Management Challenges in Developing Global Systems - Article Example

Management challenges in developing global systems A Typical Scenario: Disorganization on a Global Scale The text offers a perfect situation or state of challenges affecting corporations seeking to develop information systems with the aim of supporting global corporations. Making it simpler and realistic, you form part of a team comprising 12 students with an assignment having a deadline expiring at the end of the month. The task requires you to devise a Web page that supports three different presentations provided in three different pieces of the same class. Each of the students will be graded individually well as team rating. However, you have been offered limited resources to use in completing the assignment. All members of the team develop different approaches towards the project in addition to different values, varied needs, as well as diverse goals. For instance, some of the team members prefer starting early and doing a thorough job while others wait until the due date and then start tackling the assignment. Consequently, differences among team members are witnessed when some have Apple computers, some possess PCs. In some situations, some of the team members use modern software while others depend on programs established in the last five years, and that are incompatible with the contemporary software. However, due to certain circumstances, it is impossible for your group members to meet in order to coordinate and accomplish the projects. As a result of the difficulties, you begin to understand the challenges faced by managers when they organize or reorganize the global commerce. Global Systems Strategy The figure below illustrates the relationship between the core business processes and the core systems. Just a few business processes utilize the global core systems. However, others remain divided among regional and local systems. Figure 15-4: Local, Regional, and Global Systems Define the Core Business Processes Choose on the manner by which your business processes are partitioned among global, regional, as well as local units. Consequently, ensure you exclude cultural and political biases in selecting a better location. Cautiously examine every task as well as the entire available resources to be used in supporting the process in respective locations. Moreover, choose the best location supporting every process. In this situation, you may become astonished to discover that it is cheaper as well as more efficient to store manufactured goods in a different location from where they are produced. Finally, you should rate the processes and then select one to be managed centrally as well as that to be dispersed to the regional, as well as local level. Identify the Core Systems to Coordinate Centrally Immediately after identifying and analyzing each business process, it is necessary to determine the systems to be centralized and those to leave decentralized. Clearly, the systems need to match the business processes. Decision-making will vary, as some will be made based on political influences and with some being made with the aim of appeasing various groups within the organization. Moreover, some of the decisions will appear rational as others appear irrational. Whereas deciding on how and where to launch the core processes is the initial step, a section of the analysis has to entail the repercussion of establishing an information system to support them. For example, in case you decide to establish a transnational unit to deal with customer technical support, how will the information system maintain the data storage related with the customer information? Some questions arise from the scenario. For instance, what type of legislation will influence your decision? Moreover, how will you deal with political and cultural pressures that determine access, as well as circulation of the personal information related with your customers? Even though, it might appear sensible to establish this unit on a transnational basis, you might conclude that an information system to support it is not practicable. Choose an Approach: Incremental, Grand Design, Evolutionary Never take more than you can manage. In case you try to achieve your development as well as implementation plan all at once by integrating them, and then there is a great likelihood that one is destined to fail. The method might appear cheaper, but one also has to consider other factors apart from the cost as there exist political, cultural, as well as historical biases to overcome. Moreover, you have to remember that change is a difficult thing for people to acknowledge. For that reason, you have to convince everybody more so the executive branch that the plan is achievable and best for the company. A number of companies adopt an evolutionary approach in integrating disparate information systems. Therefore, they select the most crucial areas such as the finance to merge in the initial stages. Thereafter, they proceed on to areas like marketing and sales, then to corporate strategic planning and maybe finally incorporate human resources systems. Thus, the outstanding point is that one cannot perform all of the activities at once. However, this is not the gradual approach referred to by the text. The piecemeal approach illustrated in the text advocates movement of accounts receivable to the global system and then a year later shift the accounts payable. Consequently, another example of a misguided piecemeal approach would entail leaving the daily production planning processes on the old system-while shifting the production supply purchasing process to a novel system without suitable coordination between the two. Make the Benefits Clear You have to prove to the organization’s managers that the looming changes will be advantageous to them in the long run. Thus, win their support and make use of them in assisting you develop and establish system changes. Therefore, they have the understand ways of enhancing their own operations through the new system. Global operations can aid an organization improves its vertical as well as horizontal operations. For instance, in case there erupts political conflict thereby interrupting sugar supplies, global system can transfer the flow of the vital supply to other regions. As global operations expand, corporations experience the benefits of possessing various geographical locations whereby they are capable of operating virtually devoid of interruption. Moreover, in scenarios whereby a region or operating unit experiences an interference in sales, the economic load or burden can be distributed to other units of a global company of a global economy. Thus, the global economies realized by corporations through global operations are tremendous. Therefore, there is no need for a company to establish individual production units in each country in which it seeks to sell its products. The Management Solution: Implementation The greatest challenge for the management is to manage the changes experienced within global company. As earlier mentioned, changes are difficult and complex due to the incorporated characteristics of politics, culture as well as language. Thus, the guidelines include: Consent to user requirements: this is achieved by keeping a list of core business process short as well as simple. Implementation of the changes is easier through this means and thus, the need for you to remain focused on the common goal of the integration. Initiate changes in business procedures: your authenticity is augment by the extent or manner by which individuals acknowledge your authority as a change agent. Therefore, in case you establish yourself as knowledgeable, competent, enthusiastic to accept input from others and in situations that your vision of the target is sound, and then there are high chances of emerging successful. Moreover, there is need to offer ownership of change process to other individuals as this will enhance their happiness thereby offering help in ensuring both you and the company become successful. Manage applications development: this is by enhancing communication. Thus, you have to keep individuals updated on any process thereby avoiding surprises. The change is difficult to achieve without people feeling that they are being ignored. To achieve this, use of intranet is suitable since it is an invaluable tool. Coordinate software releases: strive at ensuring that every individual operates from the script to avoid misunderstanding and confusions. Promote and ensure that local users support global systems: participants will always seek to perform as per their will since it seems the most comfortable means they understand. Therefore, your role is to persuade to adapt to a novel way of conducting business for the whole benefit for the company. Win over the support of the opposition as soon as possible. One of the possible means or way is through cooptation, which refers to the process of convincing the pessimist to assist you in sourcing for a solution to the problem without offering them total control of the change process. Thus, persuading them to join and offer help is convenient rather than beating them into submission. Interactive Session: Organizations: Hasbor designs a Global Systems Strategy ( view in page 607 of the text)examines how one of the world’s leading toy and game makers executed an enterprise resource planning software in the entire company’s global manufacturing plants, as well as offices, and established a standardized approach to business process. Bottom Line: Examine every workflow process and thereafter determine the best business unit to carry out. Choose on the best and realign the structure of your information system to that of your core business process. Ensure that the benefits are obvious to all levels of the organization while applying cooperation to support ownership of the system. Moreover, manage the changes in the information systems in a powerful or strong manner. 15.4 Technology Issues and Opportunities for Global Value Chains Organizations are tempted to carry out the changes discussed because of the technological advancement as well as crave to seize new opportunities arising from the advances. Nevertheless, factors driving the desire can also establish headaches. Moreover, software, hardware, as well as communications constitute special predicaments within a global setting. Thus, one needs to synchronize, harmonize, as well as integrate them. Computing Platforms and Systems Integration A number of global companies arise from the merging of several units thereby contributing to the success story. However, in situations the merger occurs, one cannot just purchase all new software and hardware. The scenario becomes too expensive and nonsensical. Thus, the challenge is to ensure that one gets all the varied types of hardware to function together as one system. Therefore, you have to ensure the existence of communication from one type of software and another. Consequently, you have to establish your core business processes. Currently, one has to establish the types of software, which in some cases might be present within a number of units merged in the organization and which are the best for the every process. In case you still use propriety software and decide to stick to it, there is certainly a need for a bridge, middleware software that will enable it work across the entire business units, as well as regions. Every region of the business routinely operates as per its standards. A good example is seen in the German unit, which has been storing data as per its standards and definitions. Consequently, the Asian units have been applying different standards as well as definitions to conduct similar task. The main initiative entails matching the data into one standard across the entire units in order to ensure that they can be shared efficiently as well as effectively. Thus, each unit has to adapt in order for them to function thereby presenting the central office into the picture. In order to emerge successfully, the unit has to determine the target of the business as well as the final information requirements needed while selecting only the best, adapting the rest as well as solidify the entire units into a cohesive whole. Connectivity Majority of Americans lacks a second thought concerning the reliability of th4 country’s telecommunications systems. For instance, when one picks a phone in a given locality, he or she expects it to function properly. Moreover, when one logs into the Internet Service Provider, he anticipates quicker and instantaneous Internet connections. Further, when one travels through states, he is sure that the telephone system will operate in a similar manner within the states and with constant charges or reasonably low charges for telephone, television, as well as Internet services. However, the case is different in foreign nations. Table 15-5 displays some of the problems one has to deal with when operating in other countries When attempting to design global communication networks, one has to operate through a mixture of various laws, ranges of service reliability, varied rate charges and currency exchanges as well as different companies and governments managing the telecommunication system. Since the public internet may not always be reliable as well as secure, the technologies applied in building the Internet offer means by which corporations establish required networks. Some of the alternatives to wide-open Internet include extranets, intranets, as well as virtual networks. Several foreign nations overcome some of the past connectivity problems by adoption of brand new technology such as Web – enabled cell phones. Rather than establishing expensive, outdated telecommunication systems with traditional phone lines, people nowadays use wireless communication devices depending on satellite as well as microwave technologies to necessitate communication with one another. One might think that the U.S is the most wired, but this is not true since Finland possess the greatest penetration within this sector in the entire world. However, it depends on wireless technology and not traditional lines. Moreover, Japan has a greater concentration of Web-controlled phones as well as associated applications compared to America. Software Localization As earlier mentioned, different foreign units possibly have differing standards for their respective information systems. Attempting to integrate different databases from various domestic units is quite tough. Moreover, attempting to merge databases with origins from different nations proves troublesome due to additional factors such as politics, traditions, as well as languages. Despite English language being widely accepted in foreign business circles, and while it seems reasonable to establish software programs dependent on the language, such a step will develop its own problems. Foreign business units may dislike the using applications written in different language and question on not using some of popular languages such as Spanish. Moreover, the uppermost management levels of the foreign business units may comprehend English and remain in the position of using. However, the contrary may occur among the data workers who will have to learn the language while at the same time learn new information system. The situation may force an individual to adopt software localization policies in order to convert applications to a second language. Conventionally, companies have integrated their transaction processing systems into one or few worldwide applications. Currently, they anticipate doing the same with collaborative workgroup software and this should proceed. Consequently, we mentioned earlier in this course that various companies timely manage their projects across the world. For instance, an individual based in New York City may work on a novel advertising project in a day and upon its completion send it to a collaborator in New Delhi, India. The collaborator after working on it will then pass it on to a third team member in Munich, Germany. In this case, all members of the team have to communicate by using collaborative software in a common language. Interactive Session: Management: CombineNet ASAP aids Primark control Its Global Supply Chain (view page 613 of the text) explores how the second largest clothing retailer within the United Kingdom executed a new Web-based supply chain execution system that achieved all of its supply chain processes. The scenario greatly reduced shipping costs while supplies were improved to all of its retail stores. Bottom Line: Discrepancies in hardware, software, and telecommunications throughout the organization and the countries in which you are engaged in with business create tremendous challenges in integrating disparate business units into a cohesive global whole. Read More