General Management Essay

Case on Discomfort in a factory and Management Decision MakingMohan remembered the call from the head office as he puts down the telephone receiver. His boss fromhead office he said, â€Å"I just read your analysis and I want you to go down to our plant in Kollakal near Mysore right away. You know we cannot afford this plant any more – the costs are just too high. So godown there, check out what would be our operational costs would be if we move, and report back to mein a week. â€Å"Mohan knew the challenge quite well as the branch manager of the Good will Specialty Products. Hiscompany is into manufacturing of special apparel for injured and people with other medical conditions. He needs to deal with high-cost labor in a remote village not so sophisticated plant, unionized manufac-turing plant. Although he had done the analysis there were 480 people who made a living at this facilityand if it is closed most of them will find it very difficult to get another job in the small town consisting of about 10 000 people. Instead of the Rs. 20/- per hour paid to the Kollakal workers the wages paid to the migrant workers near Aurangabad will be much cheaper Rs. /- hour working in sub human conditions. This provides a savingof 15 lakhs to the company for a year, which, can now be used to meet the costs for training, transporta-tion and other matters. After two days of talking with Migrant workers association and representatives of other companies usingthe same services in the town, Mohan had enough information to formulate alternative plan for produc-tion and the c ost figures for production and transportation. What was bothering him was only the thoughtthat how is going to handover the termination of service notice to the Kollakal workers. The plant in Kollakal had been in operation since 1930s making special apparel for persons sufferingfrom injuries and other medical conditions. Mohan has often talked to the employees who would recountstories of their fathers and grant fathers working in the company plant-the last of the original manufactur-ing operations in the town. AN ISO 9001 : 2008 CERTIFIED INTERNATIONAL B-SCHOOL But friendship aside competitors had already edged past Good will in terms of price and were dangerous-ly close to overtaking it in product quality. Although Mohan and his Boss had tried to convince the unionto accept the lower wages, union leaders resisted it. In fact, in one occasion when Mohan tried to discussa cell manufacturing approach, which would cross train employees to perform up to three different jobs,local union leaders could barely restrain their anger. Yet probing beyond their anger Mohan sensed their vulnerability, but could not break through. Tomorrow he will discuss his report with the CEO. Mohan does not want to be responsible for disman-tling of the plant at Kollakal, an act, which Mohan believes is personally wrong, but he is helpless. Mo-han said to himself â€Å"The costs are too high, the union’s unwilling to cooperate, and the company needs tomake a better return on its investment if it has to continue at all. It sounds right, but it feels wrong. Whatshould I do? Questions : 1. Assume you want to lead the change to save the Kollkal plant. Describe how you would proceed? 2. What is the primary type of change needed – technology, product, structure or people/culture? 3. What techniques would you use to overcome union resistance and implement change? i need the answers for this case study plz provide me

Culture as a Determinant of Motivation Essay

Why is the study of Different Theories of Motivation important to managers? The World has changed at a very fast pace and will continue to do so. The view point that many prominent researchers had on motivation has also evolved with changing times. There has been a phenomenal change in the way organizations and individuals function in the twenty first century if we made a comparison with how organizations functioned back in the day. There is a significantly greater focus today on employee satisfaction, work life balance, cross cultural values, virtual teams and formal performance management processes to name a few. Globalization is one the key factors which has brought a prominent change in many organizational practices in the twenty first century. Hershey and Blanchard (1977) mentioned that â€Å"motives can be defined as needs, wants, drives or impulses within the individual which are directed towards goals which may be conscious or sub conscious†. Motivation has been defined by Robbins, Decenzo and Coulter (2011) as â€Å"motivation is the process by which a person’s efforts are energized, directed, and sustained towards attaining a goal â€Å" In this paper we will define motivation as the force which helps an individual focus on his immediate and long term goals and helps him run the extra mile. Also in this essay we will be focusing on the impact of culture on organizational behavior and the reasons why managers need to be aware of various motivational theories so that they are well equipped to handle this impact of culture change. Motivation is a very important tool that is not effectively utilized by managers. Motivation if used effectively can significantly improve the performance of teams and employees. It was thought earlier that motivation could be directed only by external factors, but it is now understood that every employee has his own set of motivators which if addressed correctly can significantly improve a manager and his team’s performance. It is the manager’s responsibility to correctly identify these motivating factors and take all steps possible to address them. But this is easier said than done. As observed in today’s environment there are many issues which create a hindrance for managers to motivate their respective teams. In most organizations because of the growing impetus of globalization and the fact that individuals from different cultures, ethnic backgrounds come on the same platform and work together, it is becoming increasingly difficult for managers to be on top o f these growing trends and continue to motivate their respective teams. It is very important for managers to understand how important the concept of culture plays in the way an employee thinks and behaves. Only when a manager is aware of the subtle changes in an individual’s behavior because of their cultural background, can he actually make a concentrated effort to analyze and evaluate methods to motivate that particular individual. Geert Hofstede’s (1980) theory of cultural dimensions describes how a particular society’s culture influences the behavior and values of individuals using a structure derived from factor analysis. This theory proposed four concepts on the basis of which cultural values could be evaluated; Individualism- collectivism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, power distance and masculinity- feminity. As per Sledge, Miles and Coppage (2008) power distance is â€Å"the degree to which control and influence are distributed unequally in society†. In countries with high power distance it would not be recommended to give employees a lot of freedom with respect to their work. The employees would be more comfortable when they are abiding by a strict protocol and set guidelines and procedures whereas in countries with low power distance decentralization of power would be recommended where employees can be empowered and inspired to come up with creative ideas in their work. Countries like Venezuela and Malaysia are examples of nations which show High Power distance whereas Denmark and Great Britain are nations which show very low power distance. Sledge, Miles and Coppage (2008) defined the concept of individualism versus collectivism as â€Å"I and Me versus We and Us’†. Cultures where the beliefs are that one is responsible for his own decisions and the general tendency is to take care of only oneself and his own family are individualistic cultures. Collective cultures are those where people rely more heavily on groups and the general tendency is to take care of each other. Individualism is common in USA, Canada and mostly in the West whereas collectivism is more common in Pakistan, India and Brazil. In collective cultures promotions and appraisals are generally done on the basis of seniority, age and loyalty whereas in individualistic cultures appraisals are done only on the basis of merit. In countries where the culture is individualistic strong individual recognition and rewards would be very strong motivators. Sledge, Miles and Coppage (2008) expounded that uncertainty avoidance was â€Å"the degree of risk aversion†. Individuals from Countries with high uncertainty avoidance are generally very wary of ambiguous situations and they create beliefs and situations to increase their sense of security. They have very strong belief in experts and they generally arrive at decisions only with consensus of their entire group. Denmark and Great Britain are examples of low uncertainty avoidance cultures whereas Germany, Japan and Spain are examples of High Uncertainty avoidance countries. Sledge, Miles, and Coppage (2008) elucidated on masculinity versus femininity as â€Å"the desire for material possessions and recognition versus the desire for relationships and family† In masculine societies monetary rewards would make very good motivators whereas in predominantly feminine societies Flexible working hours or more time away from work for family would be very strong motivators. A feminine society is more concerned with family and personal relationships as against masculine societies where jobs are more or less gender based. Examples of such masculine cultures are China, Japan, Philippines, India, Bangladesh whereas examples of more feminine cultures are Thailand, Korea, Vietnam and Indonesia. Some researchers like William Ouchi (Theory Z) and Peters & Waterman(Excellence theory) developed theories on the difference between management practices between Japanese and American business corporations . They firmly believed that most American and Japanese corporations functioned similar to the McGregor’s Theory X & Theory Y where the American companies firmly believed that workers are generally unwilling to work and can be motivated only with economic benefits whereas the Japanese corporations were of the belief that the workers can be motivated by a sense of duty and loyalty. The major difference in the functioning of these organizations was also the fact the managers from the west which are predominantly individualistic cultures could not generally think about the bigger picture and this probably showed in the treatment of their employees. Hence the intrinsic factors of most employees were not catered to. Companies from the East like Japan which is a collective culture showed that managers used to generally behave with their workers like they were a part of a collective unit and this made the employees think about the companies as an extension to their individual self. This made them believe that money and economic benefits were not primary motivators. Such employees were motivated with other factors like by knowledge sharing, improving their self esteem, self respect, achievement, recognition and opportunities for more challenging work. Organizations need to pay utmost attention to the cultural and ethnic sentiments of their employees. Let’s say for instance Multinational Companies who have their setup in India also have to take many factors into consideration like the fact that every state in India has some festivals which have a very strong regional and cultural flavor. Organizations have to keep in mind that even within Cultures there are many sub cultures and the sentiments of the employees within these sub cultures also need to be taken care of. Like for instance in India in the state of Maharashtra the festival of Ganesh Chaturthi is of very high cultural and emotional significance whereas in the state of Punjab Baisakhi as a festival is of very high importance. Organizations need to take these aspects also into consideration and keep a correct balance when they are deciding holidays for the employees in a particular culture or sub culture. If the management does not pay attention to the sentiments of their employees, this will send the wrong signals to their employees and they will be unable to identify themselves with the ideals of the company. In such situations motivating employees would become very difficult. Having seen the impact of culture on the behavior of employees and individuals it would be very advantageous for managers to understand the underlying and basic crux of motivation theories. These theories when used in the right context with employees will help motivate them and improve their performance. Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory of Motivation (1968) emphasizes on core job factors and distinguishes them into two categories Hygiene Factors and Motivational Factors. Herzberg further added that the Hygiene Factors like Pay, Company Policies, Fringe Benefits, Physical working conditions, Status, Interpersonal Relations, and Job Security were only factors that were extrinsic to the work environment and on ly prevented dissatisfaction. These factors never motivated individuals but only prevented the individuals from getting dissatisfied which might further lead to de-motivation. He further added that the motivational factors were intrinsic to an individual and were inherent in work. The motivational factors like recognition, Growth Opportunities, Responsibility, Leadership Quotient, and Meaningfulness of work were what were instrumental in creating satisfaction in an employee and motivating him. What is interesting to know is that in different cultures the motivators and hygiene factors are slightly different. In collective cultures sense of fulfillment and working towards company goal is considered far more important that individual pay and remuneration like in western cultures. Managers need to strike the right balance with employees to properly inspire them to perform better. In order to be able to do this they need to have sufficient background knowledge of the culture quotient of an employee along with certain theories of motivation which might be applicable to those employees. In recent times of financial crisis it has become even more important for managers to understand the key factors which can motivate their employees. Organizations in recent times have become hard pressed to offer economic benefits and rewards to their employees. In such situations it would a great advantage to managers if they have sufficient knowledge of motivation theories like the Equity theory of Motivation which states that every individual has an ingrained instinct to continuously evaluate what is it that he is gaining from the company with respect to what he investing in the company. Individuals also continuously compare themselves with their peers and colleagues. Such theories will help manages keep a right balance and ensure that certain factors which can give impetus to an employee’s dissatisfaction are sufficiently curtailed. They will then start focusing on improving an employee’s soft skills like interpersonal communication, instilling a sense of duty and loyalty towards the organization, making the employees strive for self improvement. Recognition and praise for good work will also be used more effectively used to motivate employees. The uses of motivation theories have become even more important as in most organizations virtual teams have become the order of the day. Employees work with their associates and colleagues whom they have never even met. It has become even more instrumental for managers to instill a sense of collectivism in their teams so that individuals working in a group can transform into a team in an actual sense. As per the survey done by Mckinsey(2010) it was found that most employees in organizations feel de motivated when they are unable to idolize themselves with the leadership of the company. It was also found that the many employees in the organization would feel even more motivated if they were offered a few words of praise from their boss. Like for instance if a manager appreciates the efforts of an employee who is a part of his virtual team whose first language is not English, this will really do wonders for that specific employee. All the small bits when put together make a collage. The study of motivation theories has now become of paramount importance to managers as they really need to understand that small bit which will motivate their team and their associates to do better than they actually can. This is what will separate a manager from a leader and will elevate the performance of a group of people to a team. Bibliography References * Hofstede, G. (1980). Motivation, Leadership, and Organization: Do American Theories Apply Abroad? Organizational Dynamics, 9(1), 42-63 * Hersey P, Kenneth Blanchard (1977). Management of Organisational Behaviour. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall * Sledge, S., Miles, A. K., & Coppage, S. (2008). What role does culture play? A look at motivation and job satisfaction among hotel workers in Brazil. International Journal Of Human Resource Management, 19(9), 1667-1682. doi:10.1080/09585190802295157 * Blackwell RJ, Miniard PW, Enrgel JF (2007). Consumer Behaviour, 9thed., Thomson Press, London. * Decenzo DA (2001). Fundamentals of Management: Essentials Concepts and Application. Prentice Hall, New Jersey. * Deresky H (2007). International Management: Managing Across Borders and Cultures (6th Edition). New Jersey; Prentice Hall * Koenigs, R. (1982). An Interview with Dr. William Ouchi. Training & Development Journal, 36(3), 38 * Herzberg F (1968). ‘One more time: how do you motivate e mployee?’ Havard Business Review, Jan-Feb, 53-64 * Hofstede G (1991) Cultures and Organizations: Software of the mind.McGraw Hill. * Hofstede G (1980). Culture’s Consequences: International Differences in Work-Relate Values. Newbury Park CA: Sage. * Dewhurst, M., Guthridge, M., & Mohr, E. (2010). Motivating people: Getting beyond money. Mckinsey Quarterly, (1), 12-15

Effective Technology Support Team Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Effective Technology Support Team - Essay Example The success enjoyed by Davies' team is proof of the fact that he enjoyed a rather effective technology support team. However, as we can see, his team was composed not only of his colleagues, but professors and graduates as well. This fact seems to point out, that for team success, it is not necessary to have a group of geniuses with a plethora of experience. So, what is it that actually determines how successful a team is Apart from having a well-defined objective, it is important for a team to have a clear process through which they will achieve that objective, i.e. the group defines and achieves a continuous series of 'small wins' along the way to a larger goal. In the example above, there were numerous problems the Stanley group faced along the way of the actual execution of the plan (such as the problem of controlling the car in dust and fog). However, the team was prepared for all the challenges they faced. Sure, they didn't have all the possible technologies they might need to get them through, but they had meticulously planned a specific line of action for each problem they might face. (Geoff Koch, former Intel editor, www.intel.com) A team can only flourish when it exists in an easy yet involving environment, in the sense that there is a lot of healthy discussion in which virtually everyone participates, but it limited to the teams' objective. If discussion gets off track, someone (whose role is pre-assigned) brings it back to the task in hand. After listening to each other, members just voice any and all ideas that come to mind. They do net hesitate considering the fact that their creativity may be labeled stupidity. They disagree and criticize each other frequently, but they always scrutinize each others' reason for doing so, so that they might work constructively towards the objective of the team. The purpose is simply not to dominate the dissenter, but to resolve the issue. Conversely, the dissenters don't try to dominate the group; they simple voice a genuine difference of opinion. If there are basic disagreements that can't be immediately resolved, the group figures out a way to live with them without let ting them halt its efforts. A decision is only taken when there is either unanimous or at the very least a general agreement, but never when there was confusion regarding both sides of a choice. (MacGregor D., n.d., The Human Side of Enterprise), (Kaztenbach & Smith, n.d. The Wisdom of Teams) However, this is the scenario where a team has actually been assembled and it sets out to perform the task at hand. But how is that team chosen in the first place, i.e. how does team building actually occur The first question asked about any team member is the level of intelligence. Are their brains capable of computing the amount of data necessary for the task When designing a particular system, there are a million different problems he might face.Will that person be able to address those issues Very simple put, does he have what it takes (patience, experience, judgment, analytical/problem solving capabilities, etc)to handle his job Additionally, it helps if the team members are curious about the things they actually research into. For e.g.

Which is best Private or Public Schools Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Which is best Private or Public Schools - Essay Example Some of the above domains are similar both in private and public schools whereas some others are different. Facilities are similar in most of the private and public schools; but are different in their source of revenues. Private schools look for endowments and tuition fees to develop facilities. Public school facilities depend on the economy of the place of operation. In rural areas the facilities may be less for both private and public schools whereas in urban areas the facilities may be better. Private schools are better for the students as far as the class sizes are concerned. Most of the private schools have smaller class sizes compared to the public schools. Individual care is more in private schools because of the smaller class size. The teacher would be able to give more focus to the needs of the students in private schools. On the other hand, public schools have bigger class sizes and hence less individual attention is offered in such institutions. Because of the high salaries in public schools compared to private schools, the teachers are more loyal to their profession in public schools. On the other hand, private schools are hiring professionals of higher academic qualifications which help them to provide quality education to their students. Comparing the above two facts, the general quality of education both in private and public schools are almost same. Public school budgets depend on the economy of its place of operation whereas private schools have lot of other channels for raising funds. Heavy tuition fees is the main revenue source for the private schools whereas in public schools the tuition fees are much low. â€Å"The good news for parents is that public schools cannot charge tuition. The bad news is that public schools are complicated, often underfunded operations influenced by political winds and shortfalls† (Great schools

Discrimination in Gtan Torino Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Discrimination in Gtan Torino - Essay Example The 2008 film Gtan Torino, which stares Clint Eastwood exhibits a high level of cultural diversity. However, Walt Kowalski, who is the main character and protagonist in the movie, shows high level of resistance to the abundant cultural diversity. He is filled with stereotypes and prejudice on the cultural units he desists. Kowalski lives a rather miserable life, as he is haunted by memories of the people he killed in the war in Korea, when he was in the military. His wife also dies, he is not in good terms with his children and family, and does not get along with the neighbours. Therefore, his is a solitary life, which he lives with his dog.   Kowalski is an angry veteran, who hates and despises Koreans. He also hates and despises his neighbours, who are Hmongs. He treats them in an ill manner, abuses them, and considers them barbaric and uncivilized.   Stereotyping, which is a form of discriminating is wrong, and most of the time, does not depict the true picture of the person o r group being discriminated against. Stereotypes are false perceptions about a group of people, which outsiders hold about them. Nonetheless, unless one interacts with certain people, and learns their way living and doing things, then holding any type of stereotypes about them is wrong. In this film, Kowalski has various stereotypes about most Asian ethnic groups. For instance, he believed that all Chinese people cooked and fed on dogs as a meal. Nonetheless, his neighbours were Hmongs.... In this film, Kowalski has various stereotypes about most Asian ethnic groups. For instance, he believed that all Chinese people cooked and fed on dogs as a meal. Nonetheless, his neighbours were Hmongs, who are an Asian ethnic group from parts of China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand. Kowalski therefore, despises his neighbours, and thinks they too cook and eat dogs. However, when he finally establishes a close relationship with them, he realizes that they prepare and eat good and decent meals, just like him. This therefore, proves his stereotype against them wrong. Discrimination against a certain group of people based on their race might make one to miss special opportunities of exploring and getting in touch with human diversity. One might fail to see the good side of the people whom they discriminate against. This is because; those who discriminate against others are less likely to associate with them, as they regard them to be less important. Therefore, discrimination is wrong, si nce it denies one the opportunity to experience and benefit from a different cultural group. In this film, Kowalski is a lonely old man, who does not have company, as even his own children do not like being around him, and even plan to take him to a retirement village. Nonetheless, when Kowalski gets in close association with his neighbours, through the young Sue and Thao, he begins to learn many positive facts about the Hmong people, which he never imagined, as he had belittled the Hmongs and other Asian ethnic groups. Although one might consider their ethnic group as superior, compared to others, there might be many factors, which the other groups that are perceived less powerful, have, that

Genetics assignment three Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Genetics assignment three - Essay Example refers to variant expression of chromosomes, parts of chromosomes, or individual genes, depending on any one of the two sexes from where they get inherited. For the achievement of imprinting, genetic materials can get modified during the process of gamete creation or near the beginning embryonic growth in any of the two sexes (Judd 33). Therefore, the imprinted genes determine the traits that are articulated in a different way than would be the expected case under distinctive Mendelian inheritance. This assertion is false since imprinting is not specifically activation of the Y chromosome because with imprinted genes one can inherit only one working copy of the gene both from the mother or a father (Judd 46). Therefore, depending on the gene, either the copy of the father or the mother, by addition of methyl groups at some stage during sperm or egg formation can epigenetically get silenced. b) Turner mosaicism could have arisen through errors in early fetal cell division that resulted in some of the cells having two complete copies of the X chromosome whereas the other have only one copy. The absent X chromosome results in developmental faults in the fetus. Judd, Sandra J.  Congenital Disorders Sourcebook: Basic Consumer Health Information about Nonhereditary Birth Defects and Disorders Related to Prematurity, Gestational Injuries, Congenital Infections, and Birth Complications, including Heart Defects, Hydrocephalus, Spina. 2nd ed. Detroit, MI: Omnigraphics, 2007.

The Models or Schools Of Thought to the Management of Business Essay

The Models or Schools Of Thought to the Management of Business Strategy - Essay Example The present research has identified that the strategic models during the 1980s were predominantly premised upon factors external to the organization. They pertained to elements in the business environment which shaped the manner in which the corporation responded. The advantage of these strategies is that they are market-oriented and therefore are keen to capture opportunities and avoid threats; however, they largely ignore or overlook the internal resources and capabilities of the company and its strengths and weaknesses. As a result, the strategic plans are not always feasible for the company to implement, or the firm may be ill-equipped or their personnel ill-trained to properly execute it.   Porter’s model focuses on five forces that are external to the firm but internal to the industry to which it belongs. The stronger these forces are, the more limited a firm is in building profits; on the other, weak forces indicate that there are more opportunities to earn profits. O ver time, the strength of each of the forces may change, together with changing industry conditions. It is the manager’s task to take cognizance of these risks and opportunities and to formulate an appropriate strategy in response to these forces. Each of the generic strategies adopts a fundamentally different approach in â€Å"creating, sustaining, and combining a firm’s competitive advantage† and deciding on what its specific target shall be. The clear-cut distinctions the model makes among the strategies tend to be simplistic and misleading because a cost leader cannot ignore the basis of differentiation – that is, the cost leader must at least achieve parity or proximity on the basis of differentiation as its competitors for it to realize an advantage over them in cost. Conversely, the firm relying on differentiation must attain a cost structure at parity or proximity to its competitors, by reigning in costs that do not impact on differentiation.

Concept Software Systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words - 1

Concept Software Systems - Essay Example According to the paper the hardcopy of the email was left in a common work area and by chance was read by David. The dilemma is what David should do, because of his knowledge of the matter. Although several unethical situations develop, it is the issue of the confidential email’s contents that is the main problem that calls for a resolution. David is a principled young man raised with strong moral values and a propensity to stand for what is right. However, adverse action on his part may earn him the ire of his superiors and peers and may cost him his job. Furthermore, the manner by which he came upon the email brings to question the validity of his future action on the matter. This report will present the case analysis and discussion of Concept Software Solutions (CSS), which deals with the application of ethical principles and practices in the context of information technology and electronic communication. Based on the theory of utilitarianism which commands the greatest good for the greatest number, workers should be ensured proper working hours, otherwise this situation is reduced to exploitation for the sake of gain of the employer. However, if in a particular jurisdiction a limited number of hours per day is assured the worker by law, then the theory that applies is the Social Contract theory, because the terms of the social contract (which is the law) is enforceable by the government. Â  Angela's chatting online is unethical. Based on the Kantian theory, it is immaterial what Angela wants to do; what should govern is what she ought to do. Implicit in her employment contract is Angela's duty to work for the good of her employer within working time a nd place. Viewed this way, she is also bound by the Social contract theory, because her employment contract has the force of law. She may not use the time and resources according to her own whims.

PLC Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

PLC - Coursework Example Apple may also lure customers to purchase the new product by using sales tools and pricing activities such as giving free samples and price incentives (Stark, 2011) In the growth stage marketing strategies goals that is used is monitoring competitors’ activities compared to those of the firm and ensuring that quality standards are adhered in order to maintain customer satisfaction. Finally the strategies that can be applied in the stage are, developing new product image, finding new customers, applying new technology and discovering new uses (Stark, 2011). c)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   During the maturity stage, firms strive to ensure that they generate cash flows. They seek to ensure that they cover the initial outlay costs. They also struggle to hold market share, steal market share and increase share of customer. However, when this fails, you can apply some strategies to bring the business back to life. The firm can develop a new product image, try to lure new customers, find alternative uses of the product, and embrace new technology (Stark,

Globalization and Cultural Diversity in International Business Essay

Globalization and Cultural Diversity in International Business Negotiations - Essay Example Overall, an analysis of the various dimensions of cultural clashes and contradictions will be acknowledged. After a definitional look at globalization and the extent to which its importance has grown in the world of business, its impact on multi-cultural negotiations will briefly be assessed. Whether the business world has managed to eradicate problems created by multi-cultural business activities and how it achieves these eradications will be evaluated through examination and an example interview. This dissertation focuses on the effect of cultural differences on business negotiations, and how businesses from different cultural backgrounds seek to bridge the gaps between their cultures during business negotiations. The paper explores exactly what is meant by the term ‘culture’ and how its different facets may be measured. Then, I review intercultural communication and cultural exchange; in addition, I talk about the impact of globalization on intercultural communication. Business negotiation is under discussion; I examine the impact of culture on international business negotiations and how to analyze a negotiation process. The main problems posed by cultural differences will be ascertained from the research and discussion, and how businesses overcome these differences will be examined through an example interview (German/Italian cultural differences). The interview will involve an analysis of the cultural differences between Germans and Italians, and how the inte rviewed businesses overcome the differences in order to participate in successful negotiations. There has been a great deal of recent discussion as to whether barriers between different cultures have diminished (Nordstrà ¶m, 1991).

The Benefits and Disadvantages of Online Shopping Essay Example for Free

The Benefits and Disadvantages of Online Shopping Essay Many people enjoy the convenience of shopping online. You can buy everything you need without having to leave the comfort of home. Most grocery and retail stores have created Web sites that feature their products for sale. But when is online shopping a good deal, and when should it be avoided? Here are some of the benefits of online shopping: Parents of small children may find online shopping appealing. The kids can feel free to run around the house and create havoc without the worry of annoying fellow customers. Even if your children are well behaved it can still be time consuming getting everyone ready to go to the store. Keeping children out of the store, and even your spouse, in some cases may prove to be money saving as well. You wont have everyone begging you to buy extra grocery items not on your list. Online shopping can sometimes fetch you a great buy. Some stores will advertise specials which can only be obtained by shopping online. For more expensive items like electronics you can typically expect to find online discounts of $50 or more compared to the price in store. Sometimes you may be able to find coupon codes which can be used at  an online store to get a percent off the total amount of purchase. You can shop online on your own time. Most stores are not open 24 hours a day/7 days a week, meaning that if you want to shop in their stores, you will have to shop within a limited time frame. However if you decide to skip the visit to the store and shop online you can shop any time of day that you wish. Another benefit of online shopping applies to gifts for people out of state. You can buy gifts online and have them shipped straight to the recipient. By doing this you save the headache of having to wrap, pack, and ship the gifts out yourself. In some cases, stores will wrap the gift for you as well as include a special message. Sometimes stores will advertise free shipping offers which would make buying gifts online for out of state families and friends even more beneficial. Taking advantage of these offers means that you wont have to pay to have the item shipped. By avoiding shipping the item yourself, and taking advantage of free shipping offers, you can save money on the purchase of packing supplies. Shopping onlin e makes it easier to find unique and one of a kind gifts that you will not find in your local department stores. There are many online store websites dedicated to that special item you are looking for. Websites such as Ebay allow you to bid for or purchase products that are hard to find. Sites like Ebay can also help you to find great deals. Ebay users can bid on items of interest or use the buy it now option. By bidding on items on sites like Ebay you may be able to purchase your desired item at a discounted price. Some sellers on Ebay will even combine shipping or offer free shipping of your products, saving you even more. You may be able to purchase items online that are not available or are sold out in stores. If a product you want is not stocked on the store shelves, there is a chance that you will be able to purchase it online. Now that you know of the many benefits of online shopping, we will discuss the disadvantages of online shopping: Buying groceries online may save you time, but it can prove costly. By shopping online you can miss out on great deals that can be obtained with coupons . Grocery stores that allow you to order online will typically charge you a pick up or delivery fee for shopping online as well. You may also find that you have to spend a minimum amount of money in order to have your groceries delivered. One online grocery store that I know of will not deliver unless you order at $150 worth of groceries. Another disadvantage of online grocery shopping is that you  will be unable to pick out the produce or meat products yourself, which can lead to disappointment. Shopping online can also add on extra cost to your product by having to pay for shipping. If you are buying a product for yourself or as a gift to local friends and family, it may prove to be wiser to make the purchase in store instead to avoid extra cost. When shopping online you have to wait to receive your products, whereas shopping in store means you can get your product right away. If the product is an item you are dying to have and cannot be found online for a significantly cheaper pri ce, then you may want to make your purchase in store instead. You wont be able to compare products in person. Sure many online store websites have a feature which allows customer to rate products which may prove to be helpful. However what works for one person doesnt necessarily work for another. Some people who fill out online reviews for products can be deceitful as well to trick customers into purchasing or not purchasing a product. When it comes to comparing products, such as cameras and televisions, its always best to make comparisons in the store. If the store is running a good deal then you can make your purchase in store since you are already there. Returning or exchanging items bought online can be more difficult than making a return or exchange of products youve purchased in a store. Some stores will allow you to make returns and exchanges of products youve bought online through their website, though others may not. Stores that only do business online will require you to repack and ship the item back to them to receive a refund or exchange. Some online stores may not reimburse you the cost of shipping meaning you will have to spend money out of your own pocket just to make the return. Always read the return policies of the online stores website to know what to expect. When shopping online for a product you should do a price comparison between several online stores to find the best deal. Always make sure to print out a copy of your receipt and/or write down the confirmation number for your purchase. You can also keep a copy of your e-mail receipt for a quick reference. Always read an online stores shipping and return policies to better understand how they work. Search online for codes which can save you money on shipping, fetch you free gifts with purchase, or can discount the price of a product. Always be careful when sharing your credit card information online. Secure websites should display a lock symbol at the bottom of the page. Do any research that  you can for online stores that are not well known. Shopping online can either cost you extra money or save you money. Make sure to do your homework when considering shopping online to find the best deals.

Concepts of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)

Concepts of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) CHAPTER I 1.0 Introduction This paper will labour to explicate the intricacies of enterprise resource planning (ERP), a concept that has long fascinated many in both academic and professional work environments. The United Nations (UN) has expressed the need to implement ERP. As part of their examination into this procedure, the UN has implemented ERP at the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Pristine, Republic of Kosovo, and other agencies of the UN. As they look into the ramifications of ERP implementation, so does this case study. This study attempts to make predictions of the impact of ERP implementation on the business processes and organisational culture of the United Nations secretariat based on results from the UNDP. 1.1 Introduction to the Problem Since the latter part of the 1990s, firms have rushed to implement enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, e.g., one study showed that more than sixty percent of Fortune 500 companies had adopted an ERP system (G. Stewart et al., 2000). The United Nations, as one of the largest organisations in the world, has lagged behind in adopting the transformation in the management of its resources. The United Nations has been seriously hampered its ability to deliver results effectively and efficiently due to the lack of an integrated information system for managing its resources (Report of the Secretary-General, 2008). According to Davis and Olsen (1985), ERP is an integrated system that provides information to support operation management and decision making functions in an organisation. Therefore, the goal of implementing an ERP system and business process reengineering (BPR) is to build an integrated global information system that fully supports the needs of the United Nations, enables the effective management of human, financial and physical resources, and is based on streamlined processes and better practices. (Report of the Secretary-General, 2008) 1.2 Background of the Study 1.2.1 Existing System Currently the United Nations uses an in-house developed system—commonly referred to as Integrated Management Information System (IMIS)—for the management of human, financial and physical resources. The development of IMIS was a milestone in the use of information technology as a discipline that can beneficially affect many if not all areas of administration and management in any given organisation. IMIS was developed as a functionally integrated system, which combines all the departments to support key processes such as human resources management, payroll, finance and accounting, requisitioning and funds control, budget execution and travel management. IMIS was introduced in conjunction with desktop, networked computing and office automation tools such as electronic mail in all offices where IMIS was being used. If an organisation is not yet sure of the need for client-server networks, the state of the art in enterprise-wide computing, it has only to consider the Integrated Management Information System (IMIS) of the United Nations, (Rowe Davis, 1996: 122). The launching of IMIS was subsequently affected and conditioned by major developments in the technological market, and an accelerated shift of focus in the United Nations to field activities. In short, IMIS was designed and developed at a time when the context began to change rapidly and profoundly. Yet, only a few years after the implementation of IMIS, it has become evident that the system cannot take full advantage of the advancement in technology; e.g., even though IMIS is functionally integrated, it was deployed and managed locally at each geographical location, which makes reporting and global management very difficult. The implementation in the United Nations peacekeeping operation was partial, as it is a separate department in t he UN, and was not able to support the supply chain and logistical management. (Report of the Secretary-General, 2008) The IMIS was not an alternative communication technology to paper and telephones, but it involved the synchronization of multiple data sources and the linking of them to several mainframes, (Rowe Davis, 1996: 122). An investment in tactical systems, which includes a stand-alone system and a modular integration into IMIS through interfaces, a bridging system between two different systems to allow data sharing, was able to address the functional gaps of IMIS. However, the organisation today faces challenges that demand profound transformation beyond the capabilities of IMIS and its ancillary legacy systems currently being used. (Report of the Secretary-General, 2008) 1.2.2 The need for change The United Nations struggled to get everybody in their building to connect electronically. It soon realised that it was time to connect the world with a client-server network, (Rowe Davis, 1996: 122). The need for the United Nations to adopt the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) lead to the requirement of significant change in the accounting processes and systems in order to achieve compliance with the international public sector accounting standard. The requisites changes, indeed, were so fundamental that it is fair to say that the life of IMIS has come to an end after fourteen years since it was first implemented; moreover, the benefits that the staff and managers expect from the information system in day-to-day operations and decision-making no longer match the cost of maintenance and ongoing support. This is because IMIS is no longer able to cope with the fast technological development, and the cost of maintenance and ongoing support has become very expens ive. (Report of the Secretary-General, 2008) The success of your organisations quality initiative depends upon your ability to communicate the need for change throughout the organization, (Arcaro and Arcarco, 1997: 146). The United Nations as an organisation needs to improve the quality and cost-effectiveness of the services it provides. They report that the existing systems are not up to the standard, not integrated, duplicative, and are inefficient. (Report of the Secretary-General, 2008) According to the UN, the effective management, planning and decision-making have been hampered by the lack of integration and complete data on resources. (ibid) As the organisation continues to grow in complexity in its activities, they are dissatisfied with the lack of integration and data sharing between different departments as it has become a bigger problem, and the need for a new ICT global enterprise system for streamlining and simplifying processes has become more crucial as the nature of the organisation is changing itself. (ibid) 1.2.3 Goals and objectives of implementing an Enterprise Resource Planning System The United Nations reports that the implementation of an ERP system will present the opportunity to fully combine resources and functions across the organisation by replacing the existing IMIS system. (ibid) Minahan (1998) reports ERP to be a complex software system that ties together and automates the basic processes of business activities such as finance and budget management, human resources management, supply chain management, central support services, and other corporate core functions. Most importantly, the main value of an ERP system is the opportunity to streamline and improve the operations of an entire organisation through process reengineering, sharing of common data, and implementation of best practices and standards, and perform as the inter-organisation information backbone for communication and collaboration (OLeary, 2004). According to reports from the United Nations (Report of the Secretary-General, 2008), the main objectives of the ERP project can be summarised as follows: To have a global operating system that precisely captures core resource data from each department and agency at the UN while linking them together to provide better decision-making. This will minimize the time required to perform administrative processes and enable easy access to necessary reports for each department, thus increasing the efficiency of the organisation and directing the focus to high priority situations. The main functionalities sought from the new ERP system are expected to encompass functions such as programme planning, budgeting, contributions and performance; human resources management and administration; payroll, including management of benefits and contribution to pension, medical and insurance schemes; supply chain management, including procurement; assets and facilities management; general accounting, travel and other administrative flows; reporting to management and stakeholders, and more. (ibid) Specific United Nations peacekeeping operations functions such as logistics, transportation, fuel and rations systems need to be supported by the new ERP system as these functions are not held in common with other organisations of the United Nations operations. 1.3 Purpose and Significance of the Study The research done in this study will attempt to answer the following question: What will be the impact of ERP implementation on the business transformation and business culture of the United Nations? Specifically, the study will attempt to establish the relationship between the business process transformation and organisational culture change offered as the result of ERP. These questions and findings are expected to provide an increased ability in evaluating the performance and standardisation of the business processes within the United Nations, as well as an increased awareness of its effect on the business culture and productivity over time of the UN. In addition, answers to these questions will subsequently enable other researchers to gain more insight into ERP implementation and business process reengineering. It will also enable the management of the United Nations to see how ERP can be a better means of technological reform, thus providing the opportunity to re-evaluate the existing business processes even further. 1.4 Research Questions The question that constitutes the primary point of pivot for the paper is: What will be the probable future impact of ERP on the business process transformation and business culture of the United Nations? The three subsidiary questions of the present work are: > How will ERP implementation make the organisation better off in the foreseeable future? > What will be the effect on the reformed business culture in terms of productivity? > How does the organisation perceive the benefit of ERP on the standardisation of business processes? 1.5 Structural Approach The rest of the thesis has been structured as follows. Chapter 2 provides a review of relevant literature, including ERP, business process reengineering, and their impact on organisational culture. Chapter 3 discusses the methodologies used for the empirical analysis and describes the data and the various proxies employed for analysing ERP implementation in the United Nations. Chapter 4 provides empirical findings of the relationship between ERP implementation and its effects on business processes and organisational culture. Chapter 5 analyses the research findings. Chapter 6 concludes the research by pointing out the key impacts of ERP on the UN. Chapter 7 makes various recommendations for policy direction and potentially fruitful areas of ERP systems for further research. Chapter 8 reflects on the study as a whole. CHAPTER II 2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW The following Literature Review will focus on four main areas of evaluation regarding enterprise resource planning (ERP) on the business process transformation (BPR) in organisations, and more specifically, the United Nations. These are: 1. ERP: definition, evolution, implications 2. BPR: definition, evolution, implications 3. ERP and organisational culture 4. BPR and organisational change This review will analyse the abovementioned systems and related processes insofar as the available data in the literature will allow for a comparison of ERP and BPR and their effects on the United Nations and other large organisations. 2.1 Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP): Definition, Evolution, and Implications Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems are commonly described as commercial software packages that allow the assimilation of data and processes throughout an organisation (Markus Tanis, 2000, cited in Kim et al., 2005). ERP enables the flow of information among all business areas such as finance, human resources, manufacturing, sales and marketing, (Tan and Theodorou, 2009: 52). Basically, it allows data from all departments to exist in one computer system (Pang, 2001), making the managerial dream of unification of all information systems into one computer system come true (Adam ODoherty, 2003, cited in Revia, 2007). This unification should offer many benefits to the UN and other large organisations. Large organisations may have a more difficult time relaying information from one sector to another as they have many different departments and even multiple locations. The combination of all department in one system, presents benefits of relaying data in a timely manner. Rather tha n sending files through inter-office mail or needing to track down one particular staff member, each employee will have access to the information required for their job by simply logging into the system. The researcher will attempt to discover whether this unification does indeed allow for more time-efficiency as well as making simple operations tasks easier to accomplish in the UN. The start of ERP systems came about in the 1960-1970s with the invention of Inventory Control (IC) and Materials Requirement Planning (MPR) systems, which managed inventory in manufacturing. In the 1980s, Manufacturing Resources Planning (MRP II) systems came into use to manage both inventory and production requirements together. In 1973, the first ERP system was created with the goal of supporting all business needs. Since then, ERP systems have become much more popular. In fact, by the year 2000, enterprise resource planning systems were estimated to have serviced $23 billion USD in profits for the various organisations that have been implementing them (Pang, 2001). ERP applications are the largest, fastest growing and most influential in the industry (Corbett Finney, 2007). This is probably why the UN has shown such interest in ERP. The increase in ERP implementation does not seem surprising as ERP allows corporations to update to a new integrated system cutting out the previous legacy systems known for their difficulties in maintenance, large size, and old age, as they are segregated systems (Martin, 1998; cited in Boudreau, 1999). This appears to be helpful for the UN as they reported difficulty with their current legacy system (Report of the Secretary-General, 2008). It is likely that employees of the UN will be satisfied with the replacement of the legacy system due to the reported problems it has. However, there is a chance that employees may be intimidated by this change as they will have to learn an entirely new system. Advantages of ERP systems for organisations include overcoming fragmentation by streamlining activities and processes, which provides direct access to real-time information by supplying a group of software modules that encase all departments of a business (Koch, 2003, cited in Corbett Finney, 2007). This appears to be an accurate statement due to the convenience of having all departments existing together. This implies that all information accessed through the new system will be current as it is constantly being updated by various employees based on the tasks they complete. Rather than there being pieces of information in various places, all information regarding the same issue will be together implying that employees can look in one place and have all the information they need rather than searching through various documents or consulting multiple co-workers. This aspect of ERP systems will be investigated at the UNDP in Kosovo in order to determine whether this feature is benefici al. Furthermore, ERP systems are said to provide cost-reduction in addition to increased flexibility (Siriginidi, 2000 cited in Al-Fawaz, Al-Salti, and Eldabi, 2008). These two benefits appear to be linked as decreasing operation costs would imply having more flexibility to perform other processes. For the UN, this would mean more money to use for their peacekeeping missions or other operations. However, flexibility does not depend on cost-reduction. Its possible for the availability of data to imply flexibility in making decisions or flexibility could result from rearranging the organisations processes and being better equipped to perform certain tasks. ERP systems have been reported to enhance business performance by accelerating the merger of organisational resources as well as strengthening the operational efficiency of the company through minimising human error (Shin Knapp, 2001, cited by Wang, 2006). The implication that ERP reduces human error seems to be correct as there is les s opportunity to make a mistake for employees because there is generally only one time they need to input information for data-sharing as opposed to the multiple steps needed to take before. These benefits should assist the UN in accomplishing some of their proposed goals such as linking all departments within one operations system, which decreases the time required for administrative processes. The UN hopes implementation will increase their operational efficiency by allowing valuable time to be spent focusing on high priority situations rather than simple operations tasks (Report of the Secretary-General, 2008). More advertised benefits include improved information accuracy and decision-making capacity (Siriginidi, 2000 cited in Al-Fawaz, Al-Salti, and Eldabi, 2008). The UN wants to make use of these proposed advantages (Report of the Secretary-General, 2008). Decision-making is a large part of the UN as they have to make difficult decisions everyday that effect large numbers of p eople; making a bad decision is not necessarily easily corrected in this case. Furthermore, many situations the UN deals with are time-sensitive; if its easier to access data, and the accuracy of that data is improved, officials can rest assured that they are making decisions with proper knowledge. In implementing ERP, organisations no longer have to create their own applications that are then unique to their company. They now have standard software available for their business processes, referred to as Best Business Practices (BBP). BBPs came into existence around the same time as ERPs. BBPs are general guidelines to assist companies in the way of handling certain business processes, meaning that each company can now improve itself on the basis of the experience of other corporations that share similar functional processes (SAP, 2007, cited by Revia, 2007). It seems any organisation would be hesitant to implement a system that has not proved to benefit other large organisations as the risks of failure are high (source). BBPs should definitely help the UN as they will be benefitting from previous experiences of other corporations. Some of the disadvantages of ERP are that the implementation requires time, costs and risks (Boudreau, 1999), as they tend to be large, complicated, and expensive (Mabert et al., 2001, cited by Al-Fawaz, Al-Salti, and Eldabi, 2008: 3). ERP implementation calls for serious time commitment from all involved as it is often the biggest project that an organisation will ever face (Moon, 2007). ERP execution requires new procedures, employee training and managerial and technical support (Shang Seddon, 2002, cited by Al-Fawaz, Al-Salti, Eldabi, 2008), which can be accomplished through good communication of the corporate strategy to all employees (Umble et al., 2003, cited by Al-Fawaz, Al-Salti, and Eldabi, 2008). Consequently, the biggest problem is not actually the implementation itself but the expectations of board members and senior staff as well as not having a clear plan or realistic projections (Somers Nelson 2004, cited by Al-Fawaz, Al-Salti, and Eldabi, 2008). However, the UN ha s already proposed clear goals and plans for their implementation. The question is whether or not they will be able to successfully translate these goals/plans to all employees of the organisation and whether or not they will be successful. Finally, the importance of selecting the appropriate ERP package is stressed. Corporations must make sure they select the appropriate ERP package that will match their organisation as well as its business processes (Chen, 2001, cited in Corbett Finney, 2007). This seems obvious as every organisation is different. Some corporations strategise around providing excellent customer service while others focus on decreasing costs to customers as a way to attract more business. However, there are studies that show that customising ERP packages beyond minimal adjustments is discouraged; these studies show that organisations should adjust their processes to fit the package rather than adjust the package to fit the processes (Murray Coffin, 2001 cited in Al-Fawaz, Al-Salti, Eldabi, 2008). 2.2 Business Process Transformation (BPR): Definition, Evolution, and Implications Business process reengineering (BPR) was not very popular until the release of the book Re-engineering the Corporation by Michael Hammer and James Champy (Barker, 1995). Hammer and Champy introduced the term Business process reengineering in 1990 and defined it as a fundamental redesign of business processes to achieve dramatic improvements in critical areas such as cost, quality, service and speed (Hammer, 1990). Business process reengineering is also defined as a strategic redesign of important business processes, including the systems and policies that support them, in order to achieve maximum productivity of an organisation (Manganelli Klein, 1994). This would suggest a link between ERP and BPR as they are both structured around the redesign of core business processes. In fact, some goals of BPR are the reduction of cost, cycle-time, defects, and the increase of worker productivity (Hales Savoie, 1994), very much the same as ERP. The aim of BPR is to change current business pro cesses in order to make them more efficient overall, again mimicking ERP. In fact, Some researchers suggest that ERP systems are the major tools for making business processes better, leaner and faster through associated business process reengineering, (Shang Seddon, 2003, cited in Revia, 2007: 25). It is not yet known whether or not BPR will be performed at the UN. It is assumed that it will as it is so closely related to ERP. Additionally, reports have shown that ERP often causes BPR to occur due to its very nature (Martin et al., 1999). It seems that in order for ERP to be most successful, BPR should be performed (Sumner, 2000 cited by Law Ngai, 2007), otherwise the UN may not recognize exactly which processes are most important for their operations. Or, they may not be fully aware of the exact way in which ERP should be performed in relation to the core business processes, which is vital to understand for the selection of the proper ERP package. BPR has its origins in the private sectors as a management tool for companies to deal with change and reorganise their work to improve customer service, cut operational costs, and become world-class competitors, (Hamid, 2004, cited in Wang, 2006: 5). Generally, business process transformation takes business processes and allows the m to be done routinely through a computer system. It incorporates peoples perspectives and input to make sure that the processes fit needs specific to each corporation (Wang, 2006). This suggests benefits for ERP implementation in any organisation as the systems are supposed to be designed around core processes specific to each company. It would be helpful for the UN to determine which processes are vital to their operations. Furthermore, cutting operational costs should prove to be very valuable for the UN as many of the services it provides are non-profit. If BPR is performed as a result of ERP, it seems that cost reduction will be achieved. Here is a further look into what a core business process is: A core business process is one that gives value to the customers or stakeholders of the company. These are the most important processes within the organisation and are the ones that will set a company above their competitors if done well. In order to figure out what processes are cor e, one may ask the following questions. 1) Does the process make valued contributions to the customer? Does it improve customer service, increase response-time, decrease customers costs? 2) Is it important for the production/operation of the company? 3) Can it be used for other businesses? If the answer is yes to one of these questions, then the process under consideration can be considered core (McHugh, Merli, Wheeler, 1995). The UN may consider any process involving cash flow to be core as that is a huge component to many of the services they provide. Furthermore, any documentation of information from one department to another is probably considered core as this organisation relies on data-sharing for its decision-making capabilities. Therefore, it seems that these types of processes will be affected by ERP implementation and will most likely be reengineered. The three most basic strategies that increase a business success are lowering prices, offering more value in products, or focusing on less diversity in commodities and specialising in a certain area (Berrington Oblich, 1995). This suggests that BPR would be structured around these strategies when reorganizing core business processes. If the UN is restructuring using BPR, they are likely to focus on a combination of strategies. As already mentioned, the cost of operations is a huge factor for the United Nations to consider as they provide aid to many countries without expecting any favours in return. This implies they would focus on reduction of costs. However, the main reason they are an organisation is to provide services to those in need. That would suggest they would reorganise their business processes around the strategy of offering more value in their services. In implementing BPR, organisations are asked to choose five or six of the processes that are central to the operation of the company and focus on those to see the ways in which they can make them more efficient (McHugh, Merli, Wheeler, 1995). Concentrating on making sure core processes are completed to the best of the companys ability only ensures the organisation will do better. In the case of the UN, focusing on data-sharing and managing cash flow suggests an increase in the efficiency of the organisation as those components are vital to their operation. These changes would suggest benefits for both the cost-reduction strategy as well as providing better service to customers. 2.3 Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Organisational Culture Organisational culture is a set of core beliefs, values, and behaviours shared by all members of one company, thereby affecting the productivity of the business. It is often described as a pattern of shared assumptions produced and manipulated by top management (Schein, 1992 cited by Boersma Kingma, 2005: 131). Organisational culture is influenced through many aspects, including leadership, personal characteristics, interactions of members, as well as tradition. Culture has visible signs and hidden insinuations. Visible signs include behaviour while the hidden insinuations entail morals and beliefs (Rousseau, 1990 cited by Cooper, 1994). The culture of an organisation is even displayed in the way certain processes are done as well as the outcomes of these processes, which will be examined at the UNDP in Kosovo. Because ERP systems involve most departments in a company, they change many business processes and thereby affect the more deep-seated organisational culture of a corporation . Companies that focus on incorporating their cultures into organisational efforts are said to have an edge in accordance with their productivity. Organisations can focus on culture and work with the people to shape new values, morals and work ethics. If employees are happy to be working for the organisation, they will be more apt to want to work, implying there will be an increase in productivity (Farbrother Marc, 2003). Enterprise resource planning can lead to changes in organisational culture i.e., ERP is implemented in order to increase productivity by changing current business processes (Deal Kennedy, 1982 cited by Cooper, 1994). These changes are maximal and cannot be simply brushed aside. When a company implements ERP, if the organisational culture is ready for the changes it will bring, the employees can work with the system to increase productivity. Consequently, the culture within the business must be one that can be made amenable for change (Nah et al., 2001 cited in Co rbett Finney, 2007). There is the belief that positive and supportive attitudes of those embarking on implementation of ERP will actually bring about a successful transition (Chatterjee et al., 2002 cited in Law Ngai, 2007). However, if the culture has not been made ready for change or the employees are unwilling to change, the system will be less likely to succeed. A system cannot work if there are no users. System implementation represents a threat to users perceptions of control over their work and a period of transition during which users must cope with differences between old and new work systems, (Bobek Sternad, 2002: 285). The social setting of a company and its technology most definitely shape each other; they are hardly independent of one another (Boersma Kingma, 2005). A mistake companies frequently make is to presume that people can change their habits easily when in actuality such changes are considerably taxing for many people. These companies underestimate the effect ERP implementation will have on their employees. Many employees panic when nothing looks the way it used to, nothing works the way it used to, and they can no longer go through their workday with the previously earned sense of familiarity and assurance (Koch, 2007 cited in Revia, 2007). One study showed that it took over two years for users of the new system to forget the process problems they found initially and to gain new knowledge of the system (Seddon Shang, 2003 cited in Revia, 2007). A Chief Information Officer from Nestle sums up this concept very well—she says, No major software implementation is really about the software. Its about change management†¦You are changing the way people work†¦You are challenging their principles, their beliefs and the way they have done things for many, many years (Boersma Kingma, 2005: 123). It seems the best way to ensure that employees are on board with proposed changes is to make them aware of these changes. It is important for them to feel that they are included in the decision to create new values and procedures for the company. Otherwise, they will be clinging on to the old culture and ways of doing things. The change will be stressful and forced rather than welcomed with ease. They should feel that the change is happening because of them rather than happening to them. The most senior level of management initiates enterprise resource planning, but its success depends on its acceptance by the companys ordinary workers (Obolensky, 1996). Cultures can be manipulated by those in management (Handy, 1985 cited by Cooper, 1994). Change can be intimidating and needs to be managed well. Therefore, the conclusion is drawn that managers need to make sure each and every employee is doing their part. This literature suggests that leaders are the most important players in any c hange scenario. Employees wont decide to change their behavi Concepts of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Concepts of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) CHAPTER I 1.0 Introduction This paper will labour to explicate the intricacies of enterprise resource planning (ERP), a concept that has long fascinated many in both academic and professional work environments. The United Nations (UN) has expressed the need to implement ERP. As part of their examination into this procedure, the UN has implemented ERP at the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Pristine, Republic of Kosovo, and other agencies of the UN. As they look into the ramifications of ERP implementation, so does this case study. This study attempts to make predictions of the impact of ERP implementation on the business processes and organisational culture of the United Nations secretariat based on results from the UNDP. 1.1 Introduction to the Problem Since the latter part of the 1990s, firms have rushed to implement enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, e.g., one study showed that more than sixty percent of Fortune 500 companies had adopted an ERP system (G. Stewart et al., 2000). The United Nations, as one of the largest organisations in the world, has lagged behind in adopting the transformation in the management of its resources. The United Nations has been seriously hampered its ability to deliver results effectively and efficiently due to the lack of an integrated information system for managing its resources (Report of the Secretary-General, 2008). According to Davis and Olsen (1985), ERP is an integrated system that provides information to support operation management and decision making functions in an organisation. Therefore, the goal of implementing an ERP system and business process reengineering (BPR) is to build an integrated global information system that fully supports the needs of the United Nations, enables the effective management of human, financial and physical resources, and is based on streamlined processes and better practices. (Report of the Secretary-General, 2008) 1.2 Background of the Study 1.2.1 Existing System Currently the United Nations uses an in-house developed system—commonly referred to as Integrated Management Information System (IMIS)—for the management of human, financial and physical resources. The development of IMIS was a milestone in the use of information technology as a discipline that can beneficially affect many if not all areas of administration and management in any given organisation. IMIS was developed as a functionally integrated system, which combines all the departments to support key processes such as human resources management, payroll, finance and accounting, requisitioning and funds control, budget execution and travel management. IMIS was introduced in conjunction with desktop, networked computing and office automation tools such as electronic mail in all offices where IMIS was being used. If an organisation is not yet sure of the need for client-server networks, the state of the art in enterprise-wide computing, it has only to consider the Integrated Management Information System (IMIS) of the United Nations, (Rowe Davis, 1996: 122). The launching of IMIS was subsequently affected and conditioned by major developments in the technological market, and an accelerated shift of focus in the United Nations to field activities. In short, IMIS was designed and developed at a time when the context began to change rapidly and profoundly. Yet, only a few years after the implementation of IMIS, it has become evident that the system cannot take full advantage of the advancement in technology; e.g., even though IMIS is functionally integrated, it was deployed and managed locally at each geographical location, which makes reporting and global management very difficult. The implementation in the United Nations peacekeeping operation was partial, as it is a separate department in t he UN, and was not able to support the supply chain and logistical management. (Report of the Secretary-General, 2008) The IMIS was not an alternative communication technology to paper and telephones, but it involved the synchronization of multiple data sources and the linking of them to several mainframes, (Rowe Davis, 1996: 122). An investment in tactical systems, which includes a stand-alone system and a modular integration into IMIS through interfaces, a bridging system between two different systems to allow data sharing, was able to address the functional gaps of IMIS. However, the organisation today faces challenges that demand profound transformation beyond the capabilities of IMIS and its ancillary legacy systems currently being used. (Report of the Secretary-General, 2008) 1.2.2 The need for change The United Nations struggled to get everybody in their building to connect electronically. It soon realised that it was time to connect the world with a client-server network, (Rowe Davis, 1996: 122). The need for the United Nations to adopt the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) lead to the requirement of significant change in the accounting processes and systems in order to achieve compliance with the international public sector accounting standard. The requisites changes, indeed, were so fundamental that it is fair to say that the life of IMIS has come to an end after fourteen years since it was first implemented; moreover, the benefits that the staff and managers expect from the information system in day-to-day operations and decision-making no longer match the cost of maintenance and ongoing support. This is because IMIS is no longer able to cope with the fast technological development, and the cost of maintenance and ongoing support has become very expens ive. (Report of the Secretary-General, 2008) The success of your organisations quality initiative depends upon your ability to communicate the need for change throughout the organization, (Arcaro and Arcarco, 1997: 146). The United Nations as an organisation needs to improve the quality and cost-effectiveness of the services it provides. They report that the existing systems are not up to the standard, not integrated, duplicative, and are inefficient. (Report of the Secretary-General, 2008) According to the UN, the effective management, planning and decision-making have been hampered by the lack of integration and complete data on resources. (ibid) As the organisation continues to grow in complexity in its activities, they are dissatisfied with the lack of integration and data sharing between different departments as it has become a bigger problem, and the need for a new ICT global enterprise system for streamlining and simplifying processes has become more crucial as the nature of the organisation is changing itself. (ibid) 1.2.3 Goals and objectives of implementing an Enterprise Resource Planning System The United Nations reports that the implementation of an ERP system will present the opportunity to fully combine resources and functions across the organisation by replacing the existing IMIS system. (ibid) Minahan (1998) reports ERP to be a complex software system that ties together and automates the basic processes of business activities such as finance and budget management, human resources management, supply chain management, central support services, and other corporate core functions. Most importantly, the main value of an ERP system is the opportunity to streamline and improve the operations of an entire organisation through process reengineering, sharing of common data, and implementation of best practices and standards, and perform as the inter-organisation information backbone for communication and collaboration (OLeary, 2004). According to reports from the United Nations (Report of the Secretary-General, 2008), the main objectives of the ERP project can be summarised as follows: To have a global operating system that precisely captures core resource data from each department and agency at the UN while linking them together to provide better decision-making. This will minimize the time required to perform administrative processes and enable easy access to necessary reports for each department, thus increasing the efficiency of the organisation and directing the focus to high priority situations. The main functionalities sought from the new ERP system are expected to encompass functions such as programme planning, budgeting, contributions and performance; human resources management and administration; payroll, including management of benefits and contribution to pension, medical and insurance schemes; supply chain management, including procurement; assets and facilities management; general accounting, travel and other administrative flows; reporting to management and stakeholders, and more. (ibid) Specific United Nations peacekeeping operations functions such as logistics, transportation, fuel and rations systems need to be supported by the new ERP system as these functions are not held in common with other organisations of the United Nations operations. 1.3 Purpose and Significance of the Study The research done in this study will attempt to answer the following question: What will be the impact of ERP implementation on the business transformation and business culture of the United Nations? Specifically, the study will attempt to establish the relationship between the business process transformation and organisational culture change offered as the result of ERP. These questions and findings are expected to provide an increased ability in evaluating the performance and standardisation of the business processes within the United Nations, as well as an increased awareness of its effect on the business culture and productivity over time of the UN. In addition, answers to these questions will subsequently enable other researchers to gain more insight into ERP implementation and business process reengineering. It will also enable the management of the United Nations to see how ERP can be a better means of technological reform, thus providing the opportunity to re-evaluate the existing business processes even further. 1.4 Research Questions The question that constitutes the primary point of pivot for the paper is: What will be the probable future impact of ERP on the business process transformation and business culture of the United Nations? The three subsidiary questions of the present work are: > How will ERP implementation make the organisation better off in the foreseeable future? > What will be the effect on the reformed business culture in terms of productivity? > How does the organisation perceive the benefit of ERP on the standardisation of business processes? 1.5 Structural Approach The rest of the thesis has been structured as follows. Chapter 2 provides a review of relevant literature, including ERP, business process reengineering, and their impact on organisational culture. Chapter 3 discusses the methodologies used for the empirical analysis and describes the data and the various proxies employed for analysing ERP implementation in the United Nations. Chapter 4 provides empirical findings of the relationship between ERP implementation and its effects on business processes and organisational culture. Chapter 5 analyses the research findings. Chapter 6 concludes the research by pointing out the key impacts of ERP on the UN. Chapter 7 makes various recommendations for policy direction and potentially fruitful areas of ERP systems for further research. Chapter 8 reflects on the study as a whole. CHAPTER II 2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW The following Literature Review will focus on four main areas of evaluation regarding enterprise resource planning (ERP) on the business process transformation (BPR) in organisations, and more specifically, the United Nations. These are: 1. ERP: definition, evolution, implications 2. BPR: definition, evolution, implications 3. ERP and organisational culture 4. BPR and organisational change This review will analyse the abovementioned systems and related processes insofar as the available data in the literature will allow for a comparison of ERP and BPR and their effects on the United Nations and other large organisations. 2.1 Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP): Definition, Evolution, and Implications Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems are commonly described as commercial software packages that allow the assimilation of data and processes throughout an organisation (Markus Tanis, 2000, cited in Kim et al., 2005). ERP enables the flow of information among all business areas such as finance, human resources, manufacturing, sales and marketing, (Tan and Theodorou, 2009: 52). Basically, it allows data from all departments to exist in one computer system (Pang, 2001), making the managerial dream of unification of all information systems into one computer system come true (Adam ODoherty, 2003, cited in Revia, 2007). This unification should offer many benefits to the UN and other large organisations. Large organisations may have a more difficult time relaying information from one sector to another as they have many different departments and even multiple locations. The combination of all department in one system, presents benefits of relaying data in a timely manner. Rather tha n sending files through inter-office mail or needing to track down one particular staff member, each employee will have access to the information required for their job by simply logging into the system. The researcher will attempt to discover whether this unification does indeed allow for more time-efficiency as well as making simple operations tasks easier to accomplish in the UN. The start of ERP systems came about in the 1960-1970s with the invention of Inventory Control (IC) and Materials Requirement Planning (MPR) systems, which managed inventory in manufacturing. In the 1980s, Manufacturing Resources Planning (MRP II) systems came into use to manage both inventory and production requirements together. In 1973, the first ERP system was created with the goal of supporting all business needs. Since then, ERP systems have become much more popular. In fact, by the year 2000, enterprise resource planning systems were estimated to have serviced $23 billion USD in profits for the various organisations that have been implementing them (Pang, 2001). ERP applications are the largest, fastest growing and most influential in the industry (Corbett Finney, 2007). This is probably why the UN has shown such interest in ERP. The increase in ERP implementation does not seem surprising as ERP allows corporations to update to a new integrated system cutting out the previous legacy systems known for their difficulties in maintenance, large size, and old age, as they are segregated systems (Martin, 1998; cited in Boudreau, 1999). This appears to be helpful for the UN as they reported difficulty with their current legacy system (Report of the Secretary-General, 2008). It is likely that employees of the UN will be satisfied with the replacement of the legacy system due to the reported problems it has. However, there is a chance that employees may be intimidated by this change as they will have to learn an entirely new system. Advantages of ERP systems for organisations include overcoming fragmentation by streamlining activities and processes, which provides direct access to real-time information by supplying a group of software modules that encase all departments of a business (Koch, 2003, cited in Corbett Finney, 2007). This appears to be an accurate statement due to the convenience of having all departments existing together. This implies that all information accessed through the new system will be current as it is constantly being updated by various employees based on the tasks they complete. Rather than there being pieces of information in various places, all information regarding the same issue will be together implying that employees can look in one place and have all the information they need rather than searching through various documents or consulting multiple co-workers. This aspect of ERP systems will be investigated at the UNDP in Kosovo in order to determine whether this feature is benefici al. Furthermore, ERP systems are said to provide cost-reduction in addition to increased flexibility (Siriginidi, 2000 cited in Al-Fawaz, Al-Salti, and Eldabi, 2008). These two benefits appear to be linked as decreasing operation costs would imply having more flexibility to perform other processes. For the UN, this would mean more money to use for their peacekeeping missions or other operations. However, flexibility does not depend on cost-reduction. Its possible for the availability of data to imply flexibility in making decisions or flexibility could result from rearranging the organisations processes and being better equipped to perform certain tasks. ERP systems have been reported to enhance business performance by accelerating the merger of organisational resources as well as strengthening the operational efficiency of the company through minimising human error (Shin Knapp, 2001, cited by Wang, 2006). The implication that ERP reduces human error seems to be correct as there is les s opportunity to make a mistake for employees because there is generally only one time they need to input information for data-sharing as opposed to the multiple steps needed to take before. These benefits should assist the UN in accomplishing some of their proposed goals such as linking all departments within one operations system, which decreases the time required for administrative processes. The UN hopes implementation will increase their operational efficiency by allowing valuable time to be spent focusing on high priority situations rather than simple operations tasks (Report of the Secretary-General, 2008). More advertised benefits include improved information accuracy and decision-making capacity (Siriginidi, 2000 cited in Al-Fawaz, Al-Salti, and Eldabi, 2008). The UN wants to make use of these proposed advantages (Report of the Secretary-General, 2008). Decision-making is a large part of the UN as they have to make difficult decisions everyday that effect large numbers of p eople; making a bad decision is not necessarily easily corrected in this case. Furthermore, many situations the UN deals with are time-sensitive; if its easier to access data, and the accuracy of that data is improved, officials can rest assured that they are making decisions with proper knowledge. In implementing ERP, organisations no longer have to create their own applications that are then unique to their company. They now have standard software available for their business processes, referred to as Best Business Practices (BBP). BBPs came into existence around the same time as ERPs. BBPs are general guidelines to assist companies in the way of handling certain business processes, meaning that each company can now improve itself on the basis of the experience of other corporations that share similar functional processes (SAP, 2007, cited by Revia, 2007). It seems any organisation would be hesitant to implement a system that has not proved to benefit other large organisations as the risks of failure are high (source). BBPs should definitely help the UN as they will be benefitting from previous experiences of other corporations. Some of the disadvantages of ERP are that the implementation requires time, costs and risks (Boudreau, 1999), as they tend to be large, complicated, and expensive (Mabert et al., 2001, cited by Al-Fawaz, Al-Salti, and Eldabi, 2008: 3). ERP implementation calls for serious time commitment from all involved as it is often the biggest project that an organisation will ever face (Moon, 2007). ERP execution requires new procedures, employee training and managerial and technical support (Shang Seddon, 2002, cited by Al-Fawaz, Al-Salti, Eldabi, 2008), which can be accomplished through good communication of the corporate strategy to all employees (Umble et al., 2003, cited by Al-Fawaz, Al-Salti, and Eldabi, 2008). Consequently, the biggest problem is not actually the implementation itself but the expectations of board members and senior staff as well as not having a clear plan or realistic projections (Somers Nelson 2004, cited by Al-Fawaz, Al-Salti, and Eldabi, 2008). However, the UN ha s already proposed clear goals and plans for their implementation. The question is whether or not they will be able to successfully translate these goals/plans to all employees of the organisation and whether or not they will be successful. Finally, the importance of selecting the appropriate ERP package is stressed. Corporations must make sure they select the appropriate ERP package that will match their organisation as well as its business processes (Chen, 2001, cited in Corbett Finney, 2007). This seems obvious as every organisation is different. Some corporations strategise around providing excellent customer service while others focus on decreasing costs to customers as a way to attract more business. However, there are studies that show that customising ERP packages beyond minimal adjustments is discouraged; these studies show that organisations should adjust their processes to fit the package rather than adjust the package to fit the processes (Murray Coffin, 2001 cited in Al-Fawaz, Al-Salti, Eldabi, 2008). 2.2 Business Process Transformation (BPR): Definition, Evolution, and Implications Business process reengineering (BPR) was not very popular until the release of the book Re-engineering the Corporation by Michael Hammer and James Champy (Barker, 1995). Hammer and Champy introduced the term Business process reengineering in 1990 and defined it as a fundamental redesign of business processes to achieve dramatic improvements in critical areas such as cost, quality, service and speed (Hammer, 1990). Business process reengineering is also defined as a strategic redesign of important business processes, including the systems and policies that support them, in order to achieve maximum productivity of an organisation (Manganelli Klein, 1994). This would suggest a link between ERP and BPR as they are both structured around the redesign of core business processes. In fact, some goals of BPR are the reduction of cost, cycle-time, defects, and the increase of worker productivity (Hales Savoie, 1994), very much the same as ERP. The aim of BPR is to change current business pro cesses in order to make them more efficient overall, again mimicking ERP. In fact, Some researchers suggest that ERP systems are the major tools for making business processes better, leaner and faster through associated business process reengineering, (Shang Seddon, 2003, cited in Revia, 2007: 25). It is not yet known whether or not BPR will be performed at the UN. It is assumed that it will as it is so closely related to ERP. Additionally, reports have shown that ERP often causes BPR to occur due to its very nature (Martin et al., 1999). It seems that in order for ERP to be most successful, BPR should be performed (Sumner, 2000 cited by Law Ngai, 2007), otherwise the UN may not recognize exactly which processes are most important for their operations. Or, they may not be fully aware of the exact way in which ERP should be performed in relation to the core business processes, which is vital to understand for the selection of the proper ERP package. BPR has its origins in the private sectors as a management tool for companies to deal with change and reorganise their work to improve customer service, cut operational costs, and become world-class competitors, (Hamid, 2004, cited in Wang, 2006: 5). Generally, business process transformation takes business processes and allows the m to be done routinely through a computer system. It incorporates peoples perspectives and input to make sure that the processes fit needs specific to each corporation (Wang, 2006). This suggests benefits for ERP implementation in any organisation as the systems are supposed to be designed around core processes specific to each company. It would be helpful for the UN to determine which processes are vital to their operations. Furthermore, cutting operational costs should prove to be very valuable for the UN as many of the services it provides are non-profit. If BPR is performed as a result of ERP, it seems that cost reduction will be achieved. Here is a further look into what a core business process is: A core business process is one that gives value to the customers or stakeholders of the company. These are the most important processes within the organisation and are the ones that will set a company above their competitors if done well. In order to figure out what processes are cor e, one may ask the following questions. 1) Does the process make valued contributions to the customer? Does it improve customer service, increase response-time, decrease customers costs? 2) Is it important for the production/operation of the company? 3) Can it be used for other businesses? If the answer is yes to one of these questions, then the process under consideration can be considered core (McHugh, Merli, Wheeler, 1995). The UN may consider any process involving cash flow to be core as that is a huge component to many of the services they provide. Furthermore, any documentation of information from one department to another is probably considered core as this organisation relies on data-sharing for its decision-making capabilities. Therefore, it seems that these types of processes will be affected by ERP implementation and will most likely be reengineered. The three most basic strategies that increase a business success are lowering prices, offering more value in products, or focusing on less diversity in commodities and specialising in a certain area (Berrington Oblich, 1995). This suggests that BPR would be structured around these strategies when reorganizing core business processes. If the UN is restructuring using BPR, they are likely to focus on a combination of strategies. As already mentioned, the cost of operations is a huge factor for the United Nations to consider as they provide aid to many countries without expecting any favours in return. This implies they would focus on reduction of costs. However, the main reason they are an organisation is to provide services to those in need. That would suggest they would reorganise their business processes around the strategy of offering more value in their services. In implementing BPR, organisations are asked to choose five or six of the processes that are central to the operation of the company and focus on those to see the ways in which they can make them more efficient (McHugh, Merli, Wheeler, 1995). Concentrating on making sure core processes are completed to the best of the companys ability only ensures the organisation will do better. In the case of the UN, focusing on data-sharing and managing cash flow suggests an increase in the efficiency of the organisation as those components are vital to their operation. These changes would suggest benefits for both the cost-reduction strategy as well as providing better service to customers. 2.3 Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Organisational Culture Organisational culture is a set of core beliefs, values, and behaviours shared by all members of one company, thereby affecting the productivity of the business. It is often described as a pattern of shared assumptions produced and manipulated by top management (Schein, 1992 cited by Boersma Kingma, 2005: 131). Organisational culture is influenced through many aspects, including leadership, personal characteristics, interactions of members, as well as tradition. Culture has visible signs and hidden insinuations. Visible signs include behaviour while the hidden insinuations entail morals and beliefs (Rousseau, 1990 cited by Cooper, 1994). The culture of an organisation is even displayed in the way certain processes are done as well as the outcomes of these processes, which will be examined at the UNDP in Kosovo. Because ERP systems involve most departments in a company, they change many business processes and thereby affect the more deep-seated organisational culture of a corporation . Companies that focus on incorporating their cultures into organisational efforts are said to have an edge in accordance with their productivity. Organisations can focus on culture and work with the people to shape new values, morals and work ethics. If employees are happy to be working for the organisation, they will be more apt to want to work, implying there will be an increase in productivity (Farbrother Marc, 2003). Enterprise resource planning can lead to changes in organisational culture i.e., ERP is implemented in order to increase productivity by changing current business processes (Deal Kennedy, 1982 cited by Cooper, 1994). These changes are maximal and cannot be simply brushed aside. When a company implements ERP, if the organisational culture is ready for the changes it will bring, the employees can work with the system to increase productivity. Consequently, the culture within the business must be one that can be made amenable for change (Nah et al., 2001 cited in Co rbett Finney, 2007). There is the belief that positive and supportive attitudes of those embarking on implementation of ERP will actually bring about a successful transition (Chatterjee et al., 2002 cited in Law Ngai, 2007). However, if the culture has not been made ready for change or the employees are unwilling to change, the system will be less likely to succeed. A system cannot work if there are no users. System implementation represents a threat to users perceptions of control over their work and a period of transition during which users must cope with differences between old and new work systems, (Bobek Sternad, 2002: 285). The social setting of a company and its technology most definitely shape each other; they are hardly independent of one another (Boersma Kingma, 2005). A mistake companies frequently make is to presume that people can change their habits easily when in actuality such changes are considerably taxing for many people. These companies underestimate the effect ERP implementation will have on their employees. Many employees panic when nothing looks the way it used to, nothing works the way it used to, and they can no longer go through their workday with the previously earned sense of familiarity and assurance (Koch, 2007 cited in Revia, 2007). One study showed that it took over two years for users of the new system to forget the process problems they found initially and to gain new knowledge of the system (Seddon Shang, 2003 cited in Revia, 2007). A Chief Information Officer from Nestle sums up this concept very well—she says, No major software implementation is really about the software. Its about change management†¦You are changing the way people work†¦You are challenging their principles, their beliefs and the way they have done things for many, many years (Boersma Kingma, 2005: 123). It seems the best way to ensure that employees are on board with proposed changes is to make them aware of these changes. It is important for them to feel that they are included in the decision to create new values and procedures for the company. Otherwise, they will be clinging on to the old culture and ways of doing things. The change will be stressful and forced rather than welcomed with ease. They should feel that the change is happening because of them rather than happening to them. The most senior level of management initiates enterprise resource planning, but its success depends on its acceptance by the companys ordinary workers (Obolensky, 1996). Cultures can be manipulated by those in management (Handy, 1985 cited by Cooper, 1994). Change can be intimidating and needs to be managed well. Therefore, the conclusion is drawn that managers need to make sure each and every employee is doing their part. This literature suggests that leaders are the most important players in any c hange scenario. Employees wont decide to change their behavi