staff: The staff knowledge and training plays an important role in the implementation of ERP project. This could cause the project dates to be adjusted due to all areas no longer having fully trained staff and the fact the organization may want to train another employee before going live with the final product. The project may still go ahead according to the current schedule however the way it is implemented may change.

These are many other external factors that could affect when and how an ERP goes live. Most of these factors are very uncertain and difficult to control, however proper planning before implementation can make ERP possible to go smooth and successful.

Hints and tips on giving presentations:

 Many hits and tips on web by various authors to give presentations. Most of them emphasise more to be confident and have control over the facial and verbal expressions. Meek and Wykoff  have provided in their hints that a little anxiety is good as it causes us to do our best. A good knowledge of facts and command on language is also very important. Questions and contradictory statements can also be included to gain the attention of audience. Combining of talks with changing the slides make the visuals more effective. Hence presentation can be made successful.  

http://www.morris.umn.edu/urs/talk-lesliepeter.pdf

Ans 1:

1. Given the interrelationship between MRP and ERP, does it make sense for a non- manufacturing company to adopt ERP system?

Yes, ERP system is equally useful for nonmanufacturing companies. ERP system provides a lot of advantages to both manufacturing as well as nonmanufacturing companies. In nonmanufacturing companies, ERP is very helpful to provide enterprise wide integrated data. It is very useful to maintain inventory control (in case of retailing companies) , customer relationship management, supply chain management, accounting information system and payroll processing. It aims to achieve increased flexibility, increased responsiveness to customer demand and increased control over the data. This enables the company to achieve efficiency in operations and gain competitive advantage. (Sumner 2005).

1. b.       Have manufacturing systems been the basis for all ERP systems? 

No doubt, the manufacturing systems are looked upon as being basis for all ERP systems. This is because ERP systems have more advantages for them. They are used been used for keeping track of stock levels, determining most cost-effective order quantities, calculating safety stock levels, cost management, quality control, manufacturing projects and workflows.  They manage processes across the supply chain so that customer’s needs for information about products and services are met efficiently. Hence ERP systems achieve operational efficiency through integration of data.

Ans 3:

What information is shared with Production Planning and Materials Management from the following modules?

 Human Resources: Personal record of Employees, Details of training provided to them, payroll processing, Organizational structure

Sales and Distributions: Data for sales and operation planning, Demand management, sales promotional details

Financial Accounting: Records of accounting transactions, management of cash and banking transactions, Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Assets records and their valuation.

Following on from the previous two weeks provide a rough draft of your introduction and your executive summary. Dot points are fine.

If the users are reluctant to get involved with phase 2, many issues, problems and risks can arise. The second phase is very important part of ERP implementation which involves defining the system design, communication with the users and transforming ideas and theory into practice and results. The following are some of the risks that can arise:

• The users can expect a different manner to deal with the information that the system is using.
• The system may not be fit enough to new information flow
• Lack of involvement by users may put the difficulty to understand how the company will handle that particular aspect of system in future
• The current system may not meet a specific company need.

This is both a long and short term issue as it will create user dissatisfaction and wasted time and money in the long run. If users were active participants all errors with the data that was converted across from legacy systems would be correct and time wouldn’t be wasted having to fix or re-enter this data while the system is live at a later date. (Lozinsky, 1998). Active participants have great contribution towards success of the project.

Introduction

Purpose:

The purpose of the report to explain the importance of ERP to achieve efficiency in business processes by providing real-time data throughout the organizational departments. It recognizes the processes involved in the ERP implementation, its challenges, possible reasons for the failure and alternatives to deal with the failures. Therefore helping Cisco to go through the alternatives available to it and take decision for the best of the organization. ERP failures are one of the biggest challenges before the organization tempting to enjoy the benefits of ERP

Background:

Cisco is one of the world’s leading companies dealing in the networking products, systems and services. Its business is not confined to any particular company. Its suppliers, customers and investors are widely spread over the whole world. Cisco serves three main market segments: large organizations including corporations, government entities, utilities, and educational institutions with a variety of products. Cisco runs on complex processes that involve multiple procedures and interwoven mechanisms. Hence it is very important for the company to integrate access and manage information, data and processes all in a single system. This can be achieved only through ERP implementation. Often the companies find ERP implementation to be speculative. Cisco is also facing difficulties in ERP implementation. From the present scenario, its problems can be outlined as follows: 

• The system’s difficulty to cope up with the turbulent environment
• It’s failure to produce results according to planning
• It’s failure to make desirable adaptation in the hyper competitive environment of the company
• High cost of  ERP implementation

Scope:

This report discusses the advantages of successful ERP in an organization, the outlined problems of Cisco and makes suggestion to deal with the problems. It also gives the idea of the limitations to which every ERP is subject to

Executive Summary

This report aims to provide findings and recommendations to advise Cisco on how best to proceed with their ERP system and explain the importance of ERP to support the strategic direction in an increasingly turbulent environment. This report is requested by management of Cisco getting due by 03/09/09. Cisco is amongst the companies making huge investment in their information systems to increase its information processing capabilities dispersed throughout the company. Its investment of 15 million dollar in ERP project has been rolled out in a couple of months because of its failure to meet with the challenges and make adaptations in a hyper competitive organizational environment.

The report emphasizes a successful ERP is significant to process and transport data at a very faster rate to gain the competitive advantage. It analyses all the steps involved in the implementation of ERP project to help Cisco making decision to proceed with the ERP and evaluate the other alternatives available to them according to their current context. Implementation of ERP or its customization involves many challenges and costs. Thus the role of planning before implementation and training of end users is indispensable.

On the basis of the discussion and findings provided in the report, the following recommendations can be made:

• If the existing ERP is discarded, it will incur a huge cost to the company
• Re-engineering of the business processes can be approached to adjust with the system where the problematic areas are not so big.
• If possible, the ERP project should be segmented
• The segmented part can be customized according to the requirement of the business
• ERP should be upgraded by hiring technical experts from outside.
• Training should be provided to the employees to get best of the system
• Change management can help the resistance for ERP project in the company 

Following on from the previous week provide a rough skeleton of what you are going to put in your conclusions and recommendations.

An informed ERP adoption and selection decision cannot be made without fully understanding the problem. The decision is a very important business decision involving high investment and enterprise wide change. Its introduction extends the production information system to finance, marketing, human resource management and other functions. Thus it involves high risk and It requires due commitment on the part of   both top management and end users. Using ready ERP software is like depending on vendor expertise which may not be suitable to the specific needs of the company. It cannot be assumed that such project can be implemented successfully without planning and understanding the problem. The ERP implementation is very too large and complex project. The risks involved with the project make ERP decision very important. Sometimes a well planned ERP project may have to face failures in implementation. There are many risks involved in ERP implementation like failure to meet hardware and software specifications, ineffective communications and incompatibility of system to business processes etc.

Therefore the management should recognize the problem fully and implement strategies to minimize the risk of project failures. If the managers recognize the nature and magnitude of the problem they face in implementing ERP system, they can minimize the risks by employing project management and control strategies. In fact, a full understanding of the problem is very essential to make every decision successful. An unsuccessful ERP decision can make the company unsuccessful. Hence a proper planning should be done to implement the project and it should not be adopted without understanding the problem.

Conclusions and Recommendations:

• If the existing ERP is discarded by CISCO, it will incur a huge cost to the company
• Re-engineering of the business processes can be approached to adjust with the system where the problematic areas are not so big.
• If possible, the ERP project should be segmented
• The segmented part can be customized according to the requirement of the business
• ERP should be upgraded by hiring technical experts from outside.
• Training should be provided to the employees to get best of the system
• Change management can help the resistance for ERP project in the company 

An organisation attempts to trigger alteration in work plan whenever there is some lapse or failure in implementation of the plan. Following are the examples and consequences of such events:

• Resource failures: The conflict of people, time and due to insufficient personnel will result into difficulty with maintenance and dissatisfied users.
• Technique failures: Failure to use effective software development approaches causes inadequate requirement specification, poor reliability and high maintenance costs
• Organisational failures: Poor organisational structure, lack of leadership or excessive span of control leads to poor coordination of tasks, schedule delays and inconsistent quality
• Methodology failures: Failure to perform the activities needed while unnecessary activities are performed. This type of failure can lead to any of the consequences of system failure
• Planning and control failure: These failures are caused by inadequate project management and vague assignment. The work assignment may overlap, deliverables may be poorly defined, and poor communication may result

Wintage Electric is a mid- sized manufacturing company seeking to Implement ERP system. It is facing redundancy in data and high competition in the market. Dealing with its problems ERP brings the following advantages to Wintage:

• ERP system provides on-line, real time operational data which enables the managers to better decision and improve responsiveness to customer’s needs
• ERP’s main objective is to integrate data and processes from all areas of an organisation and unify it for easy access
• It provides data to other software modules like supply chain management, customer relationship management and data warehouse etc.
• ERP is significant to achieve operational excellence by minimising its cost and competitive edge in the market
• ERP increases productivity and competitiveness of a business by providing integrated, real time and accurate data

But switching to ERP will bring high cost and implementation risk to Wintage. It has home grown MIS system which can be customised to obtain more consistent data. Bob, the consultant of Wintage suggests that an investment in an integrated financial and accounting system would also be good investment. Kathryn Martell, the director of Accounting operations in Wintage is also having the opinion that most of the inefficiency can be remedied by adding staff member.

If the business processes do not match the commercially available ERP, the organisation can re- engineer the business processes to fit the package or it can customize its ERP package to meet unique business requirements. In the re- engineering approach, a commercial off-the-shelf ERP is selected and business processes are re- engineered to fit the package. It can disrupt the organisation because this represents changes in procedures, work flows and data. In case of customization, a commercial ERP system data and it is customised to meet unique requirements of business. Customizing ERP can make upgrading to new variations difficult since vendor – supplied versions will be based on Vanilla versions of the software.

The choice between both of the options depends upon cost, competitiveness, business requirements and timeliness. The management can make the decision based on their priorities and organisational goals.

Enterprise system affects the working of every part of organisation. The success of ERP is the effort of management and IT professionals. In fact the role of participation by end users for its implementation is also indispensable. The IT professional are involved with designing of ES according to the information provided to them and investigation made by them. They don’t have the knowledge about operational needs of end users. Hence there is a need of commitment on the part of every employee involved for the successful implementation of ERP. It is not only IT professional who are responsible for adoption of ERP in business. But it requires the involvement of all departmental employees also. Hence it is the management or CEO who evaluates the product and matches what the business requires.

Every organisation has its own process and organisational structure. Though ERP can be specially designed for each organisation as per its needs and requirements. It is designed and continually upgraded to incorporate the best practices to suit most its business operations. It is important to understand that an ERP package not necessarily fit in completely with the all business operations. ERP provides the integrated data for various business segments. Therefore it is incidental that ERP may change organisation’s working culture. If an organisation is unwilling to change its business processes. It is possible that the organisation is not able to achieve complete gain from ERP. Implementation of ERP involves high costs risk. Hence an ERP is the package that enables and the business process. It helps users to do their jobs better which may call for additional efforts.

Q.6 In recent times, there has been a trend away from total (or vanilla) ERP implementations towards ‘best of breed’ systems. Research this trend and describe how it differs from standard ERP implementations. Contrast the approaches and describe advantages and disadvantages. What are some of the considerations that would affect the decision to use the ERP or best of breed approach?

Total or Vanilla ERP implementation refers to purchase the complete ERP from vendor. It is less costly and time consuming. But it lacks the benefits of total integration of data across the multiple functional areas of business. Thus the benefits of ERP are not as great. There is complete standardization of business processes based upon vendor’s best practices. ‘Best of breed’ is building an in- house ERP system. It is most time consuming and expensive alternative and it poses considerable risks. This approach is very useful to build a software system based upon its own unique processes and its software will not be shared with competitors. There is very little change in business processes and little disruption of operations. The choice of system depends upon size, organisational structure and financial status of business.