Cross-Organizational Systems - Case Study Example

CROSS-ORGANIZATIONAL SYSTEMS Cross-Organizational Systems Affiliation The Clambake Company has decided to implement a cross-functional system and they have hired me to recommend a solution for their company. Without a doubt, they need to put together business processes and functions with the intention of improving organizational control, communication, collaboration, coordination, and awareness by facilitating the movement of data and information without restraint not only between different areas of their company but also outside the company.

In this scenario, inadequately and ineffectively integration of functions and business processes can produce expensive inefficiencies or slow customer service and turn out to be competitive liabilities (TRIPOD, 2013). I will recommend the Clambake Company to implement an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system for the integration of different systems. Basically, an ERP is a cross-functional system that is particularly designed to automate and join together a number of internal processes of a business organization.

In fact, it is a best for solution for business functions such as logistics, distribution, manufacturing, accounting, human resource, and finance functions. Hence, this cross-functional system works as a central information system of the firm. In this scenario, it will allow the Clambake Company to attain the maximum efficiency, awareness, and agility required to be successful in an ever-increasing competitive business environment. One of the most important advantages of an ERP system is that it encompasses a set of integrated components that will provide the Clambake Company with an instantaneous cross-functional overview of its major business functions like that order processing, sales, accounting and its resources, for instance information regarding raw materials, production capacity, cash and people (TRIPOD, 2013; Daneva & Wieringa, 2006).

In addition, in the cross-functional environments, data and information move between functions and services without communicating with hierarchical channels. In this scenario, SAP’s ERP system is an excellent choice for this scenario. It is believed that enterprise resource planning systems come very close to delivering the cross-functional communication and collaboration so preferred by the majority of business organizations (Amrani, Rowe, Bidan, Geffroy-Maronnat, & Marciniak, 2003; Markus, 2000; TRIPOD, 2013).

ReferencesAmrani, R. E., Rowe, F., Bidan, M., Geffroy-Maronnat, B., & Marciniak, R. (2003). ERP Implementation and change: towards a cross-functional view. Retrieved February 03, 2013, from http://is2.lse.ac.uk/asp/aspecis/20030053.pdfDaneva, M., & Wieringa, R. J. (2006). Collaborative Alignment of cRoss-organizational ERP Systems (CARES). Retrieved February 04, 2013, from www.utwente.nl/ewi/is/documents/cares_proposal.pdfMarkus, M. L. (2000). Paradigm Shifts - E-Business and Business/Systems Integration.

Communications of the Association for Information Systems, Volume 4 Article 10 .TRIPOD. (2013). MIS Course "Home of the Power of Technology". Retrieved February 04, 2013, from http://qu-mis.tripod.com/id15.html