BISY2005: Enterprise Systems Essay on Drivers and Impact

This essay delves into the realm of enterprise systems, specifically focusing on the drivers that propel businesses to adopt Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software. It meticulously examines how ERP systems contribute to overall organizational performance, highlighting the integration of various departments like production, manufacturing, logistics, and human resources. The essay further explores the ways in which ERP impacts business operations, including cost reduction, improved efficiency, and enhanced customer service. Moreover, it analyzes the critical change management considerations necessary for successful ERP implementation, acknowledging potential obstacles and the importance of communication and employee understanding. The essay underscores the significance of automation, data accessibility, informed decision-making, and streamlined business processes in achieving optimal results. Finally, it emphasizes the need for effective communication and planning to navigate the challenges associated with organizational change, ultimately providing a comprehensive overview of enterprise systems and their transformative role in modern business environments.

Running head: ENTERPRISE SYSTEM
ENTERPRISE SYSTEM
Student’s Name
University Name
Author note

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Introduction
In large business enterprises, different information system is used for operating various
activities related to sales, marketing, manufacturing and production. Ach functions of the
department and the business functions are not capable of sharing information with the other
department of the organization. Therefore, it is difficult for the business organization and the
managers to assemble information, data and activities of different departments in the
organizations and present a whole picture of the overall operations of the organizations and
enable them to take an effective decision (Ahmad and Cuenca 2013). In order to overcome such
difficulties in the business organization, they have replaced the distinct information systems with
a single integrated system which helps the business organizations to support the overall activities
of the organization for different departments and functions in the organization. The single
integrated business system is known as enterprise systems. The enterprise systems are also
known as enterprise resource planning that is ERP systems. It is known as the cross functions
system which helps the organizational mangers and leaders to coordinate and integrate he
processes and operations of the organization and enable them to plan the resources and undertake
actions accordingly (Garg and Garg 2013). It is driven by the ERP software and support the basic
business processes and enable them to feed the data to various applications. The purpose of this
essay is to discuss the drivers behind adopting the enterprise system software. It discusses on the
ways in which the enterprise systems can contribute to the overall performance of the
organization and measure the contributions. Further, it analyzes the necessary change
management considerations that must be taken by the business organization to successfully adopt
the enterprise system. Lastly, it summarizes the key points of the enterprise system and
concludes the essay.

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Discussion
The cross functional system of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) enables the business
organization to coordinate and integrate the overall activities of the business organization. The
According to Hsu (2013), Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) helps to flow information
seamlessly throughout the business organization. Different departments of the organization
including production, manufacturing, logistics and human resources can be coordinated and
integrated into the overall and organization wide process of the business organization. It supports
the business organization in the basic process and operation of the business under various
functional areas. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) stress data and information from various
functioning department in the organization and provides the information and data to different
applications supporting the internal and external business activities. Enterprise Resource
Planning (ERP) helps the business organization to communicate any vital or critical information
about the performance of the business organization to the managers and senior executives of the
business organization effectively (Iizuka et al. 2014). This is one of the key drivers which enable
the business operation to adopt the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system software.
Further, the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) reduces the overall operating cost of the
business organization including the transaction process, implementation of software and
hardware as well as IT support staff in an effective manner. The Enterprise Resource Planning
(ERP) also improves the quality and efficiency of the production, distribution and customer
service of the business organization by integrating the internal business process of the company
in finance, sales, custom, logistics and production (Lewandowski et al. 2013). This helps the
business organization to create a uniform culture in the business organization where the
departments and different teams utilize the type of process and information for performing the
operations and activities of the business organization. The major reason for adopting Enterprise

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Resource Planning (ERP) systems by the business organization is because it makes the work
activities and operations easier for the employees and gets access to the data and information
quickly without any delay. This reduces time and effort of the employees and enables them to
perform the business operations in a smooth way. The main advantage of implementing
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software is that it automate the repetitive process if the
business (Madanhire and Mbohwa 2016). This enables the business organization to improve the
productivity of the employees and staffs. For example, the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
software helps the business to process employee payment, send emails and place inventory
orders automatically, thereby improving productivity of the business organization. The
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) helps the business organization to organize and collect the
key data and information in the right place and at the right time irrespective of the location. By
implementing the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software, the employees can have access
to data and information that is required by them to perform their jobs and work accordingly.
The main drivers behind adopting the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system
software help the management of the business organization to undertake informed decisions
(Matende and Ogao 2013). This is highly desirable by all the business organization irrespective
of their sizes. The senior executives and the managers of the business organization can consider
the market trends in the external marketing environment, the competitive situations and the
strategies for growing and expansion the operations and activities of the business organization.
This can also improve the record keeping and compliance which benefits the business
organization (Narimani et al. 2014). The built in security systems in the organization reduces the
risks of loosing or theft of data and information. However, it does not eliminate the risks.
Another benefit of implementing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system software is that it

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makes it easier for the business to make business plans, determine the progress and track the
goals of the business organization (Nofal and Yusof 2013). It helps the business organization to
monitor the operational expenses of the company and monitor the level of satisfaction among the
customers by analyzing the dashboard which presents the required information in easy to read
charts and tables. Further, they have certain alert capabilities which can inform about the
potential problems faced by the business organization such as defect in the product and lower
inventory (Ononiwu 2013).
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software influences the productivity and the
performance of the organization in various ways. There are many business organizations which
faced operational problems in the process of their growth and expansion. These issues and
problems can be addressed with the implementation of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
software (Parthasarathy 2013). The present business scenario is characterized by change;
therefore change is required in every business organizations. Implementing change in the
business organization is highly challenging for the business organization as it has to face many
barriers and hurdles. Change in the process of operations, change in communication process and
change are the technology plays an important role in the everyday operations of the business
organization. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software can be used by the business
organizations to optimize the operations of the business and to improve the overall efficiency and
productivity of the organization as well as boost the growth of the organization (Ram Corkindale
and Wu 2013).
Through business automation performance metrics and measurements the mangers of the
business organization can evaluate the progress of the business and set up the goals and
objectives of the business organization through better and enhanced information management.

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Larger business origination faces various difficulties and challenges during its growth and
expansion and it is challenging for the businesses to manage and calculate the profit ratios, sales
margin and other metrics manually (Ram, Wu and Tagg 2014). Enterprise Resource Planning
(ERP) software brings a degree of automation in the organization which allows the staffs and the
employees to access the required data and information timely. This reduced the monotony of
same work and increases the efficiency of the job roles and performance of the organization. It
improves the workflow of the organization by simplifying the user friendly interfaces. Enterprise
Resource Planning (ERP) software reduces the work effort of the employees which increased the
efficiency of the overall performance of the organization (Seethamraju 2015). The main principle
function of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software is to integrate all the functions and
operations into a uniformed platform. By the process of centralizing the information and data of
the organization, they can streamline the means of accessing the data. Hence it can be said that
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software contributes to the efficiency of the entire business
model of the business organization.
The Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software provides an integrated approach
towards dealing with the overall activities and functioning of the business organization (Garg
and Garg 2013). Various processes run the business organization into a single database including
the human resource activity, the inventory management, marketing, finance and the customer
relationship management. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) helps to streamline all the
business processes in an effective system. It also helps the business organization to incorporate
simplicity in the business accounting (Iizuka et al. 2014). The business reporting and accounting
requires a lot of time and effort which can be reduced with the help of Enterprise Resource

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Planning (ERP) software. According to Madanhire and Mbohwa (2016), the Enterprise Resource
Planning (ERP) software will help the business to integrate and analyze the information and data
about the financial accounting and improve the overall productivity and performance of the
employees and reduce the delays considerably. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software
reduces any form of redundancies and duplication of work which is one of the major problems of
the data management system. Redundant data and information lead to confusion and
inconsistencies which can be rectified with the help of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
software (Matende and Ogao 2013). Moreover, it ERP software provides data security and
integrity in the business organization which is extremely important for ensuring strategic
business information and ensures that the data and information is received at the right time to the
right people. The data and information is safely and securely stored with the help of the
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software. Updating information and data can be easily done
by authorized people (Narimani et al. 2014). This in turn improves the overall performance and
productivity of the organization. The contributions of the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
can be accessed with the help of dashboard through charts and bar diagrams. The increase in
productivity and performance of the organization can signify the contributions of the Enterprise
Resource Planning (ERP) software.
Implementing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software in the organization requires
changes in the existing operations and culture of the business organization. It is evident that
implementing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software will face some obstacles and
resistance (Nofal and Yusof 2013). Therefore, it is essential for the business organization to
ensure a smooth transition throughout the business organization. In the initial changes of

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implementing the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software the management of the
organization needs to consider the relationship between the systems, processes and the people.
They management f the business organization planning to implement the Enterprise Resource
Planning (ERP) software needs to ensure that the employees and the staffs understand the
business process change and accept the new ways of performing the activities of the business
organization (Ononiwu 2013). Organizational change management is highly essential for
successful implementation of the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software. The Enterprise
Resource Planning (ERP) software facilitates a major change in the organization including
change in the everyday operations of the job and eliminates the job descriptions as well. The
changes in the business organization can impact the culture of the organization. Therefore, the
business organization needs to control and communicate the changes and the plans in order to
avoid adverse reactions or barriers of adopting and implementing Enterprise Resource Planning
(ERP) software (Madanhire and Mbohwa 2016).
In order to avoid the barriers in the process of implementing the Enterprise
Resource Planning (ERP), the management needs effective and progressive communication. The
communication plan must include the explanation and the reason for adopting the new Enterprise
Resource Planning (ERP) system and the ways it will help the organization. The staffs and the
employees of the organization must educate about the features on the new system and the ways it
will benefit them (Lewandowski et al. 2013). Therefore, it is essential to have a communication
strategy by the management. The job roles and the job descriptions of the staffs and employees
are also needed to be changed when implementing the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
system. There will be a transition from a functional oriented to a process oriented business
organization (Nofal and Yusof 2013). The job roles and the tasks of the business will be changed

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once the system is implemented. For example, Mitel corporations, a manufacturing company
decided to implement the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software by using two way
communication strategy and method to get the buy in from the staffs and the employees of the
organization. Mitel corporations resolved all misunderstandings and conflicts by discussion and
conversing in meeting, workshops and other question and answer sessions with the potential
stakeholders of the organization (Ononiwu 2013). It is highly essential to gain the confidence of
the staffs and the employees by committing and accepting changes. The management needs to
identify the new ways of performing the job and convince the employees and the workers to
undertake change for the benefit of the organization.
According to Parthasarathy (2013), the organizations needs to analyze the
stakeholder engagement and determine the amount of training and development required. The
analysis can help the business organization to document the roles and the responsibilities of each
stakeholder. It can provide direction and alignment to the leaders, provide advanced knowledge
and information to the users who can monitor the day to day transactions of the end users.
Assessing the level of involvement of the stakeholders can enable the business organization to
commit and own the change (Nofal and Yusof 2013). Furthermore, providing training and
development will enhance their skills and knowledge to efficiently and effectively execute the
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software system. Training program is essential for every
process in the organization so that the users can understand its relevancy. However, the training
and the development programs requires investment of money, time and effort. The end user
training and development program can provide knowledge and benefits required to effectively
execute the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software (Matende and Ogao 2013).

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Conclusion
Therefore, from the above analysis, it can be concluded that Enterprise Resource
Planning (ERP) software is essential for the business organization as it helps the business
organization to effectively manage the operations and activities of the business within the
centralized and integrated system. It can be used by the business organization to keep track of the
all the operations of different departments in the organization. It is essential for coordinating and
integrating various activities of the business organization. ERP system is a must consideration by
every business organization irrespective of their sizes. By unifying the data and information of
different department and presenting it centralizing to the right people at the right time can
increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the business organization. It has been analyzed that
the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software system reduces duplication of work and
redundancy which makes the work of the staffs and the employees easy. The features of the
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software can improve the collaboration and coordination of
different departments in the organization. The essay has analyzed the ways in which the
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software can contribute to the overall performance of the
organization and has identified the changes required in the organization for successful adaptation
of an enterprise system.

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