An Overview of Enterprise Resource Planning free essay sample

Enterprise Resources Planning (ERP) systems are software packages that can be used for the core systems necessary to support enterprise systems. The best-selling ERP is SAP Such ERP modules consist of Sales and Distribution, Material Managements, Financial Accounting, and Controlling and Profitability Analysis. In the words of Rockford Consulting (and many other firms), the single issue of ERP is failure to implement it. There are five known ways of how to constitute: not making the promised return on investment, extending the implementation schedule and start-up date inordinately, going over budget by unconscionable variances, grinding the organization to a crawl pace, or the severest of all consequences, and ceasing production and/or not delivering orders to your customers. Rockford has twelve â€Å"cardinal sins† regarding ERP Implementation: Lack of Top Management Commitment: Inadequate Requirements Definition; Poor Package Selection; Inadequate Resources; Resistance to Change/Lack of Buy-in; miscalculation of Time and Effort; Misfit of Application Software with Business Processes; Unrealistic Expectation of Benefits and ROI; Inadequate Training and Education; Poor Project Design and Management; Poor Communications; and Ill-advised Cost Cutting. We will write a custom essay sample on An Overview of Enterprise Resource Planning or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Today, companies define success when it comes to an ERP implementation or upgrade. This is mostly due to well how they have planned for contingencies, set up reasonable expectations, and created lines of communication between the CEO, front-line users, and everyone else in between. For example, Au Bon Pain (a chain of restaurants) used to utilize â€Å"legacy systems† and â€Å"SAT ERP†, but currently uses a unified IT platform that provides such things as optimized performance, enhanced visibility with real-time data capture, Increased productivity, and accelerated financial closings. The environments in which IT professionals are striving on projects (similar to the one at Au Bon Pain) is disconcerting: Most businesses today are â€Å"oversoftwared†, in that many users are frustrated by applications’ poor performances, and return on software investments is almost always forgotten. This results in many CFOs and CEOs arriving at a state of general ambivalence toward ERP systems, or (as a worst-case scenario) an accrued and outward hatred of software overhauls. Like all things, ERP has its failures as well. Even after so many people love a substantial amount of money, there are substantial benefits. Commercial ERP software promises the seamless integration and consistency of all the information flows in an organization; financial and accounting, human resources, purchasing and supply chain, customer tracking and order placement, inventory management, and even production management. The promised savings in paperwork and man hours from automated processes is prodigious, not to mention the increased service quality provided to customers. In addition, there’s inventory reduction, supply chain cost efficiencies, and better decision support at every level. Most companies treat ERP implementation as a large scale IT project. But the scope and impact of an ERP implementation on the business is so great that the project is required to be considered as a business initiative with an IT component. This includes the development of a business plan for the project, which specifies the â€Å"market† or â€Å"business advantages† to be gained from implementing the ERP plan. The decision to implement ERP should be in response to specific business needs or objectives. Rather than just saying â€Å"yes, we want all those possible benefits†, the organization should focus on a limited set of business benefits to be gained from the ERP implementation. Once identified, these business needs would form the basis for much of the planning and management of the ERP project. If there are no compelling business needs that can be identified, then the ERP project is doomed to fail as a result of a lack of focus and the necessary management tools. The many companies that gain the most benefit from their implemented ERP systems are those that start by looking at them in strategic and organizational terms. The most (if not the best) fundamental reason for implementing ERP is to provide some competitive advantage, whether it be lower costs, faster response to market events, or better customer service. Nonetheless, these benefits can often be offset, by the impact the organization’s ERP system will have on its current business strategies and competitive advantages. Even after looking over articles by CIO, Rockford Consulting, and even CFO, I have no opinion about ERP. It has its successes and it has its failures. Whether or not to implement ERP in any particular company, I suppose it would be OK, only as long as the company is certain that it’s for the best for its management, its staff, and its regular customers; it would also be allowed as long as the company doesn’t go over the budget.

The Alliance for Retired Americans essayEssay Writing Service

The Alliance for Retired Americans essayEssay Writing Service The Alliance for Retired Americans essay The Alliance for Retired Americans essayThe Alliance for Retired Americans (ARA) is an effective nonprofit, nonpartisan organization specially developed for retired trade union members. The ARA was founded in 2001. This organization is connected with two other organizations, namely the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) and the Change to Win Federation (CtW). It also includes non-union and community-based members. The predecessor of this organization was the National Council of Senior Citizens (NCSC). According to statistical data, in 2012, the ARA had more than 4 million members in the United States. The ARA has developed effective programs, which operate in 33 states.The ARA is considered to be a nationwide organization as it addresses the issues of concern at the national level. According to the information presented on the official website of the organization, for 13 years, the ARA â€Å"has enrolled and mobilized retired union member s and other seniors and community activists into a nationwide grassroots movement advocating a progressive political and social agenda that respects work and strengthens families† (The Alliance for Retired Americans, Official Website, 2014).The ARA office is headquartered in Washington D.C.Membership The ARA involves retired seniors of the United States, as well as different community activist groups, which are focused on addressing the issues of public concern regarding the aged. For example, the members of this organization may voice the discrepancies found in public policies that may have a negative impact on American seniors. Membership in the ARA can be defined broadly because the ARA includes the members of NCSC, who became the members of ARA automatically. Today the ARA invites retired union members from all parts of the United States. At the same time, the ARA invites the retired workers who have never been union members. The ARA’s dues are not too high, only $1 0 a year for a retired union member. According to the national convention, the ARA membership organizes meetings every non-presidential election year in order toparticipate in the election of the governing board members: a President, a Secretary-Treasurer, an Executive Vice-President, and six Board Members.According to the established rules and regulations, every member of the ARA has the rights to attend the national convention as well as to use his/her voting right. The funding unions have the right to send their selected delegates. The membership is responsible for providing the discussion of policies, in order to approve the most effective ones. Besides, the membership is responsible for solving various issues connected with voluntary donations for the organization’s political and social activities (Binstock 267).Funding   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As the ARA’s predecessor was NCSC, it is necessary to refer to its history, which tells much about funding. During th e 1960s -1970s, NCSC was funded by the federal funds, according to the Older Americans Act. Title V of the Older Americans Act provided opportunities for funding part-time employment for under-employed seniors. Today the ARA is a sponsor of Educational Fund, which is focused on research work and production of publications on public policies (Hillier Barrow 23).Governing Board The governing body of the ARA includes the selected members of the organization.   The ARA is governed by the members of the national executive board, which includes six community-based directors and six directors appointed by the affiliated unions (The Alliance for Retired Americans, Official Website, 2014). The Governing Board includes:The ARA President: Barbara Easterling. She held the position of the Secretary-Treasurer of the AFL-CIO.The ARA Community-Based Executive Director: Richard Fiesta. He served at the Departments of Labor and the Interior and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.The ARA Secr etary-Treasurer: Ruben Burks. He was a Secretary-Treasurer of the United Auto Workers.The ARA Executive Vice-President: Jo Etta Brown. She was a leader of the Alliance for Retired Americans Community Advocacy Network.The ARAExecutive Vice-President: Liz Shuler. She served as a Secretary-Treasurer of the AFL-CIO (The Alliance for Retired Americans, Official Website, 2014).The major goals of the organization The major goal of the ARA is to give American seniors a sound and reputable voice nationwide, as well as within their communities. The ARA is focused on the organization of the effective advocate groups in order to lobby on the major legislative issues associated with the aged, including Medicare, Social Security, long-term care insurance reform plans and affordable housing benefits. Actually, the mission of the ARA is to â€Å"ensure social and economic justice and full civil rights for all citizens so that they may enjoy lives of dignity, personal and family fulfillment and sec urity† (The Alliance for Retired Americans, Official Website, 2014).The ARA members are active participants of the polls. They effectively use their membership rights to educate other seniors of new policies and mobilize them to take an active part in elections of the leaders, who areâ€Å"committed to improving the lives of retirees and older Americans† (The Alliance for Retired Americans, Official Website, 2014). Special attention is paid to social programs, including Social Security and Medicare. For example, in 2013,   the ARA members created Human Chain Against the Chained CPI events in more than 50 cities in order to stop the cut and earn Social Security benefits (The Alliance for Retired Americans, Official Website, 2014). In addition, the ARA members managed to block the privatization of Social Security using the ARA’s Social Security Truth Truck. The ARA provided more than 2.1 million petitions to the US Congress (The Alliance for Retired Americans, Of ficial Website, 2014). In general, the ARA helps current retirees to succeed in protecting their rights.