The Needed Adaptability for ERP Systems - Enterprise Information Systems Design, Implementation and Management: Organizational Applications - page 199

common practice, proves the importance and
complexity of these processes in guaranteeing a
complete control of tasks, resources and associ-
ated costs. Even at a stage of “cruising speed” (in
which, finally, the company begins to truly enjoy
the usage of an integrated system), any change
is considered (by company managers) a cost for
the organization, even when ranked as essential
to answer to a new market adversity. According
to Oliveira (2004), the impact that Information
Systems and Technologies have in the lifecycle
of organizations is such that a simple study on
their information systems is enough to classify
them (as innovative) in the market.
These “pessimistic” thoughts have been
growing since managers realized that they in-
vest continuously (and highly) on technical and
human factors for an ERP system that responds,
only partially, to the expectations that have been
set. According to Davenport (1998), the growing
number of horror stories about failed or out-of-
control projects certainly gives managers a pause.
Nowadays, any change becomes subject of a
“deep” financial analysis and hard consideration
by managers.
The following topics summarize some of the
factors influencing the decision of managers,
concerning the change or customization of an
ERP system in their organization:

support the organization's goal. Such an approach
might cause some workers to refuse to change to
the new system!
Another author enhances the human factor
(Courtois, 2006), defending that the success of
a system depends on the people's motivation re-
garding the implementation project, in the sense
that they need to know exactly which are their
expectations and to follow organization's interests.
Besides that, the period in which two applica-
tions run “in parallel” should also be considered
to ensure a continuous and “untailored” process.
Although this scenario seems to be the most se-
cure, in fact, it promote fatigue on users. Yusuf
(2004) has identified some risks related to human
concerns when implementing ERP Systems, such
as resistance to change to new process methods by
management and supervision; possible failure to
cut over to the new system through an inability to
load data; possible failure to cut over to the new
system through the inappropriate system testing
of volume, stress and data conversion.

implementation costs (finance)

According to Bingi (1999), the total cost of imple-
mentation could be three to five times the purchase
price of the ERP system. The implementation costs
increase as the degree of customization increases.
The cost of hiring consultants and all that goes
with it can consume up to 30 percent of the overall
budget for the implementation, thus making this
stage one of the most expensive. Besides that, it's
one of the stages that is most “affected” when a
reengineering decision is applied or when a wrong
analysis is made, since it gathers the business rules
definition and customization procedures.

organizational changes (human)

As already mentioned, an ERP system can “force”
changes on organization's structures, and there-
fore, user's adaption to new functions and work
procedures. According to Davenport (1998), an
enterprise system imposes its own logic on a
company's strategy, culture and organization.
Umble (2003) described that even the most
flexible ERP system imposes its own logic on
a company's strategy, organization, and culture.
Thus, implementing an ERP system may force
the reengineering of key business processes and/
or the development of new business processes to

supplier dependency

When an organization buys an ERP system, it be-
comes, in a certain way, dependent of its software
supplier/partner to configure and parameterize the
system. After the implementation stage, high-cost