ERP implementation methodologies and frameworks: a literature review

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) implementation is a complex and vibrant process, one that involves a combination of technological and organizational interactions. Often an ERP implementation project is the single largest IT project that an organization has ever launched and requires a mutual fit of system and organization. Also the concept of an ERP implementation supporting business processes across many different departments is not a generic, rigid and uniform concept and depends on variety of factors. As a result, the issues addressing the ERP implementation process have been one of the major concerns in industry. Therefore ERP implementation receives attention from practitioners and scholars and both, business as well as academic literature is abundant and not always very conclusive or coherent. However, research on ERP systems so far has been mainly focused on diffusion, use and impact issues. Less attention has been given to the methods used during the configuration and the implementation of ERP systems, even though they are commonly used in practice, they still remain largely unexplored and undocumented in Information Systems research. So, the academic relevance of this research is the contribution to the existing body of scientific knowledge. An annotated brief literature review is done in order to evaluate the current state of the existing academic literature. The purpose is to present a systematic overview of relevant ERP implementation methodologies and frameworks as a desire for achieving a better taxonomy of ERP implementation methodologies. This paper is useful to researchers who are interested in ERP implementation methodologies and frameworks. Results will serve as an input for a classification of the existing ERP implementation methodologies and frameworks. Also, this paper aims also at the professional ERP community involved in the process of ERP implementation by promoting a better understanding of ERP implementation methodologies and frameworks, its variety and history

Fact Finding Report : Commission on the Future of Worker-Management Relations

This Fact Finding Report is submitted jointly to the Secretaries of Labor and Commerce. After release of this Report, the Commission plans a series of hearings and conferences with representatives of business organizations, labor organizations, other organizations that have presented testimony or statements, and the interested public to receive comments, reactions and suggestions as to the statement of facts and its implications for private and public policies and for the recommendations of the Commission.Within a period of six months of the presentation of this Report, the Commission plans to present a final report with recommendations to the two Secretaries

Game on! a report on the interactive leisure software subsector in London

There is a paucity of good quality data on the UK video games industry. Information such as value-added, investment on R&D, average annual expenditure on training and the value of video games in terms of exports, for example, is thin or incomplete. This is a serious problem. If we are to improve the competitiveness of the UK games development sector then we must have better quality information. Games developers will then be able to benchmark their business activities against industry averages. Overseas investors will also then be better informed about the benefits of investing in the UK leisure software sector. This Report confirms the lacunae in our knowledge that exists about the video games industry. For example, the Office of National Statistics still does not have a specific code to identify interactive leisure software businesses. Yet the Report also shines a light on the video games industry in the UK in general and in London in particular

Progress in Implementing Capacity-Building Provisions under the Labor Chapter of the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement

The report provides relevant background on the CAFTA-DR. It describes the efforts of the CAFTA-DR countries to identify areas for improvement of labor standards, make additional reforms to their labor laws, and develop strategies for continued capacity-building and improvement

Issues Related to the Emergence of the Information Superhighway and California Societal Changes, IISTPS Report 96-4

The Norman Y. Mineta International Institute for Surface Transportation Policy Studies (IISTPS) at San José State University (SJSU) conducted this project to review the continuing development of the Internet and the Information Superhighway. Emphasis was placed on an examination of the impact on commuting and working patterns in California, and an analysis of how public transportation agencies, including Caltrans, might take advantage of the new communications technologies. The document reviews the technology underlying the current Internet “structure” and examines anticipated developments. It is important to note that much of the research for this limited-scope project was conducted during 1995, and the topic is so rapidly evolving that some information is almost automatically “dated.” The report also examines how transportation agencies are basically similar in structure and function to other business entities, and how they can continue to utilize the emerging technologies to improve internal and external communications. As part of a detailed discussion of specific transportation agency functions, it is noted that the concept of a “Roundtable Forum,” growing out of developments in Concurrent Engineering, can provide an opportunity for representatives from multiple jurisdictions to utilize the Internet for more coordinated decision-making. The report also included an extensive analysis of demographic trends in California in recent years, such as commute and recreational activities, and identifies how the emerging technologies may impact future changes

Progress in Implementing Capacity-Building Provisions under the Labor Chapter of the Dominican Republic – Central America – United States Free Trade Agreement

[Excerpt] Section 403(a) of the CAFTA-DR Implementation Act includes a reporting requirement on labor issues related to the CAFTA-DR. Specifically, that section requires the President to submit a biennial report to Congress on the progress made by the CAFTA-DR countries in implementing (i) Chapter Sixteen (Labor) of the CAFTA-DR, and (ii) the White Paper. The President delegated this reporting function to the Secretary of Labor, to be carried out in consultation with the United States Trade Representative (USTR). This is the first report in fulfillment of Section 403(a) of the CAFTA-DR Implementation Act. As required, this report includes: A. A description of the progress made by the Labor Cooperation and Capacity Building Mechanism established by Article 16.5 and Annex 16.5 of the CAFTA-DR, and the Labor Affairs Council established by Article 16.4 of the CAFTA-DR, in achieving their stated goals, including a description of the capacity-building projects undertaken, funds received, and results achieved, in each CAFTA-DR country; B. Recommendations on how the United States can facilitate full implementation of the recommendations contained in the White Paper; C. A description of the work done by the CAFTA-DR countries with the International Labor Organization (ILO) to implement the White Paper recommendations and to advance common commitments regarding labor matters; and D. A summary of public comments received on these matters

Progress in Implementing Capacity-Building Provisions under the Labor Chapter of the Dominican Republic – Central America – United States Free Trade Agreement

[Excerpt] Section 403(a) of the CAFTA-DR Implementation Act includes a reporting requirement on labor issues related to the CAFTA-DR. Specifically, that section requires the President to submit a biennial report to Congress on the progress made by the CAFTA-DR countries in implementing (i) Chapter Sixteen (Labor) of the CAFTA-DR, and (ii) the White Paper. The President delegated this reporting function to the Secretary of Labor, to be carried out in consultation with the United States Trade Representative (USTR). This is the first report in fulfillment of Section 403(a) of the CAFTA-DR Implementation Act. As required, this report includes: A. A description of the progress made by the Labor Cooperation and Capacity Building Mechanism established by Article 16.5 and Annex 16.5 of the CAFTA-DR, and the Labor Affairs Council established by Article 16.4 of the CAFTA-DR, in achieving their stated goals, including a description of the capacity-building projects undertaken, funds received, and results achieved, in each CAFTA-DR country; B. Recommendations on how the United States can facilitate full implementation of the recommendations contained in the White Paper; C. A description of the work done by the CAFTA-DR countries with the International Labor Organization (ILO) to implement the White Paper recommendations and to advance common commitments regarding labor matters; and D. A summary of public comments received on these matters

Risky business: when a CRM vendor masqueraded as an ERP specialist

Taking a social shaping perspective we unpack the development trajectory of a packaged software product to show, that contrary to mainstream accounts, design is not completely specified a-priori and that the process continues throughout implementation, and use. We show how developers, in this case third party vendors, can continue to engage in shaping packages during implementation and also how users contribute to the development effort. In particular, we illustrate how a customer relationship management package application targeted at a particular organisational function was configured to make an enterprise wide system and the key role of the vendor in this effort. To do this we refer to a 3- year qualitative field study of an expanding United Kingdom based consultancy company undergoing extreme ICT related change. This empirical research is used to explore an often ignored phenomenon, that of the role of vendors in appropriating ICTs and the potential risks they bring. Through this, we highlight the plight and responsibilities of low-level organisational actors in this process in cognisance of the fact they usually have a minor role in ICT selection but become a major player in dealing with vendors at the implementation stage when the devil is truly in the detail. The risks we identify relate to: vendor sales pitches of products as specifically related to their capabilities and the products they put forward; the calling upon of organisational resources by vendors; vendor knowledge of the application are and the actual ‘social’, ‘technical’ and ‘organisational’ capabilities of vendors to deliver a working product. We also point to the risks managers in vendor and consumer organisations create by placing their staff in difficult conditions within appropriation processes. The implications of our work centre on the need for further research related to: vendor/developer risks of packaged software, custom and open source projects; notions of professionalism and ethics in the software industry and project working conditions