WEEK 6

Q.3 Can an informed ERP adoption and selection decision be made without fully understanding the problem? Why or why not – justify your answer.

No, an informed ERP adoption and selection decision can not be made without fully understanding the problem.

What are the problems we need to understand?

•  Understand the company strategies and background
•  Understand the current company operations and different business functionalities
•  The software can be processed or adopted or efficient in every business processes
•  How the package operates the function?
•  Collect the relevant information not only package implementation or technology but also team members from different functions and organization.
•  Solve the users reactions and arguments

The reasons we need to fully understand are:

Fully understanding the problem can effecting on the result whether implementing ERP fitting in organizations or not.

•  “Understanding processing” should be initially occurring again in the implementation project.
•  No package implementations can be the same with the different business functionalities and objectives
•  Reduce the key personal risk factors, and build responsibilities and relationship among team members

Show every team member the basic knowledge such as what each sector                       does, the business characteristics, key people in each function

•  Create new functionalities, and there are more risks that are unexpected
•  Budget and Time

Overall, planning and implementing are the two different processes. During the implementing ERP package, there are many situations that can be possibility occurred in different functionalities. Even the software and technology are fit in the businesses; team members who are without expert knowledge can lead to failure. Fully understanding problems are basically to help ERP fit in the organizations, users’ needs and its in-budget.

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

Conclusion

Based on the research from CQU current status, I have been learnt from how the ERP support CQU strategic direction and how best to proceed with their ERP systems. The changing operation environment is from budget redundant and time consuming.

At the first, more research on internet based on understanding CQU organization context outline its current problems and issues from its organizational factors, technology factors and people factors. The factors outlined in the report are collect from CQU Melbourne international campuses (http://www.melb.cqu.edu.au) and parts of data are proved by other report. The problems are analysis from traditional enrolment methods, limited library resources and database, not fully integration business functionalities on website and lack of additional knowledge for staff and users. With changing operation environment, the issues are indicated from the benefits from implementing ERP, the risks from implementing ERP and alternative adopting ERP for current systems. Those problems and issue need to be considered because of the reasons why we need to implementation ERP. In addition, those factors should be considered at following how best to proceed with CQU ERP systems as well.

In the discussion, the report proved the key benefits from ERP implementation based on CQU current strategies. The current strategies for CQU are to support more efficient teaching and learning online. The benefits from ERP can work out those current problems by integrating their business functionalities and central database to save the systems maintains and budget. Also, ERP gains more competitive strategies from timely accessing database, cost redundant, needs of users and easier update and modify their current software.
Based on those investigations on implementing ERP and current issues, those factors realize us to think about the ways how best to proceed with CQU ERP systems to avoiding implementing failure. At table 5, those are list of some universities failure examples. The vanilla ERP implementation based on the best practice without cutting cost, or customizing their current database and updated their software without redesigning business processes and analysis the implementation risks and potential risks for future changing as well could be considered for CQU.

Recommendation

Based on the findings, several recommendations can be made at the following.
The CQU systems need to provide more functionality for their enrolment systems instead continuing students go to school each term for subject selection and enrolment. Expect Queensland campus, other CQU international campus is not very large. The increasing numbers of students each year can be very stress for staff and current students at the beginning of term. The information they provide online is not enough for users. The details of users can be set up in other links as well but it is useless for students to use that links. The website should support students select their course online and then the course advisors can inform them if they think it may have problems.

The database in Library should be extended and relevant to more resources. Current students use the other research ways to find out information relevant their studies. They feel difficulties to access the current library database and even if they find out relevant titles, those resources are very limited for them.

The links appear on main homepage lack of fully integration. There are some courses shown in Blackboard and others are in Webfuse. Users should access different homepage every time when they are reading their selected courses information. It is better to integrate some functionality into one links. Also, the student’s record is not such clear for users. As the result, timetable and enrolment are all separately shown different pages. Integrating students’ records is very necessary for CQU. Sometimes staffs get difficulties to access some pages to find out information. The systems should be implemented fit with needs of users. For some links should be integrating together rather than be indicated.

Based on the research, the current staffs and students are lack of additional knowledge for CQU systems. It is lead to mismatch need of users and organizational context. The school should arrange some training classes for users. In each department, the school should have some technology staffs relevant the systems enquire. There are very less technological staff at the moment and also the school should increase the number of those kinds of staffs as well.