MIS 5241 Enterprise Computing An Introduction

MIS 5242 Agenda  What Is Enterprise Computing?  Why Is It Important?  What Makes It Difficult?  Alternatives  Impact on Management

MIS 5243 Definition  The adoption of an integrated, comprehensive set of applications that communicate easily with one another to handle all of a firm’s business

MIS 5244 Basic Philosophy  Division of labor, basis of bureaucracy isn’t whole story  Business is an integrated, tightly cohesive system  Structure follows form follows function follows information!  Redundancy, duplication are bad  Variety is the enemy

MIS 5245 Typically, corporate IT use is … Sales POS System Production System Accounts Receivable Finance Spreadsheet Sales Mgmt Software Production Mgmt Application Accounting System Debt Management Application Sales EIS Production DSS Corporate Accountability Finance ESS Management Level Division, Function, Responsibility

MIS 5246 Fragmented, Fractured… Sales POS System Production System Accounts Receivable Finance Spreadsheet Sales Mgmt Software Production Mgmt Application Accounting System Debt Management Application Sales EIS Production DSS Corporate Accountability Finance ESS Management Level Division, Function, Responsibility No communication across functions No aggregation or dissemination across levels of responsibility

MIS 5247 Integration Proceeds in Two Dimensions Sales POS System Production System Accounts Receivable Finance Spreadsheet Sales Mgmt Software Production Mgmt Application Accounting System Debt Management Application Sales EIS Production DSS Corporate Accountability Finance ESS Division, Function, Responsibility Common data formats, real-time data processing, client- server platforms, and Internet-based extranets enable data to move “seamlessly” across divisional boundaries, lubricating the movement of semi-finished inventory, product, etc. One barrier to integration is removed. Common user interfaces enable better communication and movement of human resources among divisions 1. Cross- Functional

MIS 5248 Typically, corporate IT use is … Sales POS System Production System Accounts Receivable Finance Spreadsheet Sales Mgmt Software Production Mgmt Application Accounting System Debt Management Application Sales EIS Production DSS Corporate Accountability Finance ESS Management Level Central repositories, common formats, real-time processing, updated security, mobile technologies enable executives, managers, supervisors and workers at all levels to create, access, use, and update information according to their needs. 2. Vertical- ly Integra- ted

MIS 5249 Result? Sales data generated from POS Available to Sales Managers to forecast demand And to production stations for schedule generation And to production management to monitor productivity, anticipate problems And to CFO to update information for loan repayment, renegotiation And to customers to estimate delivery time, options, etc. Extra- net And to all em- ployees to keep them informed about working conditions Intra- net

MIS Why Is EC Important  Integrates the supply chain  Provides for organizational learning  Introduces strong IT efficiencies through common approaches  Solves management problems of burgeoning IT costs (consolidation)  Recognizes IT’s central role in integration, lubrication of business processes

MIS What Makes It Difficult?  Sheer volume of data  Divisional lore  Actual divisions of labor  Human nature (undesirability of change)  Poorly thought-through problem statement  High initial cost  Legacy systems, sunk costs  Near-monopoly supplier situation (SAP, Bahn, Peoplesoft, Oracle are really only suppliers)

MIS In addition…  Basic philosophy may be a crock  Systems aren’t tightly cohesive in most cases  Bureaucracy, status really matter  Integrated systems are very brittle  Most system lore is hidden and what can be discovered is often not actually the way business is performed  Variety is useful; uniformity may be the enemy

MIS Alternatives  Database integration without application integration  Common GUI standards without common screens  Strong “middleware” that interprets from level to level and from application to application  Muddling along

MIS Impact on Management  Enterprise computing without business process reengineering may result in the integration of many bad processes  ERP (Enterprise resource planning) should be based on supply chain needs rather than merely efficiency or cost saving  Going with a single supplier is dangerous; it’s also hard to integrate “outside” or third-party software vendors.