Project Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Project Management - Assignment Example The paper "Project Management" investigates project management. This are all signs of the poor or no project management. However, it seems unfair that all the burden of failure falls on a single person Project Manager but it is how and why the project are managed to address the real life issues to bring betterment to humanity. Project can fail, even with the best intentions, if not planned and managed properly. Besides, unprecedented situations can occur if the project manager and his team have not carried out a thorough risk management planning. These reasons signify the importance of the project management and consequences of initiating a project without such efforts. Project Management Institute in its PMBOK defines a project as â€Å"a temporary endeavor with a beginning and a definite end that creates a unique product, service or results and is progressively elaborated†. Lawson and Gray highlight major characteristics of a project as: Defined and clear objective; Definite and recognized starting and end; Involvement of other departments, professionals and experts; Unique as never done before; Has requirements of time, cost, scope and performance. Project management is an effort to produce the desired results or deliverables in a number of varied ways of execution all reaching towards the end objectives. Project management includes clearly defining objectives, establishing requirements, managing conflicting resource priorities, balancing the requirements of challenging stakeholders. and team members while endeavoring to achieve cohesion towards common purpose. Managing projects in a systematic way result in cost effectiveness, mitigation and elimination of risks involved, higher productivity towards accomplishing the desired end objectives. These benefits necessitate a well-structured and scientific approach towards managing the project without which organization would find is difficult to meet the multifaceted challenges presented by the modern era of globalization. Without such an approach, it would be impossible for organizations to manage and deliver the project within defined and agreed upon constraints of time, cost, quality and scope in current competitive business environment. In more simple words, there is a requirement of established framework that is well recognized and agreed upon. In this context, organizations can benefit from the sequenced activities and task dependencies identified in the PMBOK and other related journals to create a structured approach to project management by achieving control over project environment, ensuring the end project deliverables while managing the triple constraints. Triple constraints are the competing and challenging requirement of time, scope and cost demanding a high priority on project manager’s to do list. The absence of such a structured approach would lead organizations in a volatile and disordered situation where they would have little or no control. Project managemen t is a vast topic and is difficult to concisely provide all the definitions, terms and terminologies within few pages. It is critical to understanding that project management provides organizations with a structured framework of

FINAL QUESTIONS Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

FINAL QUESTIONS - Assignment Example Then the users of the systeme are determined and the manner in which they are going to use it in order to know what to put in place. Moreover, input system data and output data system is also established. The requirement validity is also assessed at this stage. At this stage the guidelines are followed from the requirement specification manuscript. The system requirements are divided in software and hardware as stipulated by the requirement specification manuscript. Furthermore, the overall system building is defined thus marking a design specifications manuscript. The code is developed at this stage and is very crucial as it is the main focus of the system developer. The system design manuscript dictates the division of modules which leads to the start of coding. The process takes a lot of time. The code is the main thing tested after implementation. The code is tested against the requirements mentioned in the requirements analysis. The requirements must be fully functioning and solve the requirements needs as system and integration testing are conducted. The CEO’s role at the IT steering committee is to take responsibility of every operation that takes place in the company. The CEO makes and implements decisions and initiatives on behalf of the board of directors and the company. The CEO also ensures a smooth operation of daily operations in the company. In many instances the CEO is also the president of the company and a member and director of the board of directors. The CFO is under the CEO. The CFO’s role at the IT steering committee is to appraise financial data incurred by the IT department and even the company itself. He/she is also responsible for the reporting of IT department’s financial performance in that he/she supervises expenditures, costs and organizes the budget to be used by the IT department. The CFO also provides IT department’s financial wellbeing and veracity to bodies like the Securities and

The Main Events in the Life of Prophet Muhammed Essay Example for Free

The Main Events in the Life of Prophet Muhammed Essay Outlining the Main Events in the Life of Prophet Muhammed (pbuh) and Assessing his Importance and Influence. Prophet Muhammed (pbuh) was born around 570. He was born in Mekkah in Arabia into the Quraishi tribe. He was born on the 12th Rabi-ul-Awwal to his mother Amina. His father Abdullah died in Yathrib before the Prophet (pbuh) was born. When Muhammed was six years old, his mother Amina fell ill and died. Muhammed (pbuh) was looked after by his grandfather Abd-ul-Muttalib for two years but when Muhammed was eight, Abd-ul-Muttalib also died. Abu Talib, Muhammed (pbuh)s uncle took care of him. Abu Talib was a wealthy. Powerful businessman. He took Muhammed (pbuh) on many of his business trips. One such trip was a journey to Syria when Muhammed (pbuh) was twelve years old. On this trip to Syria, Abu Talibs caravan passed the home of a Christian monk called Bahirah. Bahirah noticed that Muhammed (pbuh) had some features that matched the ones mentioned in the holy book Bahirah followed describing a prophet to come after Isa (Jesus). As Muhammed grew up, his honest character shone through the evils of Makkan society and he was given the title Al-Amin which means the trustworthy. Whilst working alongside his uncle as a businessman, Muhammed met Khadijah, daughter of Khuwaylid, a wealthy lady of noble birth with a well-known noble character. Khadijah asked Muhammed to marry her and he accepted. Muhammed was twenty-five at the time and Khadijah was forty years old. They were married for about twenty-five years before Khadijah died. In Ranadhan the year Muhammed was forty years old (about 610), Muhammed sat alone in Cave Hira in Mount Bur. An angel appeared and asked him to read. Like most Arabs of the time, Muhammed (pbuh) could not write, nor could he read, so he told the angel that he could not read. The angel squeezed him and asked him to read again, and again he told the angel that he could not read. This happened three times before the angel told him to Read in the name of your Lord and revealed to him the first verses of the Quran. That night was one of the last five odd nights in the month of Ramadhan, there is great blessing in this night, and it is called Lailatul Qadr, the night of power. After the incident in the cave, Muhammed returned home to Khadijah. He told her what happened. Knowing what a kind, loving man he was, Khadijah believed the revelation had been from one God, Allah. Khadijah became the first person to accept Islamic monotheism and become a Muslim. Before accepting Islam, Khadijah talked to her cousin, a Chritian named Waraqah. Waraqah told Muhammed that he was a messenger confirming what Bahirah had said. Muhammed (pbuh) preached to others who knew him well. Those who he spoke to accepted Islam, Ali, his cousin, Zaid, and Abu Bakr, his best friend were among them. In the first few years around fifty people from among his friends and family converted to Islam. In 615, the Muslims in Makkah were being persecuted so much that Muhammed (pbuh) advised them to leave Mekkah and migrate to Abyssinia where a Christian king called Negus ruled. In 619 the Makkans felt threatened by the growing number of Muslims. The Makkans boycotted them on a massive scale. No one was allowed to sell to Muslims, buy from Muslims or help them at all. During the boycott, Prophet Muhammed (pbuh)s uncle Abu Talib died so did his wife Khadijah. He lost the two people who supported him most. Though Abu Talib had dies, the protection Muhammed had from him was not lost. It was around this time that Prophet Muhammed (pbuh) experienced the Night Journey, Isra wal Miraj. In one night, he travelled from the Holy Mosque in Makkah to the Further Mosque in Jerusalem. He made this journey on a winged horse called Buraq. Buraq took him to the heavens where he spoke to Allah and brought down the commandment to pray. The message of Islam had spread 480km Makkah. A serious plot to assassinate Muhammed (pbuh) was put into action. The prophet and the Muslims in Makkah migrated to Yathrib (Madinah). On the 16th July 622 the Muslims left Makkah and went to Madinah on foot. The Madinans had visited Makkah and converted to Islam, they invited the prophet (pbuh) to be their leader. The emigration was called the Hijraj. The Muslim calendar starts from the Hijrah (AH). In Madinah the prophet ruled from a simple house. Now with Madinah as the first Islamic State the prophet taught the systems of Islam. The Makkans hated the Muslims even more now that they had Madinah as their state. Two important battles were fought. In 624 the Muslims fought at the Battle of Badr, 300 Muslims with 900 Makkans. The Muslims won despite the numbers. They also fought the Battle of Uhud that they lost. In 627 the Makkans attacked Madinah but the Muslims had dug a trench that protected the city. The Hudaybia agreement was drawn up, which allowed the Muslims to visit Makkah on pilgrimage. In 632, Muhammed delivered his farewell speech on mount Arafat after the Muslims conquered Makkah peacefully. The Prophet Muhammed (pbuh) died at the age of sixty-three. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was important in the Makkan society he lived in before he became a prophet. He was a fairly wealthy businessman. The family and tribe that he was born into were very powerful in Makkah. He himself was the grandson of Abd-al-Muttalib, one of the most powerful leaders of the Quraish tribe. For many years of his life, he was in the care of his uncle Abu Talib, an extremely wealthy businessman. Another of his uncles was Hamza, a great warrior. Many people were surprised when he did not harm the prophet but accepted Islam. As a businessman, prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was respected because everyone around him was corrupt, they cheated and lied in their trade whereas he remained honest and truthful. People trusted him so much that they gave him the title Al-Amin which means the trustworthy. He received his prophet hood around 610 CE. He was the last person to receive prophet hood or any kind of divine revelation. There will be no more prophets and no more revelation. He is important in Islam because prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is the Seal of the prophets. He was a messenger to mankind to call the people to Allahs way of life. He was and still is so important that announcing your belief in him is part of the Muslim declaration of faith (the Shahada). He is part of a Muslims belief. If you do not believe that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah then you are not a Muslim. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is also very important in Islam, as he was the last person to receive divine revelation. He was given the Quran by Allah through Angel Jibreel. Every word he received was carefully written down and preserved because it was so important that even if a few words were incorrect, it would ruin the beauty of the Quran given to prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is one of the worlds most influential men of all time. While he was alive, he managed to change the polytheist Arabian society to one of monotheistic beliefs and values. He was able to change masses with his words. Many of the things he said, did, and consented to have been recorded in Hadith narrated by people in his world. People close to his like his wives and his companions and people he met once or twice. Both kinds of people in his life valued his word so much so that they would record it, keep it and pass it on to others. Hadith are still very influential even today. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)s words are so important and influential that Muslims make important decisions in their lives today based on them. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was able to change people beliefs through his image set before he became a prophet. He was an honest, trustworthy man and people believed what he was saying to be the truth because they believed that Muhammad son of Abdullah wouldnt lie and they took him to be Muhammad, messenger of Allah. Today, people all over the world, speaking many different languages still respect prophet Muhammad (pbuh), because of his importance and influence when they say Peace be upon Him (pbuh) after mentioning his name. To conclude, prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was an extremely important and influential figure not just of his time. He also remains a prominent figure in history for being one of the world most influential people. He convinced masses in days and still holds a place in the hearts of millions one thousand four hundred and twenty-two years later.

What Is Meant By The Age Of Enlightenment Criminology Essay

What Is Meant By The Age Of Enlightenment Criminology Essay John Howard- was a county squire, social activist, and sheriff of Bedfordshire. He had great influence in improving sanitary conditions and securing humane treatment in prisons throughout Europe. He was responsible for persuading the House of Commons to enact a set of penal reform acts. Along with others, Howard drafted the Penitentiary Act of 1779, which called for the creation of houses of hard labor where people convicted of crimes that would otherwise have earned them a sentence of transportation would be imprisoned for up to 2 years. Prisoners were to be confined in solitary cells at night but were to labor silently in common rooms during the day. The twofold purpose of the penitentiary was to punish and to reform offenders through solitary confinement between intervals of work, the inculcation of good habits, and religious instruction so that inmates could reflect on their moral duties. 4 principles Secure and sanitary structure Systematic inspection Abolition of fees Reformatory regimen New penal institution should be a place not merely y o f industry but also of contrition and penance All these influences created a major change in the practice of the penal system. Penal codes were rewritten to emphasize adaption of punishment to the offender. Correctional practices moved away from inflicting pain to the body towards methods that would set eh individual on a path of honesty and right living. Conclusively, a penitentiary was developed where criminals could be secluded from the enticements of society, think about their crimes, and therefore be rehabilitated. The end result of the Enlightment era was that prisoners were tortured less but forced to suffer longer, more psychologically tormenting, stays of imprisonment. 4. Discuss the concept of crime as a moral disease. What is meant by this? What are the implications? How did this affect the idea of imprisonment and prison? Morality is a set of principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behavior. Crime as a moral disease means that crime happens because of a choice based on bad values by the offender. In other words it could be described as a disease of the mind. Crime is the result of your surroundings and values that make you choose to do what you do. Criminals were viewed as the victims of social disorder. It came about during the age of the penitentiary in the 19th century America. While alcohol was one of the biggest social problems, psychic disorder, opium addictions and general public and moral disorder offenses started to become increasingly common. Crimes of violence, property offenses (theft and burglary) were increasing. (Bloomberg Lucken) Crime was additionally attached to social factors. Four reformers during this time gave their ideas: Gresham Powers claimed that the causes of crime can be found in the rapid growth of wealth, population size, immigration and commerce and manufacturing (Bloomberg Lucken). Edward Livingston claimed that crime was product of intemperance, laziness, ignorance, irreligion and poverty (Bloomberg Lucken). John Griscom found crime to be in the context of bad parenting and that parents allow children to do what they want without restraints and limits (Bloomberg Lucken). Lastly, Thomas Eddy claimed that crime could be traced to excessive passions like lust, greed or violence. These passions overpower the qualities of reason and rationality. (Bloomberg Lucken) Each one of these reformers suggested various reasons as to why crime was existing using social factors like the community and attitudes of those communities and upbringings as the causes. The many assertions of what the causes of crime basically implicated three different foundations: broken family, intemperance and a general bad environment: (Bloomberg Lucken). Therefore, when you put all three of these sources together, the crimes that occurred during this time period held that a tainted community filled with temptation and evil promoted morally weak surroundings which contributed to morally weak people who cant resist the social evils. In the mid 1800s society was in decline. (Bloomberg Lucken) Things were not going good around this time. As a result, when you have a broken family and you live in a bad environment, people do not know right from wrong. The morality of the environment you live in mixed with temptations will make someone steal or burglarize a home. The morality of what is inherently good and bad was never instilled so the morality of the person is weak. Therefore, these offenders behaviors are seen as a moral disease. The cure for moral disease was a moral science. This concept affected the idea of imprisonment and prison because it was presumed that scientific advancement that treat physical disorders could be employed to treat evil. Dr. Benjamin Rush was a famous physician at the time and believed crime as an infectious disease. Rush along with other doctors medicalized pretty much all behaviors. He taught that disease was a habit of wrong action and habits that cause harm are diseases. Crime can ultimately be cured and the injection against evils and crime first need strong discipline and the shutting down of any establishments of bad character. Any influences that can corrupt the mind need to be removed in order for one to get better (Bloomberg Lucken). As a result, Rush suggested the idea of a House of repentance. Imprisonment and prisons took on the The House of repentance which helped the prisoner meditate on their crimes, experience remorse, and undertake rehabilitation. These ideas turne d into the Pennsylvania System and later led to a penitentiary in hopes to create a repentant facility with solitary confinement. Prison basically became a place to think about what you have done day in and day out and ask forgiveness for your evil acts of crime. American Penology: A history of Control (Enlarged Second Edition), Bloomberg, Thomas Lucken, Karol 6. What is the medical model of penology? What was its approach? How did this translate into real world applications? Did it work- why or why not? Prisons in our society have gone through many transformations and modifications. When one design does not work we change it for a new one in hopes of better outcomes. Our prison systems have shifted their focus from punishment to rehabilitation then from reentry and reintegration back to incarceration. Along the way, the demands of the criminal justice system changed and prison models were developed to help crime rates diminish. In 1929, the idea to have institutions that target rehabilitation as its main goal was introduced. Prisons were to convert into something similar to a mental hospital that would rehabilitate and assess the offender for readiness to go back into. Therefore, in the 1950s the medical model started to become widespread regarding this idea. The medical model is the model of corrections based on the belief that criminal behavior is caused by social, psychological, or biological defects that require treatment. Crime was seen as a moral disease and viewed criminals as victims of social disorder. This model was the first genuine effort to apply medical strategies that aimed directly at scientifically classifying, treating, and rehabilitating criminal offenders. The offenders in this model were dealt with on an individual basis to establish the cause or causes of their criminal behavior. The approach this model took was to figure out why a person committed their crime and what could be done to fix it. The individual treatment was based on what the science of penology decided was needed. Prisons and jails were the ones diagnosing the causes of crime (drug abuse, alcohol abuse, etc). They were also the ones recommending programs and procedures to cure the illnesses. Many of the programs applied by the model: home confinement, halfway houses, pre-release centers, parole, mandatory release and work programs. Additionally, the new penology procedures included: psychotherapy, shock therapy, behavior modification, counseling and group therapy. The offenders criminal history, personality and their unique needs were taken into account to figure out how to fix their illness. Furthermore, the medical model of corrections was designed and aimed to treat criminals illnesses with expectations that when they are released, the offender is cured and will not recidivate. The applicable programs and procedures of the medical model had an admirable goal of helping offenders find solutions to what caused them to commit crimes and apply them. Unfortunately, the model was unsuccessful and it came to an end. One reason the model did not work was because of budget problems. Many states adopted the medical model but only in name. Even when the model was at its highest point, most states didnt assign any more than five percent of the budget towards rehabilitation. The medical model was also said to be forced and encouraging dishonesty. The participation of the model was all mandatory instead of voluntary. Offenders had to take their medications and treatments whether they wanted to or not. As a result, the inmates knew what to do if they wanted to get out of prison or jail. They knew if they displayed good behavior and did the treatments and therapies needed, they would be released. Dishonesty amongst the inmates seemed to be seen as encouraged because of this. 7. What accounts for the growth of prisons in the U.S.? Give at least 3 explanations along with specific examples. Are these valid explanations- why/why not? There are many things that account for the growth of prisons in the U.S. Three things in particular are the new penal policies that happened in the get-tough era, inequality of poor, disadvantaged men and recidivism and violations of probation and parole. In 2009, three are 2,429,299 people in federal, state, and local prisons and jails which is the highest incarceration rate in the world (http://www.drugpolicy.org/drug-war-statistics ). One reason is the get-tough-on-crime laws that boosted an increase in prisons. The laws include mandatory sentencing, three strikes, truth-in-sentencing and more that result in longer and harsher penalties. So why would this be a reason for prison growth? Well the aggressive policing in minor crimes like shoplifting, drug possession or other minor offenses traps people in the three-strikes-laws for repeat offenders. The three-strike laws establish mandatory twenty-five years imprisonment which mandates longer sentences for repeat offenders. Another example is the mandatory minimum sentences from 1986 that are basically fixed sentences to those convicted of a crime, regardless of culpability or other mitigating factors. Mandatory minimums were used to catch drug distributions and most people in a mandatory sentence are low-level drug offenses. If caught on drug possession charged you are going away for a minimum of fifteen years no questions or arguments. This is valid because accordi ng to the Drug Policy Alliance, more than 80 percent of the increase in the federal prison population from 1985 to 1995 was because of drug convictions (http://www.civilrights.org/publications/justice-on-trial/sentencing.html). Additionally, the three-strike laws are also non-violent repeat offenders. As a result, prisons are constantly trying to make room for all these non-violent offenders and releasing violent felons because these laws say that minor offenses must be tough and the offender must serve their time in prison rather than rehabilitation. The reason for these laws was to stop violent criminals, but the opposite is taking place and minor offenses by offenders are sent to prison longer than those who commit violent acts. Mandatory minimum sentencing and the three-strike laws were very hard mostly on drug offenses. The War on Drugs was brought to stop the selling, manufacturing and importing of illegal drugs. The two sentencing types led to the increase of drug offenders to fill the prison systems. The Number of people arrested in 2011 in the U.S. on nonviolent drug charges: 1.53 million (http://www.drugpolicy.org/drug-war-statistics ). A second reason for the growth of prisons in the U.S is due to the inequality of poor, disadvantaged men. According to Punishment and Inequality in America by Bruce Weston says that unemployment, family instability, and neighborhood disorder combine to produce especially high rates of violence among young black men. Poverty Poverty cycles create prisoners. Entire demographic groups which are categorized as living at or below the poverty level in most studies reflect an individual from that generational group going to prison or jail. During the past 25 years, there has been a widening gap in America between the haves and have nots. Once a person has been jailed or incarcerated, they are categorized by most employers as third class citizens, which limits their opportunities to climb out of a cycle of poverty years after their release. The cultural group impacted the most is African-Americans. A third reason is recidivism and technical violations of probation and parole. There are so many people out on probation and parole that parole and probation violations increases which makes them go back into prison. Serious technical violation like the repeated failure to report, violent crime a pattern of misbehavior can land a person on probation or parole back in in prison. As we know, there are not many rehabilitation programs that help the offenders reintegrate back into society. Therefore, when prisoners are released back into society they just recidivate and end up back in prison. This causes a growth of prisons in the U.S. There are two specific statistical examples to show the rates of recidivism: Of the 272,111 persons released from prisons in 15 states in 1994, an estimated 67.5% were rearrested for a felony or serious misdemeanor within 3 years, 46.9% were reconvicted, and 25.4% resentenced to prison for a new crime. (http://bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=tptid=17 ) Released prisoners with the highest re-arrest rates were robbers (70.2%), burglars (74.0%), larcenists (74.6%), motor vehicle thieves (78.8%), those in prison for possessing or selling stolen property (77.4%), and those in prison for possessing, using, or selling illegal weapons (70.2%). (http://bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=tptid=17 ) This argument is valid because these statistics plus many more show how offenders are cycling in and out of the criminal justice system. Not only do we have new offenders but now old offenders who cannot cycle out of the system.

The Electrolysis of Copper Sulphate :: Papers

The Electrolysis of Copper Sulphate Aim Analyse and evaluate the quantity of Copper (Cu) metal deposited during the electrolysis of Copper Sulphate solution (CuSo4) using Copper electrodes, when certain variables were changed. Results Voltage across Concentration of solution electrode 0.5M 1.0M 2.0M 2 5.0 10.6 19.5 4 10.5 19.8 40.3 6 14.3 26.0 60.2 8 15.2 40.4 80.3 10 15.0 40.2 99.6 12 15.1 40.0 117.0 Analysing/Conclusion The input variables in this experiment are; concentration of the solution and the voltage across the electrodes. The outcome is the amount of copper gained (measured in grams) at the electrodes. By analyzing the graph, we can see the rapid increase of weight gained for the 2.0 molar concentration as the gradient is steeper. Whereas the 1.0 mol and 0.5 mol concentrations increases steadily at a slower rate. This obviously shows that if the voltage increase, the weight also increases. Hence I can conclude; the higher then voltage and concentration, the more copper is produced. The reason for this would be because we used electrolysis. This is used to separate metals from their ores and metal compounds. The electrolyte (solution) contains negative and positive ions. For electrolysis to work there must be the same amount of positive ions to negative ions so that the solution is electrically balanced. A solution of metal compounds can only conduct electricity if it is balanced. The negative ions are attracted to the anode (+ve electrode) and the positive ions (protons) are attracted to the cathode (-ve electrode). The electrolyte effect the amount of atoms attracted. This happens at the cathode: Cu2+ +2e- =Cu And oxygen is produced at the anode. Increasing the concentration is more affective than increasing the voltage but in order to gain more copper, you will need the highest

External Factors Affecting a Business Essay -- GCSE Business Marketing

External Factors Affecting a Business INTRODUCTION EXTERNAL FACTORS AFFECTING THE COMPANY'S BUSINESS AND PROSPECTS There are many factors that affect the Company's business and the results of its operations, some of which are beyond the control of the Company. The following is a description of some of the important factors that may cause the actual results of the Company's operations in future periods to differ materially from those currently expected or desired. OBJECTIVE The objective of this paper is to introduce the external factors affecting the jeans industry from a business view. 1. GENERAL ECONOMIC AND INDUSTRY CONDITIONS Any general economic, business or industry conditions that cause customers or potential customers to reduce or delay their investments in the jeans industry could have a negative effect on the Company's strength and profitability. For example, a softening of demand for jeans ware may result in decreased revenues (or at least declining revenue growth rates) for jeans manufacturers in general and the Company in particular and may result in pricing pressures for products that the Company sells. 2. COMPETITION The jeans industry is highly competitive. The intense competition inherent in the industry could result in the loss of customers or pricing pressures. 3. INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITIES The Company's future growth rates and success are in-part dependent on continued growth and success in international markets. As is...

Enterprise Resource Planning and Software Systems Essay

Hershey Food Corporation, the biggest manufacturer of candy products in the United States, decided to implement a new Enterprise Resource Planning system titled Enterprise 21 starting in 1996. The ERP system consisted of many different software systems. These systems included SAP AG, Manugistics, and Siebel systems. With the implementation of these software systems, Hershey believed its mass market candy business strategy would be emphasized. Hershey’s Expected Benefits of Enterprise 21 Hershey had many goals for Enterprise 21. In general, Hershey had a goal of upgrading and standardizing the hardware and software systems. In attempt to upgrade the hardware, Hershey moved from a mainframe-based network to a client-server network. This upgrade would allow for Hershey to use and share its information with people inside the company as well as distributors outside the company, a critical aspect of establishing good customer relationships. The upgrade and standardization of the software system was a much larger goal. The SAP system, which allows for communication within company functions, was to be installed with other software systems. Manugistics software system would be used to forecast production and scheduling. Manugistics would also be useful as a transportation management system. The benefit of this system would greatly lower inventory holding costs and transportation costs, the two largest expenses in logistics management. Hershey also decided to implement Siebel systems, which is designed to aid in establishing and maintaining customer relationships, as well as a measuring device of the effectiveness of marketing strategies. Hershey’s Implementation Approach The first part of Hershey’s implementation process started with the installation of a bar-coding system. A bar-coding system is necessary to improve logistic management by tracking inbound and outbound materials and products. Due to a modification of the SAP system, Hershey decided to move the target date of the installation of the system to April of 1999. This new date meant the company had only thirty nine months to complete the implementation instead of the forty eight months originally forecasted. Due to the delay of the implementation of the full SAP system, the Siebel and Manugistics systems were also delayed. Because of the delays, the implementation of the new ERP system immediately caused problems because by mid July, when Halloween orders were arriving, the system had just been installed. Due to Halloween orders already arriving, Hershey’s information technology personnel decided to implement the ERP system using the cutover strategy, a very risky approach where all systems go into affect all at once. This approach failed, causing shortages with distributors of Hershey products. These shortages lead to bad customer relationships with distributors which further lead to bad relationships with their customers. Hershey could have used a much better implementation approach by slowly implementing their new system. The cutover strategy caused great confusion for employees who both entered orders and communicated those orders to production facilities and to employees who filled orders in warehouses. Causes of the Problems and Who is Responsible There are many different theories on the causes of the implementation failures of Hershey’s ERP system. Many believed that the software systems were not functioning properly. However, this was not the case, as these systems were operating smoothly in different units of Hershey. I believe the cause was directly related to the failure to use the systems properly. Due to the rushed implementation of the system, training and education of the new system was not properly or thoroughly conducted. Employees were confused not only how to operate the system but also did not see how the different software systems fit together. With better education and training, employees would have been able to process orders much more effectively and efficiently. The knowledge we have that the SAP system, along with Siebel and Manugistics, was working properly in other regions takes away the ability to blame the software companies for this ERP system failure. The blame has to be put in the hands of the information technology managers, as they were the personnel that decided to implement this system at such a fast pace. However, business managers and executives should have raised questions about the training of employees and potential disasters this system can cause. After all, the goal of an integrated ERP system is to link the different aspects of a business and to increase the communication between employees. Although IT personnel made the implementation approach decision, executives and managers should have had a larger role in the process before changing operations drastically as their busiest season was quickly approaching. Impacts on the Hershey Organization The largest impact that the Hershey organization had to deal with was the effect on the customer relationships. In an extremely competitive and global business world, customer relationships are one of the most important aspects of having a successful business. As noted in the article, distributors were unable to receive Hershey products, which further affected their customer relationships. This lead to a loss of distribution warehouse space as well as shelf space in stores, which forced customers to choose substitutes. Conclusion Although Hershey suffered huge losses in 1999 and part of 2000, they rebounded strongly in 2000. The reputation of quality products is what I believe to be the reason for their comeback. Without Hershey’s prior strong reputation and strong customer relationships, Hershey would not have been able to recover from this ERP system failure. All companies should use this failure as a guideline when implementing new software systems. Corporations must cautiously implement their systems in a manner that allows proper employee training and production efficiency while still maintaining customer relationships.