Why should ERP architecture include a discussion on organizational structure, business processes, and people, instead of just information technology and systems.
“ERP is a set of integrated programs that manage a company’s vital business operations for an entire organization” (Stair, p. 245). For a successful Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) implementation key components not only include information technology and system but also include organizational structure, business processes, and people. While discussing the realm of implementing an ERP system the project manager should never view this as just an IT project. The implementation is much more than IT it is a business project with business objectives and should include discussion with all key components.
For a successful implementation organizations should pay attention to the ERP process not only during the initial phase but through the life cycle of the system. The organizational structure is directly related to the implementation of ERP and its success. If the ERP changes are more intense then the organization resists these changes more fiercely and the likelihood to fail is higher. Morton and Hu have defined the structural dimension characteristics and organizational structure with the degree of fit with ERP and concluded that the more centralized and formalized processes the higher the fit with ERP (Morton and Hu, 2008).
Along with the organizational structure, knowledge management is a key factor to the organizational discussions during the implementation. There are three specific types of knowledge required for its success and include software-specific knowledge, business process knowledge, and organization-specific knowledge (Jayawickrama, et.al, 2017). Without these different types of knowledge, also known as Knowledge Management (KM), the ERP implementation is likely to fail.
“Businesses define the vision and operational expectations of a new system” (Shea, 2017, p. 14). In order to ensure a successful implementation the business process vision should met through the technical solution proposed. Therefore, in order to meet operational expectations, the business should design process models for the future state of each process that the new system will impact. This will help key plays to focus on blue printing rather than designing the future process (Shea, 2017). When focusing on the blue printing there are less of a change that there would be gaps between the organziational needs and the ERP implementation.
Managers often encounter resistance, for using a system, from users that had little participation or contribution during an implementation. Therefore, by providing continued training, feedback,...
