Business Processes

This article discusses the benefits and limitations of ERP in business processes. It also covers the relevance of cross-functional and inter-organizational integration in achieving competitive success. The article provides insights on the developments that can be experienced on ERP systems and its relation with cross-functional processes.

Running Head: BUSINESS PROCESSES
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Business Processes
Name
Institutional
Professor
Course
Date

BUSINESS PROCESSES
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TASK 1
Cisco incorporation was founded with an aim to promote and provide digital platforms. What they do in Cisco factories is to
provide a wide range of products in the field of networking as well as technical services provision.
The factory has been there for;
 Operational technology
 Global IT networking
 Increasing visibility
 Operations intelligence
 Global supply chain
The organization is also recognized for their corporate social responsibility which is accomplished by providing education to
the communities encompassing their facilities, provision of financial aid and supporting sports and entertainment (Collier and
Evans, OM6). Cisco has collaborated with different companies to ensure that they provide quality products and services, by so
doing; the company has set up its factories in multiple locations (Australia et al., 2018). As the supply chain manager in Cisco
incorporation, I would wish to conduct an analysis of where the next factory that will be located in either one of the two
shortlisted countries i.e. Vietnam and Nigeria.
Economy Politics Infrastructure Education Competence Culture
Nige
ria
There has been a
recent
development of
the Nigerian
economy a factor
that makes the
country have
countless
entrepreneurship
opportunities.
Over the
Nigerian
political state
is stable as
compared to
other
countries in
Africa,
however, the
country faces
challenges
emanating
The
infrastructure
in Nigeria is
swiftly
growing. As a
result, the
economic
growth has
sky-rocketed
despite the
political
Nigeria
Despite that 70%
of Nigerians
speak fluent
English; a recent
study has shown
that Nigeria
literacy level
stands at 56.9%,
suggesting that
70% of Nigerians
Education is
the pillar of
competence,
holding that
almost half
of the
Nigerian
adults in the
population
cannot read
or write
Just like any other
African country,
Nigerians are still
conservative with their
archaic cultures and
religious beliefs that
make them lag behind
and worsen the rate of
illiteracy. The recent
world is a
technologically

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decades,
investors have
viewed Nigeria
as an
entrepreneurial
hub in Africa.
This is because
the country is
developing and it
has a large
population that
has potential to
make the country
a stable
marketplace.
However, the
Nigerian
economy faces
recession and
inflation
severally,
therefore
investing hugely
in such a country
can be perilous
hence the market
can endure
tremendous
losses as a result
of economic
recession
(Radwan and
Strychacz,
2010).
from political
practices that
ooze from
corruption
and
unscrupulous
political acts
that can scare
away
investors.
challenges, this
has contributed
to the increase
in the cost of
living,
however, and
Nigeria is still
the second
leading
country in
terms of
infrastructural
development
in Africa.
are uneducated,
However, the
government has
executed
approaches to
restrain the
illiteracy levels
and slow progress
has been seen.
fluently they
often cannot
be competent
or liable in
any given
situation.
advanced world where
one of two people must
be technologically
literate, which is not the
case in Nigeria due to
retrogressive cultures
and
beliefs(Everyculture.co
m, 2018).
Viet
nam
Vietnam has
had a remarkable
economic growth
over the past few
decades. A
research
conducted in
2017 portrayed
Vietnam rapid
increase in
export-oriented
The
Vietnamese
government
is aiming to
adopt a
democratic
and civilized
society that
will develop
equality in
all its
Vietnam
infrastructure
in rapidly
improving,
According to
infrastructural
forecasters, in
the next 5
years Vietnam
will have
developed very
Vietnam is
developing in
every aspect. The
education sector
in Vietnam has
eradicated
illiteracy and led
to 98% literacy
level, meaning
that 80% of the
population in
Owing to the
fact that the
illiteracy
level in
Vietnam has
been curbed
with the
largest
percent, most
of the youths
in Vietnam
Apart from
religion, most of the
Vietnamese cultures are
based on etiquette,
Unlike most Asian and
African countries
Vietnam communities
are nit conservative with
their cultures, due to the
rapid growth of the
country in terms of

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manufacturing,
as a result, the
growth has
expanded trade
and
manufacturing.
However,
Vietnam
economy will
still struggle
with inflation but
at moderate
levels which are
less risky for
investors.
citizens.
Currently,
the political
situation in
Vietnam is
stable and
favorable for
investors
(Australia et
al., 2018).
significantly in
terms of
infrastructure,
However, the
Vietnam war
which has
affected its
growth in the
past few
decades has
left permanent
impressions on
the
infrastructure
which could
take a long
time to
heal(Lawrence
, 2007).
Vietnam are
educated and are
accountable for
laudable
positions, the
schools in
Vietnam courtesy
of the ministry of
education have
improved and
advancing
(Laderman,
2009).
are qualified
and can
handle
leadership
positions
conveniently.
education, technology,
and infrastructure, a
large number of the
population is shifting to
modern ways
(Everyculture.com,
2018).
Architecture of Cisco Connected Factory

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My recommendation on the country to set-up Cisco factories is Vietnam because Vietnam has
portrayed great potential that can see the company to its success within a short period of time. Regarding that
Cisco is a company that is technologically oriented, if the education growth in Vietnam is focused on
technological trends, this can lead to provision of a huge workforce for the factory hence improving the
human capital and reducing labor costs. In addition, the Vietnamese economy has implemented efforts to
support foreign investors by creating favorable conditions to enable the investors to trade import and export
goods, Besides the government has promised to provide security and remove tariffs that may be hindering he
investors from carrying their operations(Australia et al., 2018).
Task 2
ERP is packaged application software. It refers to Enterprise Resource Planning systems, its main
purpose in business is to integrate a comprehensive range of business processes and provide the organization
with a holistic I.T and automated information system hence allow businesses to achieve a sustainable
competitive advantage. ERP is considered a commodity rather than a service, moreover, ERP can be regarded
as a development objective of outlining and mapping all the business processes and information. In addition,
the commodity can be viewed in the approach of an infrastructural system that delivers solutions to businesses
(Huang et al., 2001).
a) The dream of integration was too complex for in-house development
A company that has its own staff programmers might find the implementation of ERP systems too
complex. In-house development can be described as the process of organizations hiring or training their staff to
develop software applications internally. The implementation of in-house development might be a difficult task
in organizations this is because it requires thorough staff training, secondly in-house development requires the
organization to update its technology hence it involves specialized implementation process. Thirdly, in-house

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development might be unhelpful for organizations that hasten to see the results of any strategy implemented,
this is because it requires time to mature and begin being effective. Finally, implementation of in-house
development will require the appropriate resources to be put in place this means the organization has to have
the financial muscle to execute the implementation processes (Rashid, Hossain and Patrick, 2002).
b) A desire to fulfill the promise of BPR / move to a process-orientation/recognition of ‘best practice
Business Process Reengineering is the process of rethinking the business practices and restructuring
them, with an objective to reduce costs and improve productivity. BPR holds major benefits, a desire to fulfill
the BPR promises basically means the need to accomplish the objectives of restructuring existing business
process. Further, the process that has been adopted must be the best practices for the company that will ensure
its productivity.
c) Best practice' process models
Best practices are described as human resource strategies that have positive impacts on the
organization's performance. Various practices can be adopted in an organization, for instance, information and
management strategies such as ERP can be very useful in an organization.
d) A need to integrate across functions for competitive success
This is the essence to integrate business processes that are the main functions of an organization with an
aim to leverage success. Competitive advantage is obtained from business functions that are reliable and
appropriate for the business to compete with other organizations. Different functions in organizations are
implemented differently if the functions are interlinked conducted and linked together they might enable the
business to achieve maximum productivity.
e) Cross-functional integration (intra-organization)

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Cross-functional integration is defined as the interaction and collaboration of multiple operations with
other functions, such as product development, production, and marketing. Research profoundly insinuates that
the functional order of priorities by mutual approval leads to an increased possibility of achieving competitive
advantage. Consequently, certain functions integration with other functions is essential to effectively address
the marketing and consumer needs as well as objectives that support the organization in achieving its overall
competitive targets.
f) Cross-enterprise business processes (inter-organization)
Inter-organizational integration is referred as the integration of different functions in two different
organizations. Both businesses that are integrating their functions have to be at similar technological levels.
However, one of the main challenges is the modeling and specification of inter-organization processes
especially in supply and management
g) Componentization of ERP
Componentization is the process of breaking down resources into separate reusable sections that can be
easily recombined. To improve the reconstruction and evolution of an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
system, a methodology of Business Process-driven Componentization of ERP (BP ERP) was developed. The
meaning of BP ERP was discussed. A meta-model of business process was built and the steps of business
process modeling were given. Furthermore, business components of ERP were classified and acquired. To
improve operation capability of component assembly-based ERP construction, a software asset reuse-based
hierarchical platform for constructing ERP systems was developed (MIPRO, 2018).
The relevance of some of the benefits related to ERP adoption

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Enterprise Resource Planning has enabled companies to easily manage workflow management
information connecting internal and external organizations that are either out-sourcing or off-shoring partners.
Organizations such as Epicor that are leading providers of ERP software solutions allow a variety of
organizations in America manage their accounting and monitor their marketing operations (Huang et al., 2001).
The corporation basically automates the system of a company and innovates the information systems in the
entire organization with an aim to enable organizations to accomplish their marketing objectives as well as
leverage management. Companies globally are compelled to adopt the use ERP strategy, currently, most
organizations that are successful worldwide have subscribed to the technical approach. As a result, the
organizations have been experiencing endless possibilities. Nonetheless, many organizations fear the adoption
of ERP systems for their tremendous challenges involved in the installation processes and enactment.
Process Improvement Cycle from a Case Company
1. Paper description: The paper focused on ERP and how it is implemented, it further has a detailed analysis of
the benefits of ERP in an organization.
a. describe and list key (most essential) ideas/points
Definition of ERP
Evolution of ERP
Limitations of ERP
b. what are the main contributions?
Business automation

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Organizational functions
2. Detailed comments on the paper
This is generally a perfect paper with a distinct principal idea. The details were well explained hence clear to
understand, in addition, the writer provided very persuasive and formal content that passes useful information
throughout the paper. Perhaps the length of discussion of various complex words could be shortened.
a. what did we learn reading the paper?
The paper was very educative, it provides an insight on business process explains the benefits of ERP and its
limitations. On question three the writer predicts and explains the developments that can be experienced on
ERP systems and its relation with cross-functional processes.
b. what are the technical points that we appreciated?
3. What are the most compelling reasons of why we like this work?
While different organizations are taking the step of automating business and engaging in productive business
processes, much information will need to be shared to people globally on the systems that are being invented,
most of the people still use convectional business practices that are futile. This work is very helpful in
providing the relevant information in major areas that comprise business operations.
a. It adds to our knowledge domain
The information provided in the paper gives the reader a profound knowledge on different aspects in
businesses. Various topics have been covered such as business automation by the use of ERP, Intra-
organizational functions as well as inter-organizational functions that business can adopt to achieve
productivity
b. It puts into perspective what we’ve learned in the course (provide examples)

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The course we learnt generally entails a large percentage of what is discussed in the paper. Firstly the paper has
discussed the topic of supply chain management which was a major topic on the course.
c. It provides empirical evidence supporting the theories covered in the course (be specific)
the paper provides a brief explanation of how ERP has evolved over the past few decades beginning from the
field of computer hardware. In the 1960S this was when ERP began emerging significant focus as it was seen
having potential benefits on management and transferring information. It further provides examples of
organizations that have automated its process and implemented ERP systems as well as organizations that are
vendors of application soft wares.
4. Comments on related work:
a. how does the paper relate to other works/projects/readings covered in the course?
The paper covers a number of topics on businesses practices that can lead to sustainable competitive
advantage.
5. Does the paper leave unanswered questions?
The paper is clear and detailed, no question is unanswered.

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References
Grabot, B., Mayère, A. and Bazet, I. (2008). ERP systems and organisational change. London: Springer.
Huang, J., Newell, S., Pan, S. and Poulson, B. (2001). ERP Systems Implementation: a Knowledge-focused
Perspective. Journal of Decision Systems, 10(1), pp.99-117.
MIPRO. (2018). PeopleSoft Accounting Software. [online] Available at:
https://www.miproconsulting.com/what-we-do/solutions/peoplesoft-financial/peoplesoft-accounting-software/
[Accessed 1 Jun. 2018].
Rashid, M., Hossain, L. and Patrick, J. (2002). The Evolution of ERP Systems: A Historical Perspective. New
Directions for Evaluation, 2002.
Australia, A., Philippines, A., Malaysia, A. and Vietnam, A. (2018). What Makes Offshoring in Vietnam the
Ideal Destination? | AS White Blog. [online] Aswhiteglobal.com. Available at:
https://aswhiteglobal.com/offshoring-vietnam-ideal-destination/ [Accessed 31 May 2018].
Everyculture.com. (2018). Culture of Nigeria - history, people, clothing, traditions, women, beliefs, food,
customs, family. [online] Available at: http://www.everyculture.com/Ma-Ni/Nigeria.html [Accessed 31 May
2018].
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customs, family. [online] Available at: http://www.everyculture.com/To-Z/Vietnam.html [Accessed 31 May
2018].
Laderman, S. (2009). Tours of Vietnam. Durham: Duke University Press.
Lawrence, M. (2007). The Vietnam War. New York: Oxford University Press.
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