Enterprice system

Posted: August 7th, 2013

  The Enterprise System

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The Enterprise System

            An enterprise system is a large-scale package consisting of application software. These software support processes in business, the flow of information in the firm and analyzes the firm’s data. Enterprise systems are commonly referred to as Packaged Enterprise Application Software (PEAS) systems. Types of PEAS include enterprise-planning systems, enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and customer relationship management software. These enterprise systems are created using software platforms. The software platforms include Fusion by Oracle and NetWeaver by SAP. This software is commonly used in large firms in order to ensure that their documentation is always in order. They are used because they are designed to manage large amounts of data and ensure utmost security and accuracy.

6. This system has various advantages and disadvantages. The advantages of ERP systems include increasing of the efficiency of the information systems and it attempts to integrate all the data and processes of the organization into a unified central system. Disadvantages of this system revolve around the lack of integration of information that may make the organization experience costly inefficiencies. GEARBOX, LG Electronics and Alexandra Hospital will be used to illustrate these advantages and disadvantages.

The ERP system increases the efficiency of the information systems in the firm and this may result in more efficient business processes. In GEARBOX, the ERP system contributed to their breathtaking growth levels in a remarkably short time. This is because the system enhanced their accuracy as well as their speed. This resulted in better output, and it gained more customers. In Alexandra Hospital, the change resulted in increased efficiency in the case of bed allocation especially. This system also attempts to integrate all the data and the processes of the organization into a unified central system. LG’s HR Shared Service Centre (HRSSC) shows this. This enhanced their output because it there was only one central database that stored all the information pertaining to the department.

This is important because the possibility of loss of documents or their confusing with others is minimized. The uses of this system lead to an increase in the output of the firm and subsequently to its growth. This software has some disadvantages, as well. They mostly revolve around the matter of lack of integration. Such disadvantages may arise due to errors in the keying in of similar data more than once. This will lead to confusion of the system that may result in the loss of the information that was keyed in more than once. This may pose a large problem to the firm especially if the documents lost are vital to the organization. Another disadvantage is that this system is rather complex and requires trained personnel to operate.

It has already been established that the use of such software increases the productivity of the firm. This is proven by the case studies of the firms in question. It is more advisable to build such software rather than to purchase one. This is because it will be created to suit the needs of the firm in question. For a purchased one, some elements may be difficult to convert one in order to suit the needs of the organization. This is elaborated by the HR SSC concept put in place by LG electronics. On the other hand, the complexity of these software is immense. Their installation will require some new skilled employees in order to operate the system. It will also take a while before the rest of the employees know how to operate it. The firm may end up spending money in order to train its employees as seen in GEARBOX.

10. It is essential to understand both national and organizational cultures in the process of enterprise system implementation. This is because it provides the organization with a guideline on what to and what not to do. This will ensure a good working relationship between the employees. In the case of foreign firms, it is essential to understand the national cultures in order to avoid infringing on any of their rules. In the case of GEARBOX, its headquarters are in Germany, but before it set root in China it had to understand the cultures of the Chinese people in order to make the most out of the opportunity. This enabled them to know the needs of the country and to device ways of satisfying these needs, and as a result, it recorded a large level of growth in a short period.

Culture plays a crucial role on the implementation of enterprise systems. Some cultures may not accept technology especially in the case of developing countries. Such countries rely on the labor from its citizens as opposed to using capital incentive methods. Capital incentive methods look to save on the expenditure of the firm and to increase its accuracy. In such countries, the implementation of enterprise systems will be opposed because it is against its culture. However, developed countries will accept the use of technology in their firms since they do not completely rely on labor from their citizens. Enterprise systems are important and should be used by any organization looking to increase their productivity. This is because several firms, which have registered dramatic improvements in their service delivery, have used it.

References

Pan, Shan-Ling., Kim, Hyun-Jeong., Taher, Mahdieh. (n.d.) LG Electronics, Inc.: Implementing an e-HR System. School of Computing, National University of Singapore, p 1-11.

Reimers, Kai. (n.d.). GEARBOX (China) Ltd.: Will the Company’s ERP System Support its Ambitious Growth Strategy? School of Economics and Management, Tsinghua University, p 1-20.

Teoh, Say Yen. , Pan, Shan-Ling., Wang, Paul. (May 7, 2008). The Alexandra Hospital: Implementing Healthcare Information Systems. School of Computing, National University of Singapore, p 1-14.