This is the feedback gotten from the "organics worker" who are supposed to run the program, means the "end users" reporting to "key users".
The new ERP system is installed, orders get placed, product is shipped, and invoices get paid. Yet no one is really happy with the results.
Customer satisfaction is unchanged and profits don’t increase. Ironically, quality of life at work declines while employees climb the learning curve. Finally, the company continues to struggle against competition.
What happened? Which are the causes? The most frequent situation is when the ERP vendor’s selection criteria are based mostly on the product features, covering less or not at all the implementation. For some managers installation and implementation are the same, which is an expensive confusion. The goal of an installation is move from one software to another, with a minimum of disruption. The goal of an implementation is to enable a company to achieve significant business goals as the result of a carefully planned transformation of its business processes, supported by appropiate software and technologies.
Computerizations are suppose to simplify our work and improving our quality of life.
It is true if implemented correctly, but in the big project like ERP implementation, the quality of team work and team player is very important.
In the team work, the commitment of each players are craved and need to be shown to the other players.
What is ERP
It is an integrated systems comprised modules for Finance, Logistics and Manufacturing, allowing for the management of purchases, sales, stocks, production etc. These solutions were referred to as Enterprise Resource Planning since they permitted the stage elaboration and integrated administration of the company major resources (finance, fixed inventory, materials, human resource) and the associated processes. [ING BARING 1997].
Benefits of ERP Implemetation to the way companies are managed as explained by JOHN GUNSON and JEAN-PAUL de BLASIS
• Reduction in effort for the collect and input of data : immediate input at the moment of the transaction.
• Possibility to interrogate in real time and at distance integrated information from different functions.
• Discipline and uniformity applied to processes and working methods.
• Breaking down of function and geographic barriers.
• Real time aid to decision-making; for example better visibility of stocks, leading to higher service level to the customer.
• Integration of activities, from the taking of the order through to the planning of production; from warehouse picking and dispatch through to invoicing; the transactions being automatically recorded in an accounting format.
A successful ERP implementation led to a simplification of management processes.
Key Success Factors in Implementing ERP
The need for a Project Sponsor.
If the project (the ERP implementation) is associated with a person - a person responsible for a business unit concerned, a person who hierarchically and by personal charisma is forceful, known , respected, liked throughout the company this helps to assure project success. This person is seen to be associated and permanently associated with the project, irrespective of perceived success or failure at any moment in time.
A strong management commitment.
Top Management, and their continued involvement, support, commitment, mobilization is vital.
Identification of a Project Coordinator/ Project Manager.
This was the I.T. Manager, this makes sense as I.T. is highly involved and later will be instrumental in data conversion, interfaces and modifications.
A strong business case for the Project.
If the reason for adopting an ERP solution is purely to align an affiliate with a Head Office choice, or with a hidden or open agenda to reduce the number of personnel, to centralize control and reporting so that a local management is brought to line or if simply the business needs are secondary - these ‘motivations’ can add to resistance either from the start or at a later date. This resistance can be manifest or latent; in both cases the consequences in terms of cost, delay, implementation quality could be major.
Clear vision.
Need to have a clear idea of what is wanted as an end result. These objectives will translate later into needs requirements, into measures checks and balances control, and a means of calculating a return on investment (financial/non-financial).
Re engineering, Rethinking; Change and Change Management; Benchmarking and Best Practices.
Encourage the change of existing structure and method where applicable.
The Risk of Failure
Here are the most important problems as explained by Luminita Hurbean from West University of Timisoara
• lack of ERP training and education;
• lack of in-house expertise in ERP;
• lack of clear goals for ERP effort;
• lack of companywide support and involvement (resistance to change);
• lack of top management commitment and support;
• lack of data accuracy.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Developing Negotiation Strategies
All human interaction is negotiation, according to Barbara Budjac Corvette, (Upper Saddle, N.J.: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2007).
All human interaction is negotiation, according to Barbara Budjac Corvette. When people interact, they influence each other's emotions and behavior. However, for practitioners of dispute resolution and other professionals whose jobs involve negotiation, there is so much more to it than meets the eye.
Negotiation skills is a part of CBM (Competency Based Management) as an important skills in a managerial position.
Negotiation is a dialogue intended to resolve disputes, to produce an agreement upon courses of action, to bargain for individual or collective advantage, or to craft outcomes to satisfy various interests. It is the primary method of alternative dispute resolution.
Negotiation occurs in business, non-profit organizations, government branches, legal proceedings, among nations and in personal situations such as marriage, divorce, parenting, and buying a car.
Effective negotiation helps us to resolve situations where what we want conflicts with what someone else wants. The best solution may be is to have win-win negotiation which is to find a solution that is acceptable to both parties, and leaves both parties feeling that they've won, in some way, after the event.
Sound easy to get, but in practical there are many constraint we may facing.
The negotiation itself is a careful exploration of your position and the other person’s position, with the goal of finding a mutually acceptable compromise that gives you both as much of what you want as possible.
Here are some tips on how to develop negotiation strategies:
"Do not think of negotiation as a game". While the win-lose approach of the game theory can be useful in developing strategies, we must not think of negotiation itself as a game. Under such approach, even the person who walks away thinking that he or she has won may lose in the long run if the agreement left the other party with little capability to comply.
Tips number two is commonsense, such as: be prepared; never lose control of yourself; always look for common ground and common goals; and never negotiate with someone who has no authority to commit.
While mistakes number one is assuming what the other side wants. It is common to assume the parties' respective goals are incompatible. The other party almost always has needs and assigns values different from yours.
Another common mistake is to focus on what the other party gets. It is advised to focus on one's goals instead. What the other party gets is not a loss because it helps us get what we want.
All human interaction is negotiation, according to Barbara Budjac Corvette. When people interact, they influence each other's emotions and behavior. However, for practitioners of dispute resolution and other professionals whose jobs involve negotiation, there is so much more to it than meets the eye.
Negotiation skills is a part of CBM (Competency Based Management) as an important skills in a managerial position.
Negotiation is a dialogue intended to resolve disputes, to produce an agreement upon courses of action, to bargain for individual or collective advantage, or to craft outcomes to satisfy various interests. It is the primary method of alternative dispute resolution.
Negotiation occurs in business, non-profit organizations, government branches, legal proceedings, among nations and in personal situations such as marriage, divorce, parenting, and buying a car.
Effective negotiation helps us to resolve situations where what we want conflicts with what someone else wants. The best solution may be is to have win-win negotiation which is to find a solution that is acceptable to both parties, and leaves both parties feeling that they've won, in some way, after the event.
Sound easy to get, but in practical there are many constraint we may facing.
The negotiation itself is a careful exploration of your position and the other person’s position, with the goal of finding a mutually acceptable compromise that gives you both as much of what you want as possible.
Here are some tips on how to develop negotiation strategies:
"Do not think of negotiation as a game". While the win-lose approach of the game theory can be useful in developing strategies, we must not think of negotiation itself as a game. Under such approach, even the person who walks away thinking that he or she has won may lose in the long run if the agreement left the other party with little capability to comply.
Tips number two is commonsense, such as: be prepared; never lose control of yourself; always look for common ground and common goals; and never negotiate with someone who has no authority to commit.
While mistakes number one is assuming what the other side wants. It is common to assume the parties' respective goals are incompatible. The other party almost always has needs and assigns values different from yours.
Another common mistake is to focus on what the other party gets. It is advised to focus on one's goals instead. What the other party gets is not a loss because it helps us get what we want.
What is Cognitive
Cognitive Ability is capacity to perceive, reason, or use intuition.
Cognitive is used to refer to the mental functions, mental processes and states of intelligent entities (mostly humans, or human organizations), with a particular focus toward the study of such mental processes as comprehension, inferencing, decision-making, planning and learning. The description of cognitive or cognition tends to apply to processes such as memory, attention, perception, action, problem solving and mental imagery.
Cognitive abilities are the brain-based skills and mental processes that are needed to carry out any task - from the simplest to the most complex. Every task can be broken down into the different cognitive skills that are needed to complete that task successfully. If they are not used regularly, your cognitive abilities will diminish over time. Fortunately, these skills can also be improved at any age with regular practice.
This can include:
Cognitive ability tests are widely used throughout the world for employee selection because they do an excellent job of predicting performance in a large variety of positions, especially if the companies are adapting High-Involvement of their employees toward the job.
Cognitive ability tests are designed to measure such things as how well an individual reasons, solves problems, plans, organizes, thinks abstractly, learns quickly and grasps the nature of complex problems. As some researchers have stated, cognitive ability tests help evaluate a person’s capability to figure out their surroundings and determine the appropriate actions—informally it’s called “catching on,” “making sense of things,” or “figuring things out.” Cognitive ability tests have various labels and are also called intelligence tests, IQ tests, ability tests, aptitude tests, assessments of problem solving and assessments of general mental ability.
While it is sometimes thought that cognitive ability tests are simply a measure of education, in reality they measure very general mental capabilities.
Cognitive is used to refer to the mental functions, mental processes and states of intelligent entities (mostly humans, or human organizations), with a particular focus toward the study of such mental processes as comprehension, inferencing, decision-making, planning and learning. The description of cognitive or cognition tends to apply to processes such as memory, attention, perception, action, problem solving and mental imagery.
Cognitive abilities are the brain-based skills and mental processes that are needed to carry out any task - from the simplest to the most complex. Every task can be broken down into the different cognitive skills that are needed to complete that task successfully. If they are not used regularly, your cognitive abilities will diminish over time. Fortunately, these skills can also be improved at any age with regular practice.
This can include:
- Alternating Attention: the ability to shift the focus of attention quickly.
- Auditory Processing Speed: the time it takes to perceive relevant auditory stimuli, encode, and interpret it and then make an appropriate response.
- Central Processing Speed: the time it takes to encode, categorize, and understand the meaning of any sensory stimuli.
- Conceptual Reasoning: includes concept formation, abstraction, deductive logic, and/or inductive logic.
- Divided Attention: the capability to recognize and respond to multiple stimuli at the same time.
- Fine Motor Control: the ability to accurately control fine motor movements.
- Fine Motor Speed: the time it takes to perform a simple motor response.
- Focused (or Selective) Attention: the ability to screen out distracting stimuli.
- Response Inhibition: the ability to avoid automatically reacting to incorrect stimuli.
- Sustained Attention: the ability to maintain vigilance.
- Visuospatial Classification: the ability to discriminate between visual objects based on a concept or rule.
- Visuospatial Sequencing: the ability to discern the sequential order of visual objects based on a concept or rule.
- Visual Perception: the ability to perceive fixed visual objects.
- Visual Processing Speed: the time it takes to perceive visual stimuli.
- Visual Scanning: the ability to find a random visual cue.
- Visual Tracking: the ability to follow a continuous visual cue.
- Working Memory: the ability to hold task-relevant information while processing it.
Cognitive ability tests are widely used throughout the world for employee selection because they do an excellent job of predicting performance in a large variety of positions, especially if the companies are adapting High-Involvement of their employees toward the job.
Cognitive ability tests are designed to measure such things as how well an individual reasons, solves problems, plans, organizes, thinks abstractly, learns quickly and grasps the nature of complex problems. As some researchers have stated, cognitive ability tests help evaluate a person’s capability to figure out their surroundings and determine the appropriate actions—informally it’s called “catching on,” “making sense of things,” or “figuring things out.” Cognitive ability tests have various labels and are also called intelligence tests, IQ tests, ability tests, aptitude tests, assessments of problem solving and assessments of general mental ability.
While it is sometimes thought that cognitive ability tests are simply a measure of education, in reality they measure very general mental capabilities.
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