Chapter 15: End-of-Chapter Questions
1. An EntIS is a computer-based system
that accumulates all of the standard accounting data of a firm in an integrated
manner. ERP software processes the data gathered by the EntIS to produce
information used to manage the firm’s resources. ERP software is used in
conjunction with that of business area information systems and the executive
information system to provide complete information support for decision making.
2. Driving forces behind the EntIS efforts
of the 1990s included Y2K fears, the increasing cost of in-house software
development, mergers and acquisitions, and competitive pressure.
3. A back office system has an internal,
rather than environmental, focus.
4. Leading ERP software vendors are SAP
with 50% of the $10 billion 1998 revenues, Oracle with 21%,
PeopleSoft with 13%, J D Edwards with 9%, and Baan with 7%.
5. Economic
feasibility is the ability of a project to produce a return on the firm’s
investment. Technical feasibility is the ability of a system design to be
achievable with existing technology. Operational feasibility is the ability of
a system to achieve its objectives within resource constraints imposed by the
organization.
6. Operational feasibility is the most
difficult to attain because the standardized ERP software may clash with the
organizational culture. Firms that offer unique services may find it difficult
or impossible to adapt to standardized routines.
7. Phased implementation of EntIS is
popular since the task is so large that it is best accomplished in pieces.
Parallel implementation is infeasible due to unrealistic costs, and direct
implementation presents too great a hazard in the case of failure.
8. EntIS training occurs before, during,
and after implementation.
9. EntIS failure can occur when the key
users fail to understand the business processes with which they interact, when
standardized routines are imposed that are counter to established and accepted
practices, and when uniformly enthusiastic support does not exist at the top-management
level.
10. An organization would retry EntIS
implementation when it recognized the cause or causes of the failure, as in the
case of Eastman Kodak Company.
11. Use of a Web browser to interface with
ERP software is a good idea because internal users are likely to already be
familiar with the operation, and the browser can be customized to meet unique
user needs.
12. EntIS portals were designed to support
business-to-business transactions. The small scale and complex exception routines
of business-to-customer transactions are much more difficult to handle.
13. Database management capabilities are
being added to HTML, enabling those commands to be acted upon by the Web
browser. Future ERP applications would not be required to interface with
traditional database management systems.
Topics for Discussion
1. Student findings will vary. You can
guide the discussion by considering training, user group support (such as
Sapphire meetings for SAP products), consulting, and other services.
2. The effect of the EntIS will vary based
on the school. Perhaps as an additional exercise, you and the students can
select a second school with contrasting resources, culture, and reputation and
compare those impacts with those on your school. Have students discuss how an
EntIS would help unify the diverse information systems mentioned in the
question.