Implementation Failure Of Queensland Health's Payroll System - Essay Example

Introduction The success of any company depends on the manner in which the organization is able to develop its overall working environment such that it is able to find out the different areas through which the organization can grow. The success criteria of a business are largely dependent on different factors in the manner in which the business is able to mold the factors towards its growth and business opportunity. The Queensland Health Payroll System highlights the manner in which the different factors didn’t work as directed and created different gaps due to which the implementation of the new system failed and taught various important learning for the business. The case highlights the failure due to some basic factors which are essential for the success of the project and the manner in which it has an effect on the performance of the organization. This report thereby looks to present the manner in which Queensland Health Payroll System failed due to lack of governance to deliver the project on time. It also considers the centralized and decentralized form of organizational structure and the manner it has an effect on the health care system. In addition to it the paper also looks into the complexities associated with the health care organizations and the long term and short term implications it has. This will thereby help to understand the manner in which the actual performance of an organization gets affected and will help to identify the different areas which when worked on will improve the overall efficiency of the business Queensland Health Payroll System Queensland Health Payroll System is the system which Queensland Health has adopted to pay its workers where it looks towards using two interface systems named Workbrain & SAP so that the remuneration of the employees can be better calculated. Queensland Health Payroll System found difficulty in using the new system due to certain errors which increased the complexity of the system and made it difficult for the management to ensure maximum benefit from the new system. Queensland Health Payroll System looks at compensating 85,000 staff that is employed under 2 Acts which are further covered by 12 industrial awards and uses over 200 allowances and 24,000 different combinations to pay its staff (Auditor General, 2010). The problems faced by the organization arose due to the fact that it required a mix of both manual and automatic process which brought forward increased complexities for the process. This was aided with increased difficulties faced in the direction of governance, the manner in which centralized and decentralized form of structure affected the working of the health care system and the complexities that evolver due to it. Queensland Health Payroll System thus had to look towards developing a methodology which was advanced and looked towards inculcating different factors so that the chances of success increased and better results could have been achieved. Role of Governance in Successful Projects Governance is an aspect which is important as it helps to understand the manner in which the organization is able to develop its surrounding factors so that better results can be achieved. Project governance is included in corporate governance and tends to include different things like portfolio direction, sponsorship, program management and efficiency and lastly disclosure & reporting. Queensland Health Payroll System highlighted that the overall project development lacked on certain aspect of governance due to which the project was facing obstacle and the remuneration process was finding difficult to be implemented. Queensland Health Payroll System highlighted that there was lack of governance as the role and responsibilities were not seperated. The fact that one role underlined the other as seen in the case of Queensland Health & CorpTech the prime contractor of Queensland Health System highlighted that the responsibilities were unclear. This resulted in making it difficult for the different personnel to carry out the responsibilities. This clearly highlighted that portfolio direction was unclear and lacking. This resulted in the dilution of power and created unclear roles and responsibilities which affected the overall way in which the employees worked. A look at the portfolio sponsorship for Queensland Health Payroll System highlighted that they system was planned in such a manner that it ensured proper finances. The project had estimated that a total cost of $1253.5 million will which would include 1008 million for the payroll operation which had to be paid on a fortnightly basis and 245.5 million were for fixing the issues and problems which would arise during the payroll operation (KPMG, 2012). This highlighted that Queensland Health Payroll System has prepared for the portfolio sponsorship which is an essential part of governance but didn’t consider the cost associated with contingencies and upgradation of the system. This resulted in the governance aspect to ignore one of the major obstacles which could help to develop the governance aspect and ensure that the organization was able to deliver better results. Another important component of governance is program management & efficiency. This was completely lacking as the Queensland Health Payroll System required manual work also. This can be clearly seen from the fact that the payroll system had to undergo numerous paper documentation works which took a lot of time. This resulted in the decisions to be delayed and also made it difficult for the Queensland Health Payroll System to ensure that there was efficiency in ensuring that the payroll was on time. This created a situation where the time required for the Go-Live status increased to 26 months from 8 months. This highlights that Queensland Health Payroll System lacked efficiency and made it difficult for the payroll system to gain completed advantage and achieve the objective for which it was planned. Lastly, the other component for governance is proper disclosure & reporting. It was seen that Queensland Health Payroll System clearly lacked proper disclosure & reporting techniques. The payroll system highlighted that the system lacked periodic review which made it difficult to ensure proper testing and implementation which would look after Queensland Health Payroll environment. This resulted in creating difficulty as the system was not able to disclose every fact and situation through which the errors and problems could have been highlighted and which would have ensured that the payroll system was better developed with better governance Queensland Health Payroll System thereby brings forward clear situations where the different aspect of governance was ignored. The fact that governance is very important as it acts as a stone in the success of the project was lacking. This resulted in the Queensland Health Payroll System experience difficulty which could have been reduced if a better process which ensured that every aspect of governance was looked into. This would have eased the method in which the Queensland Health Payroll System was implemented and would have provided the required benefit. Centralized & Decentralized Organizational Structure Organizations look towards adopting different form of organizational structure that suits their manner of working. Choosing a correct organizational structure is very vital as it will help to determine the progress of the business. The importance of this multiplies in case of health care organization which involves human lives. Queensland Health Payroll System had witnessed the manner in which organizational structure affected their working style and created difficulties and complexities for the business. The centralized form of organizational structure in one where decisions are taken by the central body and every aspect has to be brought to the notice of the central committee or the board for decision making. This has different effects on the business performance especially in case of health care organization as it ensures that the decisions are taken centrally after looking at all the issues. This was the method that was employed by Queensland Health Payroll System and helped them to a certain extent. This method also multiplies the problems for Queensland Health Payroll System as it resulted in delay in decision making and difficulties in differentiating the roles of different person. This resulted in the payroll system to be delayed and made the entire process look incorrect. This form of organizational structure also looks towards ascertaining that the decisions are better and accepted by all but due to increasing complexities makes it a difficult structure to be completely relied on (Charette, 2012). The decentralized form of organizational structure on the other is completely opposite to the centralized form of structure where the decision making ability is passed on to the lower authorities. This helps in the development of personnel and helps to take quick decision but is also makes the different departments and areas work in an entirely different ways. Decisions are thereby taken based on the facts and policies which will benefit the respective department and the entire organization looks divided and works on things which will benefit them. This increases the risk for life in health care organization as seen in case of Queensland Health Payroll System where decisions were not developed and formed which matched the requirements of all. Thus, it is imperative that the health care organization looks towards a mix of both centralized and decentralized form of organizational structure so that the decisions taken are better and ensures that the overall development of the business is possible. The choice of the structure should be independent and a lot of factors should be considered so that the chances of failure of the organization reduces Complexity in Health Care Organization Health care organization in comparison to other industries has to deal with different challenges in comparison to other industries. The fact that health care management system has to deal with human life and have to work 24 hours 7 days a week id it imperative that they are dealt in a different manner. It is imperative that health care management look towards identifying the different complexities by looking at it in a different way so that they are able to deal with it in a better way. The complexity in health care organizations is seen by the fact that they have to deal with diversity in the organizational forms in addition to the interactions that happen between the organizational structure (Mick and Wyttenbach, 2003). The fact that each organizational structure in the health care industry is independent it thereby results in increasing the complexities as dealing with different organizational structure and being able to understand those creates problem for the decision makers. This was seen in case of Queensland Health Payroll System as the newly developed organizational structure required that the process to be developed but instead the key performance reports which would have served as one of the major pins in integrating the organizational structure was not achieved. In addition to it the staff in the health care organization has to work day and night in comparison to other industries it thereby requires that the management has to look towards developing ways through which the fundamentals requirements can be fulfilled. Queensland Health Payroll System wasn’t able to work on this aspect which thereby increased complexities. Along with it the health care organizations deal with the safety aspect of human life and require proper coordination and decision making which will have an effect on the overall performance. This is different for different industries so being unable to work on it increases the complexities and makes it difficult for the business to continue with their daily operations thereby making it difficult for the system to be implemented. Immediate & Long Term Implication IT implementation is an important factor in the health care industry as it helps to determine the manner in which the future of the health care industry will be determined. Failure of the IT implementation has great risk as seen in case of Queensland Health Payroll System. The implementation of the IT system failure has great problems for the health care system both in the short and long run as well. The failure of the IT implementation in the short run results in creating problems with the payroll system. The failure of the payroll system which uses SAP in case of Queensland Health Payroll System clearly shows that the failure results in raising problems in disbursing the remuneration. Failure of the system delays the overall process and since people in the health care industry work 24X7 it results in raising difficulty as they are not compensated correctly (Bavas & Tlozek, 2012). The failure of the IT implementation in the short run also results in making the entire process cumbersome. Some problems in some areas or a complete failure will make it mandatory that the entire process is done manually. Since a new IT system has been implemented and the failure would mean that the old system can be adopted at the same stance it would mean that the entire work has to be done manually. Considering the work load for a payroll system like Queensland Health Payroll System has would increases the chances of errors. This would thereby make both the present and the old IT system obsolete and would make the entire process to be delayed to get the correct result and the remuneration that has to be paid to the staff. In the long run the failure of the IT system raises doubts on the authenticity and genuineity of the result that the system has produced. Failure of the system will make the staff doubt whether the new IT system is getting the correct payroll for the staff as they will feel that the payroll system is fetching the wrong result. In addition to it the system will also raise doubt on the result as it will reduce the reliability on the new system (Payroll System, 2012). The failure in the long run will also raise question about the different errors and problems that the new IT system will develop. It will also raise doubt whether the new system which is in place will be understood by the people and will thereby he the required personnel with the adequate skills to solve the problems which might arise in the implementation of the new system. This was an area which was felt by Queensland Health Payroll System and the lack of expertise to deal with the system delayed the entire payroll process and created doubts over the system. Thus, the failure of the IT system raises both long and immediate doubts on the system and requires proper development of ways through which the system can be better developed. This will require that the process of the new IT system ensures proper use of technology and development of the entire process through which efficiency is achieved and the payroll system can be developed in the most efficient manner. Conclusion Queensland Health Payroll System has thereby highlighted the different aspect of organizational structure and governance which were ignored by them. This resulted in increasing complexities and made it difficult for the system to be developed in a proper way. The report has shows the different aspect of governance which includes portfolio direction, sponsorship, program management and efficiency and lastly disclosure & reporting which were ignored. It also shows the manner in which the different complexities arose and the lack of proper organizational structure and method to deal with the problems that Queensland Health Payroll System were facing increased the complexities for the system. This further highlights the different areas which when worked on will ensure better functionality and ensure that the goals are better achieved. References Auditor General. (2010). Information systems governance and control, including the Queensland Health Implementation of Continuity Project. Report to Parliament No. 7 for 2010, Australia Bavas, J. & Tlozek, E. (2012). Government Considers Inquiry into Queensland Health Payroll Debacle. Retrieved on November 6, 2012 from http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-10-30/government-considers-inquiry-into-qld-health-payroll-debacle/4341064 Charette, R. (2012). A Mismanaged Australian Payroll System Is One of the Worst IT Projects Ever. Retrieved on November 6, 2012 from http://spectrum.ieee.org/riskfactor/computing/it/queensland-health-payroll-system-one-of-the-worst-it-projects-ever KPMG. (2012). Review of the Queensland Health Payroll System. KPMG, Australia Payroll System. (2012). Review of Queensland Health Payroll System. Retrieved on November 6, 2012 from http://www.qnu.org.au/news/press-releases/archived-press-releases/archived-releases/review-of-queensland-health-payroll-system Mick, S. and Wyttenbach, M. (2003). Advances in Health Care Organization Theory San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, pp 253-288 Read More

The problems faced by the organization arose due to the fact that it required a mix of both manual and automatic process which brought forward increased complexities for the process. This was aided with increased difficulties faced in the direction of governance, the manner in which centralized and decentralized form of structure affected the working of the health care system and the complexities that evolver due to it. Queensland Health Payroll System thus had to look towards developing a methodology which was advanced and looked towards inculcating different factors so that the chances of success increased and better results could have been achieved.

Role of Governance in Successful Projects Governance is an aspect which is important as it helps to understand the manner in which the organization is able to develop its surrounding factors so that better results can be achieved. Project governance is included in corporate governance and tends to include different things like portfolio direction, sponsorship, program management and efficiency and lastly disclosure & reporting. Queensland Health Payroll System highlighted that the overall project development lacked on certain aspect of governance due to which the project was facing obstacle and the remuneration process was finding difficult to be implemented.

Queensland Health Payroll System highlighted that there was lack of governance as the role and responsibilities were not seperated. The fact that one role underlined the other as seen in the case of Queensland Health & CorpTech the prime contractor of Queensland Health System highlighted that the responsibilities were unclear. This resulted in making it difficult for the different personnel to carry out the responsibilities. This clearly highlighted that portfolio direction was unclear and lacking.

This resulted in the dilution of power and created unclear roles and responsibilities which affected the overall way in which the employees worked. A look at the portfolio sponsorship for Queensland Health Payroll System highlighted that they system was planned in such a manner that it ensured proper finances. The project had estimated that a total cost of $1253.5 million will which would include 1008 million for the payroll operation which had to be paid on a fortnightly basis and 245.5 million were for fixing the issues and problems which would arise during the payroll operation (KPMG, 2012).

This highlighted that Queensland Health Payroll System has prepared for the portfolio sponsorship which is an essential part of governance but didn’t consider the cost associated with contingencies and upgradation of the system. This resulted in the governance aspect to ignore one of the major obstacles which could help to develop the governance aspect and ensure that the organization was able to deliver better results. Another important component of governance is program management & efficiency.

This was completely lacking as the Queensland Health Payroll System required manual work also. This can be clearly seen from the fact that the payroll system had to undergo numerous paper documentation works which took a lot of time. This resulted in the decisions to be delayed and also made it difficult for the Queensland Health Payroll System to ensure that there was efficiency in ensuring that the payroll was on time. This created a situation where the time required for the Go-Live status increased to 26 months from 8 months.

This highlights that Queensland Health Payroll System lacked efficiency and made it difficult for the payroll system to gain completed advantage and achieve the objective for which it was planned. Lastly, the other component for governance is proper disclosure & reporting. It was seen that Queensland Health Payroll System clearly lacked proper disclosure & reporting techniques. The payroll system highlighted that the system lacked periodic review which made it difficult to ensure proper testing and implementation which would look after Queensland Health Payroll environment.

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