American Trade and Imperialism Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

American Trade and Imperialism - Research Paper Example ing this period, America started to influence the cultural, military, social, political, and economic nature of other nations that enabled America to expand its power and influence to foreign territories. Various factors led to the emergence and adoption of the American imperialism policy. These factors include the Spanish-American war where America sought the independence of Cuba by compelling Spain to withdraw from Cuba. The American need to annex Hawaii due to its immense natural resources and arable lands also fostered American imperialism. The American push for an "Open Door" trading policy in China that allowed America to have equal trading rights in China and the American quest to participate in international trade also led to American trade and imperialism. American imperialism led to various effects on America, its colonies, and other European nations. Such effects have been consistent and significant throughout the centuries. This paper addresses the political, economic, mi litary, cultural, and social influence of American trade and imperialism on America and other foreign nations. Since the early 1990s, the American economic interest had been superseding the American belief in democracy. Before the early 1990s, America had been opposing imperialism for many years. In simple terms, American imperialism relates to the political, economic, social, or cultural influence of the U.S on other foreign nations (Hobson 1). The influence emanating from this policy enabled America to participate in international trade and expand its power into powerless nations like Cuba. It is worth noting that the American need to become a dominant force in international trade and global affairs prompted America to disregard its democratic capitalism system of governance and focus on its economic interests (Hawkins 1). It is clear that the American imperialism began between 1870 and 1916 subject to distinct factors that equally led to the successful adoption of this policy. For

Evaluation assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Evaluation - Assignment Example 21 REFERENCES 23 APPENDIX 25 QUESTIONNAIRE 25 2.What is the level of ease of navigation in the website http://www.cksp.com.hk/? 25 8.Is it easy to get information from the website http://www.cksp.com.hk/? 27 11.Is the website http://www.cksp.com.hk/ attractive? 27 EVALUATION ASSIGNMENT INTRODUCTION The analysis of usability of a website is of the greatest importance for the organization running. Nowadays, most of the business is conducted by websites across the world. So, the website plays a vital part in understanding the value offering of the organization. The website would be considered as a good, generally based on two factors. They are the degree of usability and the level of visual appeal. There are a host of factors that affect the usability of the website ranging from the information about the architecture, the navigation facilities, the jargon, the kind of terminology being used in the design, the designing aspect of the forms of a user and the layout of the page. However, t he usability may differ from time to time based on the needs of the business. The first part of the writing presentenced the need for a user centred approach in detail. The CBA (Cost Benefit Analysis) was done for the website, and the incorporation of an approach based on the user would present larger revenues for the company. So, this research is dedicated towards the steps for integration of a user based approach in the development of the website of http://www.cksp.com.hk/, after winning the contract. The paper would be divided into a number of sections. The first part of the sections would be used for the specification of the usability goals. This would serve as the benchmark for evaluation of the website. These are the parameters, which would guide the eventual design of the website, by serving as the template. The next part of the paper would focus on the usability criteria by the application of questionnaires. The obtained data would help in the analysis by using the human fac tors which are of significance. The last part of the paper would build a prototype for this application, which would take all the factors into consideration. The last part would present the recommendations for the website and the overall changes that have to be incorporated into the design for an increased interaction with the user. ANALYSIS OF http://www.cksp.com.hk/ USER ANALYSIS AND THE PROFILING For the presentation of a complete kind of the usability in the logical manner, there is a need for the conduct of certain kinds of tests. These tests are necessary, because they play a part in the attainment of the usability

Research handbook of comparative employment relations Essay

Research handbook of comparative employment relations - Essay Example Good! So these are your 3 main sections of your paper. According to Barry and Wilkinson (2011), voluntary overtime is a regular and positive practice in the various industries. Voluntary overtime increases the productivity of workers, maintains employees’ wellbeing, reduces staff turnover, and it is more cost efficient than part-time employment. Good! Okay, so you discuss these next, right? In the next couple of paragraphs, you discuss these right? I could be able to see that these are the topics for the next paragraphs. maintains employees’ wellbeing, reduces staff turnover, and it is more cost efficient than part-time employment For example, overtime is a common practice among medical facilities in the United States, where nurses are the majority of medical facilities’ employees who works overtime. You should consider using more in-text citations – where did this example come from? One of our sources? Or would one of your sources agree with it? Then use an in-text citation here. It’s not uncommon for research papers to have in-text citations in almost every other sentence. This is looking good so far. Nurses who voluntarily work overtime provide better care for the patients compared to mandatory overtime or part-time nurses. A clear indication of the positive impact of voluntary overtime over part-time or regular time work is that overtime workers tend to be engaged, especially when work is voluntarily provided to them. Most employees admit that wages have an impact on their work performance. Studies have demonstrated that higher wages earned result in a sense of achievement, ownership, and satisfaction in the work completed. Okay, so the next paragraphs will be about achievement, ownership, and satisfaction, right? It’s like sorting out your laundry; the evaluators will want to see clear, separate piles of thoughts like you indicate in your, excellent topic sentences. Your piles are your paragraphs, right? So, I want to see a paragraph on achievement. And another one one on ownership, and then the last one on satisfaction in work. Does this make sense/ Employees who are available by choice to work for overtime hours augment their productivity, lead to an excellent job recital, and reduce staff turnover through retention of employees (Barry & Wilkinson, 2011).Voluntary work helps in maintaining the employee’s health more than forced overtime work. Use of voluntary overtime enhances the wellbeing of workers; on the other hand, involuntary overtime causes burnout among employees. Voluntary overtime increases employees’ satisfaction and reduces stress among employees; as a result, it helps in maintaining the health of the workers. As Cameron (2012) observes, employees who work on voluntary overtime tend to have natural self-motivation within them, which enhances their productivity and job satisfaction. Employees and employers attain more benefits from voluntary overtime than from invo luntary overtime. Numerous studies have established that long working hours and shift work raise the odds for employees to be fatigued, injured, stressed, and suffer from medical ailments. However, voluntary overtime tends to lower these effects, but involuntary overtime increases same. The Advantages of Voluntary Overtime Paid Work The Advantages of

Evaluation assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Evaluation - Assignment Example 21 REFERENCES 23 APPENDIX 25 QUESTIONNAIRE 25 2.What is the level of ease of navigation in the website http://www.cksp.com.hk/? 25 8.Is it easy to get information from the website http://www.cksp.com.hk/? 27 11.Is the website http://www.cksp.com.hk/ attractive? 27 EVALUATION ASSIGNMENT INTRODUCTION The analysis of usability of a website is of the greatest importance for the organization running. Nowadays, most of the business is conducted by websites across the world. So, the website plays a vital part in understanding the value offering of the organization. The website would be considered as a good, generally based on two factors. They are the degree of usability and the level of visual appeal. There are a host of factors that affect the usability of the website ranging from the information about the architecture, the navigation facilities, the jargon, the kind of terminology being used in the design, the designing aspect of the forms of a user and the layout of the page. However, t he usability may differ from time to time based on the needs of the business. The first part of the writing presentenced the need for a user centred approach in detail. The CBA (Cost Benefit Analysis) was done for the website, and the incorporation of an approach based on the user would present larger revenues for the company. So, this research is dedicated towards the steps for integration of a user based approach in the development of the website of http://www.cksp.com.hk/, after winning the contract. The paper would be divided into a number of sections. The first part of the sections would be used for the specification of the usability goals. This would serve as the benchmark for evaluation of the website. These are the parameters, which would guide the eventual design of the website, by serving as the template. The next part of the paper would focus on the usability criteria by the application of questionnaires. The obtained data would help in the analysis by using the human fac tors which are of significance. The last part of the paper would build a prototype for this application, which would take all the factors into consideration. The last part would present the recommendations for the website and the overall changes that have to be incorporated into the design for an increased interaction with the user. ANALYSIS OF http://www.cksp.com.hk/ USER ANALYSIS AND THE PROFILING For the presentation of a complete kind of the usability in the logical manner, there is a need for the conduct of certain kinds of tests. These tests are necessary, because they play a part in the attainment of the usability

English Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 16

English - Essay Example The list appears and I can choose the friend I specifically want through filtering. Is that the right term? Well, it just makes it easy to find people who I believe are very compatible with me and my personality. Making friends online eliminates geographical boundaries. You can make friend i a girl from another state to another continent. This way, I learn a lot. I currently have friends from Canada, Europe, and Asia and they all give me fresh insight about their culture. This suits my interest in enhancing my knowledge of different traditions and culture. The diversity of people online searching for a friend makes it exciting. I learn a lot from other people. I hope they learn from me too†¦Ã¯ Å  However, Myspace is not the type of place I would like to find really serious and close friendship. I guess it’s human nature—I feel the need to really â€Å"experience† the person. I mean, I need face to face interaction in order to form a solid friendship. You can’t be best friends with someone you only meet online right? And a dozen chat sessions can never compensate by really having coffee together or walking in the mall. I always find this weird but often times, even though I make friends with people with the same interest as I am, we just don’t seem to click. Do you know what I mean? There’s no chemistry. Well, that’s for lovers but same for friendship I guess. Sometimes, the numbers or letters or titles won’t really assure you that you are compatible with another person. Do I need to tell you that some people even still hide their identity while online? I believe that trust should still be the foundation of friendship. So just how can you be friends with someone who is hiding behind an alias and another person’s photo? It’s really disgusting. Social networking online does not in any way allow you to identity people who do this. Well, in some cases, most people who find

Aircraft Solutions Essay Example for Free

Aircraft Solutions Essay SecurityAircraft Solutions Security and Policy Assessment Table of Contents Executive Summary1 Company Overview1 Security Vulnerabilities1 Decentralized Anti Virus1 Access Control List Policy3 Recommended Solutions6 Bitdefender6 AlgoSec Security Management Suite7 Impact on Business Processes7 Budget8 Summary8 References9 Executive Summary As Aircraft Solutions takes the next step in its growth, it is imperative that its IT infrastructure keep pace as to not counteract gains made by the company during this expansion. This is especially important given it designs and fabricates components for both commercial and defense related industry. Given the increase in staff as well as outside vendors accessing the network, a more centralized approach to antivirus protection has to be adopted. It is equally important that certain elements within the network that have been done manually, such as Access Control List policy, be automated to avoid consuming the IT department in an ever escalating bar of employee hours. Company Overview Aircraft Solutions operates within California in two separate physical locations in San Diego and Santa Ana. Working within both commercial and defense industries, their products are used globally. Aircraft Solutions is overtly technical in nature utilizing Business Process Management (BPM) for end to end processes that interacts with customers, vendors, and suppliers. BPM also fills a critical role of internal communications for IT to ensure customer needs are being fulfilled precisely as they have been ordered. Security Vulnerabilities Decentralized Anti Virus In reviewing the software utilized by Aircraft Solutions, it is stated that security is handled by anti-virus software that is independently operated for all workstations and servers. This seems to be a continuation of the host centric theme as evidenced by host based IDS. Whereas host based IDS can be seen as a more viable alternative to network based IDS, the same cannot be said for anti-virus software in this scenario. Given that the company operates two individual physical locations that run the gamut from design to production, it can be assumed that their employee pool is not small despite actual numbers not being mentioned. With these numbers, it is quite unlikely that all employees are maintaining their due diligence in ensuring that they are properly updating their anti-virus applications and operating them in such a manner that they are being used efficiently. The primary weakness of this policy is that the end user is responsible for its upkeep. It is reasonable to assume that someone working in a loading dock may not have the same level of computer aptitude as an engineer and would be more likely to cause a break in security by allowing a virus into their computer and threaten the network (Department of Homeland Security, 2012). As security is only as strong as the weakest link, this opens the proverbial floodgates of illicit access to the company network. This is problematic in that official statistics gathered in 2012 estimated that the United States ranks third in the world with 50. 1% of all unique users detecting threats from a virus (Kaspersky Security Bulletin, 2012). The most common virus credited with 75. 01% of all online attacks with 712,999,644 instances are malicious URLs (Kaspersky Security Bulletin, 2012) that can infect a computer without the user even realizing what has occurred. Not even anti-virus software will keep a user completely safe as it is reported that 32% of all users have been infected with a virus despite such protection measures (Zorz, 2010). Once infected, viruses can either cause extreme lag with the network, slowly gather information to be used against the company or sold to anyone willing to purchase it, or even cause damage to physical components used in the business (Weinberger, 2012). There are many other nefarious effects of an infected computer within a network that can cripple productivity and cut into the revenue generating capacity of the company. When you take into consideration that a slower network will cause a decrease in company production and will not reduce the cost of daily operations in terms of equipment, utilities or workforce then you must look at the financial ramifications of such an event. The creation and dissemination of viruses has become big business that will grow exponentially as it has moved from the stereotypical basements of hackers into the realm of organized crime and legitimized aspects of armed services for many nations the world around (Fisher, 2012). It is reported that worldwide, viruses have stolen approximately $1. 6 trillion (CMP Media Inc. , 2013) from the global economy. Access Control List Rule policy Security policy at Aircraft Solutions dictates that all firewall and router access control rules pertaining to packet flow be evaluated on a bi yearly basis. Network infrastructure documentation for the company lists one firewall and two routers that are currently in operation that fall within these parameters. Within the San Diego headquarters, all of these devices act as a bulwark against any unwanted intrusion from the Internet at large. Documentation also details there are contractors and suppliers along with customers to contend with regarding external access to the network through these devices. Looking at the internal physical topology it is seen that there is a single router providing packet control for all traffic between the Defense Division in Santa Anna and the rest of the company consisting of Human Resources, Accounting, Direct Computer Numerical Control, Sales and Marketing, IT, and information from the database. Conversely, this same router would also have to act the single point of control between all internal departments at San Diego as it is the only piece of equipment that possesses layer three functionality before passing the firewall. Given these relationships this demonstrates these three devices, particularly the router connecting Santa Anna and San Diego, require extremely detailed and expansive routing rules to effectively run the business. Departmental access list rules could for the most part remain static and not require a great deal of attention once implemented as IP schemas would be established ahead of time for each department. Issues begin to arise when you take into account that over the course of two years, multiple projects will most likely be spun up, numerous unique circumstances, and growth of the network will create a myriad of antiquated access control rules that will represent gaping holes in security that can allow unauthorized access to sensitive company materials and intellectual property. This would also lead to a lack of documentation of access control rules so that there would be no manner in which to simply reference which rules were in place and for what reason. Each annual security review will then sideline the IT department as it analyzes the access control list rules and begins to path them out to their respective devices. At this point, ownership of the device would have to be established, the purpose of that device, and then verifying if access was still warranted. Disagreements at this juncture would result in managerial oversight as department heads would then have to present their cases for and against access. Obviously, this would draw management, especially that of IT, into contracted deliberation that would distract from day to day business. A lack of an overall firewall policy, a bi yearly evaluation of access control list rules, and the previously mentioned issue of non centralized anti-virus software creates a very dangerous environment for data security. A port that is opened for user access is a window into the companys network that can ultimately be exploited. The more ports that are left open, the greater the opportunity for intrusion. This same lack of a detailed firewall policy also entails that these multiple holes in security can vary in scope since there is not a set control in place to reign in the extent of the security exception being asked (Hogg, 2011). These open ports make the company susceptible to port scanning as outside entities search for network soft spots that can be exploited to gain entry. These scans occur with such constant frequency that they are referred to as Internet background radiation (Notenboom, 2008). Given these factors it is a foregone conclusion that there will inevitably be a breach of the network as a result. Such an event would result in loss of intellectual property, decrease of production, and repeated incidents would create a devastating loss of trust in the eyes of customers. An ancillary security risk is derived from the time and energy spent by IT during each manual review of all access control listings in the firewall and routers. It is feasible that each rule will take an average of an hour to complete if all goes smoothly with tracing the routed path from beginning to end, complying with internal ticket work, verifying the device, and accepting a reason for the route to be in existence. More time would be expended by both engineering staff and then management if there was a dispute as to if a rule should be left in place or not. In terms of just the basic work to go through all the established rules that will accumulate over the course of 2 years, a conservative estimate of 25 requests for new rules per week (based on personal experience within a mid-sized company) would yield a total of 2600 new lines to be analyzed. Assuming approximately a third of these rules could be associated together as projects are increased or decreased, that leaves roughly 866 lines that translates into as many employee hours that will be occupied for this task over the course of 108 days. A team of five in the IT department would require just over 21 full working days to effectively handle this task at a cost of $2,898. 75 to have entry level Network Engineers (Salary. com, 2013) dedicated to the task . If a quarter of these rules are disputed, then the company will pay out another $9,964. 70 (Salary. com, 2013) of lost productivity as the IT manager has to contend with other managers to mediate the need for the rules. It is likely that this endeavor would constitute a major departmental project at the end of the 2 years instead of being worked on throughout the duration. During this time, other work will be assigned to secondary status and put projects and perhaps updates that could be critical in risk of being done on time as all energy and focus resides on the access evaluation. Recommended Solutions Bitdefender To effectively control antivirus from a central source that will push updates to all network devices, demand all equipment connecting has antivirus and allow for mobile devices to be used without issue, Bitdefender small business pack would be the ideal choice. Given that this application suite will provide service to all Windows OSs from XP to Windows 8 along with Macintosh and Linux support [ (Squidoo. com, 2012) ], it is perfect for allowing outside vendors who may not conform strictly to the Windows platform adopted by Aircraft Solutions. Support for the product is offered by email, and phone coupled with configuration assistance free of charge. As it was not definitely declared how many employees are with Aircraft Solutions, there is a pricing scale of $449. 95 per year for 20 computers and 20 mobile devices [ (Bitdefender, 2012) ]. AlgoSec Security Management Suite In terms of Access Control List management on the firewalls, industry reviews would recommend a single piece of software, Algosec Security Management Suite. With this application, all a user is required to do is simply enter in the IP of the device wanting entry to the network as well as the IP of the device is wishes to access. Algosec will then compute the path from source to destination, provide a listing of all firewalls in the path, and then list out what changes would need to be made to firewall configuration. With a click of a button, it would even implement these changes thereby freeing an inordinate amount of time on the part of IT staff and management [ (AlgoSec, 2012) ]. Cost of the application is approximately $10,000 [ (AlgoSec, 2013) ] which also include support of the product and updates. Impact on Business Processes Implementation pains felt as both Bitdefender and AlgoSec are introduced will be minimal at best. In each instance, less work will be required of employees as they are no longer responsible for their own antivirus and the process by which firewall flows are drafted and put into configuration will be dramatically increased. The point of contention that might make itself known will be at the onset of these applications being installed as they will require some new policy changes. At first, there will most likely be an uptick in questions asked of IT as employees want to know what is required of them with Bitdefender antivirus. It will also require new policy on the part of IT in terms of management of the application as well as procedures for pushing updates into the network. AlgoSec will be almost entirely without incident as it will create a process by which a request is put in for access and instead of being delayed as the path is verified, it can move directly into managerial oversight for approval. Budget Product| Features| Cost| Bitdefender| Centralized AV updatesScalable user supportInternal firewallIntuitive GUIApplication supportInstallation assistance| $449. 95 per year per set of 20 computers/20 mobile devices| AlgoSec| Firewall path operation automationFirewall configuration change automationNegates access control rule auditsProduct support and updates| $10,000 (approximate quote)| Summary Without changes made to IT policy, requests upon the IT department for access to the network and the bi yearly audit of existing rules will eventually grind all departmental progress to a complete stop for months at a time. Automation in this arena as well as a universal standard for antivirus are dire in maintaining a secure network with the necessary resources to make changes as needed. In the face of company growth, if automation is not embraced, then it will become necessary to increase the IT staff by at least 50% within the next 2 years to simply maintain the status quo. Assuming an employee pool of 100, an investment in Bitdefender and Algosec at this time will cost $12,249. 75, with reoccurring annual fees of $2,249. 75. Such an amount if a far cry from an extensive uptick in staff. The end result will be a far more efficient IT department that will be able to accomplish more sustentative work with existing staff at hand. References AlgoSec. (2012, january). AlgoSec Security Management Suite. Retrieved February 18, 2013, from Algosec. com: http://www. algosec. com/en/products/products_overview AlgoSec. (2013, January). How to Buy. Retrieved February 18, 2013, from algosec.

The Emergence Of Enterprise Resource Planning Systems Information Technology Essay

The Emergence Of Enterprise Resource Planning Systems Information Technology Essay Many organizations have initiated Enterprise Resource Planning systems, using such packages as SAP, Peoplesoft and Oracle. The ERP market is one of the fastest growing in the software industry. In a research conducted by APICS, 34.5% of the companies with revenues over $1 billion planned to purchase or upgrade in ERP system. This research is relevant to indicate that the ERP market may reach $ 1 trillion by the year 2010 (Umble et al., 2005). Enterprise resource planning systems are a major investment. Companies have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in ERP software. Its implementation promotes a variety of business justifications which include replacement of numerous legacy systems, reduction in cycle time from order to delivery, and reduction in operating costs. Also, the on-line, real-time operational data that ERP systems enable managers to make better decisions and improve responsiveness to customer needs (Gyampah, 2004). There is evidence that organizations are satisfied with ERP. Based upon a sample of 117 firms in 17 countries, the Conference Board reports that 34% of the organizations were satisfied with ERP, 58% were somewhat satisfied, 7% were somewhat unsatisfied, and only 1% were unsatisfied (Al-Mashari, M., Zairi, M., 2009). Organizations have a business justification for implementing ERP systems. The business benefits of ERP include improved accessibility of information, real time access to data across the organization, improved cycle time for orders, decreased financial closing time, reduced operating costs, and lowered inventory levels. In addition ERP systems provide an opportunity to re-align business processes with best practices and to integrate enterprise-wide information supporting financial, human resources, manufacturing, sales and marketing functions. Evolution of ERP It was in the Sixties that the concept of resource planning was first introduced by software packages that dealt with inventory control capability. Material Requirements Planning (MRP) systems were later introduced in 1970s and these contained a master production schedule and a bill of materials file with list of materials needed to produce each item. MRP systems were enhanced by adding tools for sales planning, customer order processing and capacity planning that provided input production scheduling, known as closed loop MRP. In the 1980s, MRPII systems incorporated financial accounting system along with manufacturing and materials management systems. MRPII led to an integrated business system that was used to create a database of material and capacity requirements for production and this system then translated these requirements into financial information. By 1990s ERP systems provided seamless integration of all information flows in the company- Financial Accounting, Human Resources, Supply Chain Management and Customer Information (Rondeau Litteral, 2001). Challenges of ERP System ERP system projects involve considerable time and cost not only in terms of investment but also for realization of benefits from their implementation. Research by Standish Group illustrates that 90% of ERP projects are late over budget. Meta Group survey data, based on 63 companies, showed that average implementation cost of ERP was $ 10.6 million and took 23 months to complete (K. Siau, 2004). A successful implementation of ERP requires a multi-stage approach (Jones M. and Price L., 2004), and the benefits of ERP may not occur until later stages. Jones et al., propose three stages: the project phase, the shakedown phase, and onward and upward phase. ERP software is introduced during project phase and is implemented into firms operations during shakedown phase. It is not until onward and upward phase, during which ERP modules are successfully integrated with operations, that the organization can achieve actual business results, such as inventory reduction (Motwani et al., 2002). However, Spathis et al. identify four phases for implementation of the same. The phases are: a planning phase, a re-engineering phase, a design phase, and a configuration and testing phase (Spathis et al., 2003). They indicate that re-engineering business practices around the ERP software is critical to successful implementation. In their stage analysis, Rondeau et al. (2001) suggest benefits of ERP occur when ERP modules are implemented successfully and when organizations can use the ERP foundation to add advance modules such as customer relationship management. A company has to make sure that its ERP investment fetches increased profitability. The key challenge is not in managing technology, but in managing people. An ERP system changes the way people work, and for the system to be effective, the change must be dramatic. It promotes efficient business processes with the requirement of fewer people than before ERP implementation or up-gradation. This implies that some employees will be asked either to change their day-to-day activities or their services would no longer be needed. Managing human behavior aspects of organizational change also known as organizational change management (OCM) cannot be underestimated in importance of this part of the implementation process. One of the keys to managing OCM is to realize that people tend to defy changes associated with their work related activities. If the ERP implementation is a project that is being forced on the employees, then they will instinctively resist it. However, if it is viewed as a chance to make the company more efficient and effective by improving business process, and consequently these process improvements will make the company more profitable and ensure job security to employees, then there is a greater likelihood that the employees will wholeheartedly support the implementation efforts. The best way to improve a business process is to delegate the task to develop process improvement ideas to people who are most familiar with the process using their experience and creativity. Sometimes, a company is not ready for ERP. In many cases, ERP implementation difficulties result when management does not fully understand its current business processes and cannot make implementation decisions in time . In order to obtain benefits from an ERP system resulting in reduction of costs needs an organization to streamline its business processes. However, if a company is not prepared to change its business process es, it will find a large bill for software and consulting fees with no improvement in organizational performance. ERP packages imply, by their design, a way of doing business, and they require users to follow that way of doing business. Some of business operations, and some segments of its operations, may not match the constraints inherent in ERP. Therefore, it is imperative for a business to analyze its business strategy, organization, culture and operations before choosing an ERP approach. Review of Literature Companies implement Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems in order to achieve better responsiveness to the needs of customers through real-time information provided by the system, to link customers and suppliers into a complete supply chain, to provide high degree of cross functional integration, to reduce the costs and to provide the foundation for effective e-commerce (Vollmann et al., 2005). The pressure to survive in the new world order and align with the new paradigm for organizational success, namely, speed, flexibility, integration and innovation, further drives organizations towards adopting integrative software approaches like ERP. It is also a well known fact that information technology affects the organization structure (Bhattacherjee, 2000). Hence, ERP implementation would impact the structure, but this impact has not been elaborately investigated. It is often supposed that IT creates a flatter structure (Stevens, 1998). The flat structure speeds up decision-making p rocess, shortens lines of communication and aids in savings (Klein, 2001). ERP implementation benefits are not realized quickly as expected and the process is lengthy and expensive (Siau, 2004). Many organizations world over and particularly in the fast developing countries are traditional hierarchies and managing changes in structure offering challenges. As ERP implementation is an enterprise wide venture of change.It is important to understand how to manage impact on the organization structure. Two research objectives were central to this research project. ERP implementation influences the structure of the organization. Management of the change to the new structure. This paper is an attempt to examine the ERP implementation experience in a company. It drew on Organization Theory and Change Management theory to understand the transition between structures and to provide the explanations (Amoako-Gyampah, 2004). ERP represents a comprehensive software approach and information technology effects on the organization structure (Kurup, 2004) and ERP implementation success involves change management of techniques, the change management theory (Paton and McCalman, 2004) prove useful in explaining the outcomes of the case study . IT and Organization Structure The organization structure defines how the tasks are to be allocated, who reports to whom and the formal coordinating mechanisms and interaction patters that will be followed (Robbin, 1990). Organization structure has three components: Complexity, Formalization and Centralization. These components are described below and impact of IT on these components is expressed and applied to case analysis to aid in investigation of the influence of ERP on organization structure. Complexity Complexity refers to the degree of differentiation that exists within an organization. This includes the degree of specialization or division of labour, the number of levels in the organizations hierarchy, and the extent to which the organizations units are dispersed geographically (Klein, 2001). With introduction of this component of organization structure, it is possible to have wider span of control with more knowledgeable and empowered employees. Companies with IT can reduce the middle management layers and widen span of control and thereby flatten the organization structure. However, removing layers might create new challenges. New mechanisms for coordination might be needed or new process of governance might be necessary. According to the model proposed by Klein (2001), IT results in wider spans of control, fewer levels, fewer people, easier collaboration and communication. In other words, IT lowers the complexity. Formalization Formalization refers to the degree to which an organization relies on rules and procedures to direct behavior of employees. Evidence exists to indicate that developing detailed guidelines of appropriate operating procedures enhances coordination and is suitable in a stable environment (Martin, 2009). Formalization, however, is negatively associated with adoption and implementation of innovation in organizations (Ahadi, 2004) and hence it is negatively related to the ERP implementation because it tends to boast deleterious effects on the work attitudes. Centralization The decisional control in organization could be centralized or decentralized. In traditional hierarchies the decisional control is usually centralized. Research indicates that IT tends to make the decisional control more decentralized with no commensurate loss of control by the top management (Robbin, 1990). It is possible that the centralization component is related to the size of middle management although there are conflicting findings. IT results in a decrease in the size of the middle management workforce in organizations with centralized decision authority and with an increase in the number of middle managers in organizations where the authority is decentralized. Change Management The change management when linked to ERP implementation has been more focused on process change (Davison, 2002). The other type of change namely organizational restructuring provides specifics related to moving from one structure to another. The objective of restructuring is based on the companys long-range plan and the intention is to set up a structure that enables a company to be ready for new activities. However, changing an organizations structure can be difficult and successful restructuring depends on three conditions: sound planning, effective leadership and organizational commitment (Witzel, 2002). To examine organizational change in a traditional hierarchical organization, consideration is given to: Human element and informal organization. Necessity of strong management actions and inspirational vision. Sustainability of an initiative. None of available models considers all the three aspects. Informal Organization INPUT Strategy Formal OUTPUT Resources, Organization Individual Environment team, Performance Managing Change Transformation Process Figure -1 In traditional organizations, manager had to solve problems by directly communicating with the employees and was related to power and values. However, in ERP implementation much of the learning process comes from hands on use under normal operating conditions after the implementation period is over. Thus power is then transfered to individuals who are able to operate the ERP system better and utilize Work People the system resources efficiently (Aladwani, 2009). ERP affect on nature of work and training is an important part of change management practices. ERP requires users to understand that they are no longer working in isolation, and whatever they do now impacts someone else. This can create resistance that comes from a fear of the unknown and from the need of stability. There are two fundamental sources of resistance to innovations like ERP: perceived Risk and Habit. The habit of keeping the routine practices prevalent in hierarchies has to be tackled using appropriate strategies. Spathis and Constantinides (2003) have proposed a planned change model and this model assumes that change can be defined and moved in a planned way. Unlike other planning models, the four phases suggested in this model are linear and irreversible. This model satisfies the requirement of well-controlled change and strong management actions. Four phases that have been suggested are: Exploration, Planning, Action and Integration. Implementation of ERP Information technology leads to a tremendous impact on productivity of both manufacturing and service organizations. Companies have implemented systems such as enterprise resource planning (ERP), MRP, EDI, over time for improving their productivity. ERP systems have received attention lately due to more effective decision-making capability. Many companies are implementing ERP as a means to reducing operating costs, increasing productivity and improving customer services (Martin, 2009; Pliskin and Zarotski, 2000). ERP system can cripple a company, if not implemented properly. There are horror stories concerning implementations gone astray (Laughlin, 1999; Bancroft et al., 1998). Implementing ERP system successfully calls for strong leadership, a clear implementation plan, and a constant watch on the budget (Wagle, 2008). From a project managers point of view, most important consideration is a clear implementation plan and a strategy, that should evolve through systematic consideration of companys requirements and its ability to manage changes called for under new circumstances. Some of the factors to be considered seriously at planning stage are: Information needs at the operational and managerial level for various functional areas. Feasibility of ERP system integration with the existing information systems Schedule for adaptation of the new system. An organization requires development of an implementation strategy. Such a strategy, will determine how the related changes can be successfully absorbed at various parts of the organization. It has been found that the organizations that had no SAP implementation strategic plan performed poorly compared to those who had a plan. ERP implementation from countries around the world demonstrates that success is essentially conditional on adequately managing complex context of the implementation, which necessitates change management across various key areas related to business processes, IT structure, and management systems (Al-Mashari and Zairi, 2009). This highlights practical issues associated with the implementation of ERP systems. For successful implementation three basic requirements are to be met: a clear business objective, comprehension of the nature of changes and understanding of the project risk. Strong leadership and constant watch on budget are the two other, yet equally significant requirements, as stressed by Wagle (2008). For an effective implementation of ERP system, particularly SAP R/3, an organization must take a holistic view of the process (Al-Mashari and Zairi, 2009). Various issues at strategic, managerial, and operational levels should be addressed in order to achieve optimum outcomes from an ERP system. For a successful outcome an organization must establish competencies in four core areas: Change Strategy development and deployment, Enterprise-wide Project Management, BPR integration with IT, and technical aspects of ERP installation. These competencies will enable managers to effectively manage changes and direct the organization to desired goals (see Fig.2). Fig. 2. Core competencies in effective implementation of ERP (adopted from Al-Mashari and Zairi 2009). Change management Strategy Changes in an organization are brought about through implementation of strategies. Kuruppuarachchi et al. (2002) examined the success (and failure) factors and implementation methodologies that contribute to change management strategy formulation in organizations. Fig. 3 presents a framework of the change management process, incorporating change agents and strategic considerations at various stages of ERP implementation, when viewed from an IT project implementation point of view. Meyers et al. (2009) analyzed about 130 research papers to find out factors influencing the implementation of new technologies for improved operational efficiencies. They classified implementation success factors as buyers characteristics, seller characteristics, buyer-seller interface, and environment. These factors are listed below: Human resources: greater education and training among personnel; positive motivation, attitudes, and commitment toward the innovation. Structure: an adaptive and flexible structure; strong communications mechanism and net work across structural boundaries. Decision processes: broad strategic, as opposed to narrowly and earlier involvement of technical goals; greater and earlier involvement of the operational workforce; top management support and commitment and the presence of a champion; cooperation among units; slow, gradual radical incorporation of the innovation. Technology fit: familiarity with the new technology and availability of relevant skills within the organization. Higher level of technical capabilities of the seller. Strong communications skills of the seller. Expertise in project management of the seller. Constructive cooperation between buyer and seller in implementation. Knowledge transfer: the buyer is involved in leaning, diagnosing, and shaping usage patterns of the buyer. Intensive networking within and across industries leading to greater exposure to innovations. Fig.3. Change management considerations (Source: Kuruppuarachchi et al., 2002). Case Study -I Pantaloon: ERP in Retail More than eight years after it forayed into the retail business, Pantaloon Retail decided to implement SAP to keep itself competitive in the rapidly growing Indian retail market. Store operations have never been as important to retailers as they were then. Successful retailers are those who know that the battle for customers is only won at the frontline, which in the case of a retail chain is at its stores. Pantaloon was regularly opening stores in metros and there was an urgent need for a reliable enterprise wide application to help run its business effectively. The basic need was to have a robust transaction management system and an enterprise wide platform to run the operations, says Rakesh Biyani, Director, Pantaloon. The Solution The company was looking for a solution that would bring all its businesses and processes together. After a comprehensive evaluation of different options and software companies, the management at Pantaloon decided to go in for SAP. Some of the qualities of SAP retail solutions are that it supports product development, which includes ideation, trend analysis, and collaboration with partners in the supply chain; sourcing and procurement, which involves working with manufacturers to fulfill order according to strategic merchandising plans and optimize cost, quality, and speed-variables that must be weighted differently as business needs, buying plans, and market demand patterns change; managing the supply chain, which involves handling the logistics of moving finished good from the source into stores and overseeing global trade and procurement requirements; selling goods across a variety of channels to customers, which requires marketing and brand management; managing mark-downs and capt uring customer reactions, analyzing data, and using it to optimize the next phase of the design process. In a Nutshell Aim To deploy a robust transaction management system and an enterprise wide platform to run its operations. Solution SAP retail solution Implemented by SAP team with the help of Novasoft, Singapore Number of users Around 1,200 Time taken About six months Cost of implementation A $ 10 million Implementation The implementation was outsourced to a third party. The implementation was done by the SAP team with help of Novasoft which is based at Singapore, says Core Team Member. This project was headed by Pantaloons Chief Information Technology Officer, Chinar Deshpande. Some people from Pantaloon assisted in the project and twenty four qualified people worked on the SAP implementation. Three Phases SAP implementation in Pantaloon was not a single phase process. The project was divided into three phases. The first phase of implementation involved blueprinting of existing processes and mapping them to the desired state. In this phase, the entire project team worked on current processes within Pantaloon Retail. The various existing processes were thoroughly analyzed and drafted. This blueprint was later used in the formation of new states of the solution. Since the SAP would combine all the processes, each and every one of these had to be evaluated. In the second phase, the SAP platform was developed with the help of Novasofts template which was predefined by SAP after evaluation of Pantaloons needs and expertise in retail solutions. The last phase in this project was for stores to switch over to the new system and for current data to be ported. Before the SAP implementation, all the data was unorganized. This data had to be migrated to the new SAP application. The project was flagged off on 15th June 2005 and took about six months to finish. It went live at the head office on 1st January 2006. The Pantaloon Retail stores used SAP from 1st January 2006 to 30th June 2006. Benefits and Challenges The key challenges in this project were not in the implementation. Rather, the difficulties were faced during the data migration and in managing the interim period when the project was underway for about six months. Migrating unorganized data to an organized format was a challenging task. SAP General Ledger gives Pantaloon a higher level of transparency into individual operations and helps it continually drive productivity improvements across the enterprise. For example, Pantaloon can now automatically split accounting line items per document for each company profit center. These transactions are handled by the software,and the company no longer needs to make period adjustments to balance sheet and profit and loss statements. With the document splitting tool, Pantaloon now has a real-time, complete picture of its accounts receivables and payables across all operational levels, which has enabled it to reduce receivables by up to 10%. In addition, it is now able to close the monthly books 20% faster, due to tight integration between financials and controlling components and real-time reconciliation capabilities. The application is currently being used by around 1,200 employees across the organization. For maintaining this implementation and its related applications, Pantaloon has an in-house team and it has outsourced ABAP resources. ERP system relied greatly on this in-house team for training its employees (at every level) and extracting benefits from ERP. The system runs on a HP Superdome server on HP UNIX 11 and the database is from Oracle. The cost of this project was about $ 10 million. Future projects After the successful implementation of SAP for its retail chain, Pantaloon plans to go ahead with IT projects such as implementation of WMS with RFID, Customer Intelligence and CRM. Inventory and Promotions Optimization are being pursued. Case Study II Ace Designers Ltd. ERP reduces manufacturing costs by 20% for Industrial Equipment manufacturer Overview Since 1987, Ace Designers Limited, Indias manufacturer of CNC lathes and auto lathes, has been exporting machines around the world, including Brazil, Germany, United Kingdom and the United States. With growth, their largely manual systems started breaking down. They had no centralized purchasing department and means of sharing information, so company groups were paying different amounts for the same parts from the same vendor. Delivery dates were missed because of a lack of inventory control, and top management had little visibility to manufacturing process. The Challenge Ace needed a complete information system built around an ERP solution that would help manage every aspect of their manufacturing process-from purchasing and inventory to manufacturing, planning and preparing for ISO certification. The Solution Ace commissioned a comprehensive survey of the ERP market and Intuitive was selected for four major reasons: A 100 percent Microsoft platform, an easy-to-use graphical interface, excellent support, and scalable open architecture features that permitted the addition of users at any time. The consultants who evaluated Intuitive ERP and its competitors for ACE Designers concluded: Intuitive ERP is easy to install, interface, customize and maintain. It can be integrated seamlessly into any manufacturing environment and has a good scheduling flexibility and versatile options. It also has a definite ISO 9000 facilitation orientation. Ace Designers Results Ace started module wise implementation of Intuitive ERP in four phases, which were completed in four months. Intuitive ERPs graphical interface and integration with Microsoft Office and Access made it easy for Aces staff, which prior to this had virtually no computer experience, to learn and use the new system. And using Microsoft SQL Server as the database engine delivered speed and robustness necessary for their mission critical applications. Hence, employees support was a crucial factor that added to achievement of success in ERP implementation in the organization. We transformed the company from a practically nil computer culture to a total computerized system, said V. Chandra, General Manager of Ace. The learning curve for Intuitive ERP is reduced to well below that of other manufacturing systems because of graphical and interactive flow charts and complete context sensitive online help. Implementing Intuitive ERP led to dramatic improvements in every operational area: Managers now have the most current inventory and costing models available to them at all times, and they can set competitive pricing that ensures profitability. They are able to monitor online status of work orders for components, sub-assemblies and final assemblies. Improved Planning: With the previous manual planning system, it was difficult to coordinate customer requirements and design changes with production and assembly functions to meet the manufacturing schedule. Now there is seamless coordination between all departments while significantly reducing planning headcount. Prior to Intuitive ERP, there had been virtually no inventory management at Ace; information on non-moving or slow-moving items and stock values was not available. With new tools in place, manufacturing inventory has been reduced by 20 percent. With reports such as Purchase Price Variance, there is visibility of the cost of every purchased item. This has resulted in better price negotiation with suppliers resulting in a 20 percent price reduction. Intuitive ERP provides accurate data for making manufacturing decisions through reports that include online machine utilization, online work order status monitoring, online WIP components costing, online WIP sub-assembly costing and online labor utilization. Case Study III ERP Implementation Failure at HP Stanford engineers Bill Hewlett and David Packard started HP in California in 1938 as an electronic instruments company. Its first product was a resistance-capacity audio oscillator, an electronic instrument used to test sound equipment. During the 1940s, HPs products rapidly gained acceptance among engineers and scientists. HPs growth was aided by heavy purchases made by US government during the Second World War. In the 1980s, HP emerged as a major player in the computer industry, offering a full range of computers from desktop machines to powerful minicomputers. This decade saw the development of successful products like the Inkjet and LaserJet printers. HP introduced its first personal computer (PC) in 1981, followed by an electronic mail system in1982. This was first major wide-area commercial network that was based on a minicomputer. HP introduced its HP 9000 computer with 32-bit super chip. HP became leader in workstations with the purchase of market leader, Apollo Computers, in 1989. In August 2004, HP announced that its revenues for the third quarter and it was identified that its Enterprise Servers and Storage (ESS) segment had gone down by 5% (amounting $ 3.4 billion) as compared to the same quarter the previous year. The company attributed this revenue shortfall mainly to the problems faced because of migration to a centralized ERP system at one of its North American divisions. The total financial impact of the failure including backlogs and lost revenue was pegged at $ 16