ERP Systems: Analysis and Implications in Enterprises - Outline Example

Log Book Dissertation Title: “ERP systems: Analysis and Implications in Enterprises” Name: Date: Dissertation Timeline Plan No. Items Days From To 1 Dissertation Proposal 55.d 12/6/2006 2/20/2007 2 Literature Review 73.d 12/25/2006 4/4/2007 3 Questionnaire Development 50.d 1/5/2007 3/15/2007 5 Data Collection 50.d 1/25/2007 4/4/2007 4 Data Analysis 37.d 2/22/2007 4/13/2007 5 Analysis on Findings 37.d 3/1/2007 4/20/2007 6 Compiling 21.d 3/29/2007 4/26/2007 7 Dissertation defense 11.d 4/20/2007 5/5/2007 Total 115.d 12/6/2006 5/15/2007 Summary of weekly activities Week Activities From To 1 Dissertation proposal 12/6/2006 12/13/2006 2 Dissertation proposal 12/14/2006 12/21/2006 3 Dissertation proposal 12/22/2006 12/29/2006 4 Dissertation proposal 12/7/2006 12/14/2006 5 Dissertation proposal 12/15/2006 12/22/2006 6 Dissertation proposal + Literature Review 12/23/2006 12/30/2006 7 Dissertation proposal + Literature Review 1/1/2007 1/8/2007 8 Dissertation proposal + Literature Review 1/9/2007 1/16/2007 9 Literature Review + Questionnaire Development 1/17/2007 1/24/2007 10 Literature Review + Questionnaire Development 1/25/2007 2/1/2007 11 Literature Review + Questionnaire Development 2/2/2007 2/9/2007 12 Literature Review + Questionnaire Development 2/10/2007 2/17/2007 13 Literature Review + Questionnaire Development 2/18/2007 2/25/2007 14 Literature Review + Questionnaire Development 2/26/2007 3/5/2007 15 Literature Review + Questionnaire Development 3/6/2007 3/13/2007 16 Data Collection 3/14/2007 3/21/2007 17 Data Collection 3/22/2007 3/29/2007 18 Data Collection 3/30/2007 4/6/2007 19 Data Analysis 4/7/2007 4/14/2007 20 Data Analysis 4/15/2007 4/22/2007 21 Findings 4/23/2007 4/30/2007 22 Compiling 5/1/2007 5/8/2007 Log Book Wk1 Dissertation proposal 12/6/2006 12/13/2006 In this week 1, I have decided what topic to propose for my dissertation. The title of ERP systems: Analysis and Implications in Enterprises was selected. A draft outline of dissertation proposal was set. Critical success factors which are important for successfully implementing the ERP system in organizations drew my attention. Wk2 Dissertation proposal 12/14/2006 12/21/2006 In this week, my interest and efforts were made for searching for importance of successful implementing ERP system in organization. A good source of article was written by (Loh and Koh, 2004). I have noted the following definitions: “At the strategic level, the ERP system is defined as an integrated application programme for enterprise business organization, management and supervision (Davenport 1998). ERP collects all the functionalities of stand-alone applications and gathers inside a standard software, making it compatible with different business processes. At the operational level, ERP is a game plan for planning and monitoring the resources of a manufacturing enterprise, including the functions of manufacturing, marketing, finance and engineering.” Why important is ERP implementation is that “enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems became the de facto standard for replacement of legacy systems in large and, in particular multinational companies (Holland et al., 1999a, b). Implementation of an ERP system is an extensive, lengthy and costly process, typically measured in millions of dollars.” In addition, The benefits of a properly implemented ERP system are significant, but the price of a poorly implemented system is great. The price refers to both tangible and intangible losses due to failed implementations, such as the tangible cost of hardware and software, and the less tangible cost of customer dissatisfaction. Wk3 Dissertation proposal 12/22/2006 12/29/2006 Critical Success Factors were specified in the literature in this week. The following ten critical success factors are included in the proposal. 1. Management support Top management advocacy, provision adequate resources and commitment to project 2. Release of business experts with relevant knowledge onto the project on a full-time basis Release full-time on to the project of relevant business experts 3. Empowered decision makers The members of the project team/s must be empowered to make quick decisions. 4. Deliverable dates At planning stage, set realistic milestones and end date 5. Champion Advocate for system who is unswerving in promoting the benefits of the new system 6. Vanilla ERP Minimal customization and uncomplicated option selection 7. Smaller scope Fewer modules and less functionality implemented, smaller user group and fewer/single sites 8. Definition of scope and goals The steering committee determines the scope and objectives of the project in advance and then adheres to it 9. Balanced team Right mix of business analysts, technical experts and users from within the implementation company and consultants from external companies 10. Commitment to change Perseverance and determination in face of inevitable problems with implementation Source: Parr and Shanks (2000) Wk4 Dissertation proposal 12/7/2006 12/14/2006 This week, objectives of dissertation proposal were carefully specified. They are as follows: To identify CSFs in each of the phases of ERP system which are crucial for successfully analyzing and implementing. To develop a model of CSFs in the ERP phases of analyzing and implementing. To validate the proposed conceptual model including CSFs for successful analyzing and implementing. Wk5 Dissertation proposal 12/15/2006 12/22/2006 This week covered the search and compiling on “problems, opportunity, and scope” topic. Nah and Delgado (2006) provide useful information on ERP implementation. This summarizes the problems associated with ERP implementation. “Problems with the implementation of ERP systems are well documented. Although companies spend millions on ERP packages and the implementation process, there is extensive evidence that they experience considerable problems, particularly during the actual implementation project. This paper presents a project phase model (PPM) of ERP implementation projects that is a synthesis of existing ERP implementation process models and focuses on the implementation project (Nah and Delgado, 2006).” It is noted that customization of the ERP system should be avoided as much as possible. “For an ERP implementation to be successful, the complexities of existing business legacy systems must be successfully managed. Customization of the ERP system should be avoided as much as possible. Customizing an ERP system has been associated with an increase in IT costs, a longer implementation time, and the inability to benefit from the vendor's software maintenance and upgrades. To justify customizing the system, a strong business case on the loss of competitive advantage should be developed.” Wk6 Dissertation proposal + Literature Review 12/23/2006 12/30/2006 This week covered searching for appropriate methods for ERP implementation study. Methodology includes (1) Case studies of five organizations which had previously implemented ERP systems, and (2) Personal interviews with team members, project managers of ERP systems. Key stages included in the dissertation are (1) Dissertation Proposal, (2) Literature Review, (3) Questionnaire Development, (4) Data Collection, (5) Data Analysis, (6) Analysis on Findings, (7) Compiling, and (8) Dissertation defense. Wk7 Dissertation proposal + Literature Review 1/1/2007 1/8/2007 This week was spent on re-writing the draft proposal into a final draft. Meanwhile, literature search was conducted on the online full-text database. There are list of articles I have searched from the database and saved them as softcopies in my computer. Wk8 Dissertation proposal + Literature Review 1/9/2007 1/16/2007 This week, a final version of proposal was completed. In addition, more literature search was conducted with online full-text database search. More softcopies files are gathered in my computer. After reviewing the literature, fine-tuning on specification on CSFs were needed first in order to build a conceptual framework on CSFs and successful implementation of ERP system. Wk9 Literature Review + Questionnaire Development 1/17/2007 1/24/2007 In this week, I have achieved the search for (1) the historical development of ERP system in organizations; (2) who are vendors providing ERP system and solutions, and (3) what are benefits for implementing ERP system in business organizations. Good sources of literatures are (1) Muscatello, (2002); (2) Chen et al, (2000); and (3) Michel, (1997). Wk10 Literature Review + Questionnaire Development 1/25/2007 2/1/2007 In this week, I have searched the nature associated with implementing the ERP system. The ERP system enhances the performance of business process. The finding of “Davenport (2000) argued that argued that a successful organization is the one that makes simultaneous changes in its information systems, its business processes, and its business strategy” convinces me that the further inquiry on implementation of ERP system is worthy. Other literature sources are: Fitzgerald (1998); Muscatello (2002); Brancheau et al. (1987); Mabert et al. (2000); and Gattiker and Goodhue, March (2004). Wk11 Literature Review + Questionnaire Development 2/2/2007 2/9/2007 This week uncovered the specifications of critical success factors for successfully implementing the ERP system. Business plan was found as one of the critical success factors for implementation process. The literature searched is: 1.1 Business plan/vision (Al-Masbari, Al-Mudlmigh and Zairi, 2003, Buckbout, Frey, and Nemec,1999, Collins,1999, Holland, C.P. and B. Light, 2001, Holland, 1999,Rosario, 2000, Wee, 2000) 1.2 Project mission/goals (Al-Masbari, Al-Mudlmigh and Zairi, 2003, Shanks et al., 2000, Somers et al., 2001) 1.3 Justification for investment in ERP (&) Wk12 Literature Review + Questionnaire Development 2/10/2007 2/17/2007 This week was devoted to the searching of two critical success factors, namely communication and change management. The following literature was summarized. 2.1 Recognizing the need for change (Falkowski et al. 1998) 2.2 Enterprise wide culture and structure management (Bajwa, Garcia, and Mooney, 2004, Falkowski et al. 1998, Rosario, 2000, Somers et al., 2001) 2.3 Commitment to change-perseverance and determination (Shanks et al., 2000) 2.4 Business Process Reengineering (Al-Masbari, Al-Mudlmigh and Zairi, 2003. Bingi, Sharma, and Godla, 1999, Holland, 1999, Murray and Coffin, 2001, Shanks et al., 2000, Somers et al., 2001, Wee, 2000) 2.5 Analysis of user feedback (Al-Masbari, Al-Mudlmigh and Zairi, 2003, Holland, 1999) 2.6 User education and training (Al-Masbari, Al-Mudlmigh and Zairi, 2003, Bajwa, Garcia, and Mooney, 2004, Bingi, Sharma, and Godla, 1999, Holland, 1999, Murray and Coffin, 2001, Shanks et al., 2000, Somers et al., 2001) 2.7 User support organization and involvement (Wee, 2000) 2.8 IT workforce re-skilling (Bajwa, Garcia, and Mooney, 2004, Sumner, 1999) 3.1 Targeted and effective communication (Al-Masbari, Al-Mudlmigh and Zairi, 2003. Falkowski et al. 1998, Somers et al., 2001, Wee, 2000) 3.2 Communication among stakeholders (Holland, 1999, Shanks et al., 2000) 3.3 Expectations communicated al all levels (Holland, 1999,Rosario, 2000, Shanks et al., 2000,Somers et al., 2001, Sumner, 1999) 3.4 Project progress communication (Holland, 1999, Sumner, 1999) Wk13 Literature Review + Questionnaire Development 2/18/2007 2/25/2007 Project management and top management support were specified and their existence in the literature was thoroughly examined. The following summarizes the searched literature: 4.1 Best people on team (Bingi, Sharma, and Godla, 1999, Buckbout, Frey, and Nemec,1999, Falkowski et al. 1998, Rosario, 2000, Shanks et al., 2000, Siau and Messersmith, 2003, Wee, 2000) 4.2 Balanced or cross-functional team (Holland, 1999, Shanks et al., 2000,Somers et al., 2001,Sumner, 1999) 4.3 Full-time team members (Shanks et al., 2000) 4.4 Partnerships, trust, risk-sharing, and incentives (Gefen, 2004,Haines and Goodhue, 2003, Robey, Ross and Boudreau, 2002,Somers et al., 2001, Wee, 2000) 4.5 Empowered decision makers (Shanks et al., 2000) 4.6 Performance tied to compensation (Falkowski et al. 1998) 4.7 Business and technical knowledge of team members and consultants (Al-Masbari, Al-Mudlmigh and Zairi, 2003; Bajwa, Garcia, and Mooney, 2004, Bingi, Sharma, and Godla, 1999, Haines and Goodhue, 2003, Hirt and Swanson, 2001,Shanks et al., 2000,Somers et al., 2001,Sumner, 1999) 5.1 Assign responsibility (Rosario, 2000) 5.2 Clearly establish project scope (Bajwa, Garcia, and Mooney, 2004,Holland, 1999, Shanks et al., 2000) 5.3 Control project scope (Rosario, 2000, Shanks et al., 2000, Somers et al., 2001) 5.4 Evaluate any proposed change (Sumner, 1999, Wee, 2000) 5.5 Control and assess scope expansion requests (Sumner, 1999) 5.6 Define project milestones (Al-Masbari, Al-Mudlmigh and Zairi, 2003. Bajwa, Garcia, and Mooney, 2004,Holland, 1999) , 5.7 Set realistic milestones and end dates (Murray and Coffin, 2001, Shanks et al., 2000) 5.8 Enforce project timeliness (Al-Masbari, Al-Mudlmigh and Zairi, 2003. 26) 5.9 Coordinate project activities across all affected parties (Bajwa, Garcia, and Mooney, 2004, Falkowski et al. 1998) 5.10 Track milestones and targets (Al-Masbari, Al-Mudlmigh and Zairi, 2003. Murray and Coffin, 2001,Rosario, 2000,Somers et al., 2001,Sumner, 1999) 6.1 Approval and support from top management (Al-Masbari, Al-Mudlmigh and Zairi, 2003, Bajwa, Garcia, and Mooney, 2004, Bingi, Sharma, and Godla, 1999, Buckbout, Frey, and Nemec,1999, Murray and Coffin, 2001, Sarker and Lee, 2003,Shanks et al., 2000, Somers et al., 2001,Sumner, 1999) 6.2 Top management publicly and explicitly identified project as top priority (Shanks et al., 2000, Wee, 2000) 6.3 Allocate resources (Al-Masbari, Al-Mudlmigh and Zairi, 2003. Bajwa, Garcia, and Mooney, 2004, Holland, 1999, Shanks et al., 2000, Somers et al., 2001) 6.4 Existence of project champion (Shanks et al., 2000, Somers et al., 2001, Sumner, 1999) 6.5 High level executive sponsor as champion (Falkowski et al. 1998, Murray and Coffin, 2001, Rosario, 2000, Somers et al., 2001) 6.6 Project sponsor commitment (Rosario, 2000) Wk14 Literature Review + Questionnaire Development 2/26/2007 3/5/2007 Top management support and system are two critical success factors specified in this week. The following summarizes the searched literature. 6.1 Approval and support from top management (Al-Masbari, Al-Mudlmigh and Zairi, 2003, Bajwa, Garcia, and Mooney, 2004, Bingi, Sharma, and Godla, 1999, Buckbout, Frey, and Nemec,1999, Murray and Coffin, 2001, Sarker and Lee, 2003,Shanks et al., 2000, Somers et al., 2001,Sumner, 1999) 6.2 Top management publicly and explicitly identified project as top priority (Shanks et al., 2000, Wee, 2000) 6.3 Allocate resources (Al-Masbari, Al-Mudlmigh and Zairi, 2003. Bajwa, Garcia, and Mooney, 2004, Holland, 1999, Shanks et al., 2000, Somers et al., 2001) 6.4 Existence of project champion (Shanks et al., 2000, Somers et al., 2001, Sumner, 1999) 6.5 High level executive sponsor as champion (Falkowski et al. 1998, Murray and Coffin, 2001, Rosario, 2000, Somers et al., 2001) 6.6 Project sponsor commitment (Rosario, 2000) 7.1 Legacy system (Al-Masbari, Al-Mudlmigh and Zairi, 2003, Holland, 1999, Lee, Siau and Hong, 2003) 7.2 Minimum customization (Bajwa, Garcia, and Mooney, 2004, Light, 2001, Murray and Coffin, 2001, Rosario, 2000,Shanks et al., 2000, Somers et al., 2001, Sumner, 1999) 7.3 Configuration of overall ERP architecture (Wee, 2000) 7.4 Vigorous and sophisticated testing (Al-Masbari, Al-Mudlmigh and Zairi, 2003, Rosario, 2000) 7.5 Integration (Bingi, Sharma, and Godla, 1999, Lee, Siau and Hong, 2003,Somers et al., 2001) 7.6 Use of vendor s development tools and implementation methodologies (Siau, 2004,Robey, Ross and Boudreau, 2002) 7.7 ERP package selection (Al-Masbari, Al-Mudlmigh and Zairi, 2003. 3, Hong and Kim, 2002, Nah, Tan and Teh, 2004, Sieber et al., 2000, Soh et al., 2003,Somers et al., 2001, Umble et al., 2003) 7.8 Selection of ERP Architecture (Somers et al., 2001) 7.9 Selection of data to be converted (Somers et al., 2001) 7.10 Data conversion (Bajwa, Garcia, and Mooney, 2004, Somers et al., 2001) 7.11 Appropriate modeling methods/techniques (Murray and Coffin, 2001, Scheer and Habermann, 2000) 7.12 Troubleshooting (Holland, 1999) Wk15 Literature Review + Questionnaire Development 3/6/2007 3/13/2007 This week was devoted to develop questionnaire which consists of 39 items under the seven critical success factors and one perceived success of implementing ERP system in organizations. Liker scale of 7 scales rating was adopted to answer the questions. Structured interview questions were developed for personal interviews with selected people who were involved in implementing ERP system. Wk16 Data Collection 3/14/2007 3/21/2007 Data were colleted from selected sample who are involved with the implementing of ERP system in organizations. There were 169 selected respondents. Questionnaires for one third of the sample selected were sent. Wk17 Data Collection 3/22/2007 3/29/2007 Data were colleted from selected sample who are involved with the implementing of ERP system in organizations. There were 169 selected respondents. Questionnaires for one third of the sample selected were sent. Two personal interviews with structured questionnaires were conducted. Wk18 Data Collection 3/30/2007 4/6/2007 Data were colleted from selected sample who are involved with the implementing of ERP system in organizations. There were 169 selected respondents. Questionnaires for one third of the sample selected were sent. Three personal interviews with structured questionnaires were conducted. Wk19 Data Analysis 4/7/2007 4/14/2007 All questionnaires returned were collected back. Data were keyed in the SPSS spread sheet. This is really exhausting task I have ever done. Interview scripts were written in words. Then they were re-viewed and re-written again. Wk20 Data Analysis 4/15/2007 4/22/2007 Data analyses were done with SPSS program version 10.5. The regression analysis (OLS) was employed. Results were carefully checked in order to make sure that the data were keyed in correctly with descriptive analysis. I have to carefully looked at the min and max. values and their frequency. Wk21 Findings 4/23/2007 4/30/2007 Findings were some how satisfactory. Regression analyses of findings were satisfactory. Coefficient values do not raise any suspicious points. Wk22 Compiling 5/1/2007 5/8/2007 Compiling of the entire dissertation was done in this week. It is not sample and it was really a tiresome job. Read More