Masters Thesis 7[1]

8/8/2019 Masters Thesis 7[1]

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Abstract

The study seeks to investigate The Factors affecting the implementation of enterprise

Systems (ERP). Many organizations globally are adopting ERP systems but little research

currently exists in this area. It is increasingly evident that our continued prosperity as nations,

communities, and ultimately as individuals is closely linked to our ability to create and

maintain profitable, competitive and sustainable business and institutional enterprises. Such

enterprises require the organization of aggregated basic resources.

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) aims to maximize the use of all the resources in an

organization. These resources include: the employees and their skills and competencies; thebusiness processes, procedures and organizational structure; the IT systems which support the

various business areas. The ERP vision promises one database and one user interface across an

entire multi-site enterprise. Taking information from every business area, ERP helps managers

and employees plan, monitor and control the entire business. Improved control of resources

means greater efficiency and effectiveness.

This research paper investigates the factors affecting ERP systems implementations. The

research study will be based in Nairobi and will mainly focus on Safaricom Ltd, a leading

organization in the Information and Communication Technology (I.C.T) industry. The main

result of this study is to provide a clear framework for organizations that want to attain a

strong competitive advantage at the same time enhance a long-term reduction of its costs.

The data collection methods to be used include questionnaires both structured and

unstructured, literature research in both primary and secondary data.

The sampling technique to be adopted is stratified random sampling technique considering that

the population has similar characteristics. Data analysis will be done using descriptive

statistics. This will involve the use of percentages and cross tabulations

The findings that will be obtained at the end of the study are purposed to act as a guideline on

the major factors facing ERP systems implementation and how organizations can adopt them.


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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Companies have abandoned legacy systems in favor of a new class of comprehensive

packaged application software designed to integrate the core corporate activities of an

organization. Variously called Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, enterprise-wide

systems, or enterprise systems, ERP systems are the software tools used to manage all the

enterprise's data, and to provide information to those who need it when they need it. These

systems help organizations deal with their supply chain: receiving, inventory management,

customer order management, production planning and managing, shipping, accounting, humanresource management, and all other activities that take place in a modern business

The purpose was to integrate all facets of the business enterprise under one suite of software

applications. The definition of ERP would be broadened to include almost any type of large

integrated software package. Webopedia provides a generalized definition of ERP as a

business management system that integrates all facets of the business, including planning,

manufacturing, sales, and marketing. Some of the more well-known ERP software developers

include SAP, Oracle, and PeopleSoft (Avison et al. 2001).

An enterprise resource planning system (ERP) is a packaged business software system that lets

a company; automate and integrate the majority of its business processes, share common data

and practices across the enterprise, produce and access information in a real-time environment.

Through collapse of many companies, especially parastatals, one learns that a good pay as

well as a big title is not enough to get the best talent and retain it. Its all about the working

environment. Information systems exist in most peoples working lives. It is now generally

accepted that the information system world is one where human, social and organizational

factors are as important as the technological (Avison et al. 2001).

ERPs are said to improve decision-making activities, increase competitive advantage,

centralize control and affect competitors behavior. ERP has diffused many best practice

processes into the system. The high cost of adoption (average of $15 million per system) also

justifies investigation (Koch et al. 1999) and the most common areas for budget overruns have

been identified by Koch as: training, integration and testing, data conversion and data analysis.


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1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Business houses always find great difficulty in quickly making out the required information

because of the voluminous data, improper segregation, departmental arrangements and

unprecedented delays. Organizations are constantly searching for some means or mode to

overcome this debacle. The inconvenience is not only pinching on monetary profits but also

antagonized customers who are made to wait for a long time for a small piece of data.

An effective business strategy centers on an aggressive, efficient use of information

technology; for this reason the ERP systems have emerged as the core of successful

information management, and the enterprise backbone of the organization. A successful ERP

system will streamline processes within a company and improve its overall effectiveness,while providing a means to externally enhance competitive performance, increase

responsiveness to customers, and support strategic initiatives.

Currently in Kenya, many organizations are yet to benefit from the implementation of ERP

systems. With the many bureaucratic structures existing in organizations and key policies

governing organizations, it has become difficult for them to implement key I.C.T systems that

reduce the number of these structures and computerize key functions and tasks. Many Kenyan

organizations seek to achieve competitive advantage and maintain a strong corporate image,

but they tend to lose millions of shillings trying to make I.C.T infrastructure adaptable to their

own organizational requirements. It is therefore important for organizations to understand the

impact that Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) can bring into enhancing their firms. On the

other hand, it is also important for these organizations to understand the factors that lead to the

implementation of ERP systems.

Gargeya and Brady (2005) state that an ERP success can be a complete success one in which

everything goes off without a hitch, or one in which there are few alignment problems,

resulting in minor inconvenience or downtime. Some of the blame for failures in ERP

implementation lies with the enormous technical challenges of rolling out enterprise systems

these systems are profoundly complex pieces of software and installing them requires large

investments of money, time, and expertise. But the technical challenges, however great, are

not the main reason enterprise systems failed. The biggest problems are business problems.


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Companies fail to reconcile the technological imperatives of the enterprise system with the

business needs of the enterprise itself (Davenport, 1998).

ERP is not intended for every business (Gargeya and Brady, 2005). When considering the

decision to invest in an ERP system, a business case must be developed to provide an

understanding of ERP, and to formally assess the benefits that the company- as an individual

entity apart from its competitors can expect to achieve. The analysis must consider not only

the obvious cost/benefits analysis, but also the non-financial factors. Non-financial benefits

include information visibility and flexibility (Sandoe et al., 2001).

ERP implementation can reap enormous benefits for successful companies-or it can bedisastrous for organizations that fail to manage the implementation process. We must ask

ourselves two critical questions, How can ERP systems be implemented successfully? and

What are the factors that affect ERP systems implementation? (Holland and Light, 1999).


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GENERAL OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The general objective of this study is to investigate the factors affecting the implementation of

E.R.Ps in organizations, and highlight the requirements of ERP systems implementation in an

organization showing a clear framework and plan of action.

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES:

To clearly bring out the factors that should be taken into consideration for organizationsseeking to improve their business performance through the use of Enterprise Resource

Planning.

To highlight the significance brought about by an Enterprise Resource Planning systemimplementation within an organization in achievement of organizational growth and

expansion, so as to maintain a competitive advantage.

To highlight the reasons as to why these factors have a direct impact on implementation ofan ERP system and what could be the causes of failure of an ERP system in spite of a

well-structured organization.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The following are some of the research questions that will be answered during the course of

this research paper.

1) Should the quest for ERP systems consider the corporate and organizational factors thatexist in the environment?

2) In what manner does the organizations senior management and the project managementteam determine the success or failure of the ERP systems implementation?

3) Is availability of financial resources and the technical expertise the only requirements thatdetermine the success/failure of an organizations ERP system implementation?


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JUSTIFICATION OF THE STUDY

The main purpose of the study is to clearly bring out the factors affecting the implementation

of ERP systems. The research tends to look at various aspects of the Enterprise Resource

Planning system, acknowledging the fact that it is a concept that is gaining in importance and

recognition and especially in large organizations.

Achieving business process improvement and control is also a key investment incentive.

These include operational or tangible benefits (cost reduction, improvements in cycle times,

productivity, quality and customer services) (Willis 2002); managerial benefits (improved

resource management, decision making, planning and performance); and organizational

benefits (support to organizational changes, facilitation of business learning, empowermentand building common visions) (Shang and Seddon 2000).

ERP systems also may offer competitive advantage through providing better service to

customers as well as internal stakeholders by making organizational data available for client

use. A system which allows clients to place orders, view previous orders, change their

organizational details, view the delivery or shipment status of their order and pay online, is

meeting client information needs in addition to improving improved organizational data

management capability. A successful ERP system allows an organization to present a single

face (one-stop-shop) to the client, to strengthen supplier partnerships and gain competitive

advantage by doing so (Willis 2001).

An enterprise system streamlines a companys data flows and provides management with

direct access to a wealth of real-time operating information. For many companies, these

benefits have translated into dramatic gains in productivity and speed. ERP predicts and

balances demand and supply.

An ERP system is a way doing things different in an organization and especially in enhancing

expansion and growth of enterprises. Thus the significance of ERP systems in organizations is

an important element that will be considered and especially in regard to whether an

organization will succeed or fail in its implementation. The study will also look at how ERP

systems can be implemented to ensure optimum efficiency in business operations.


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LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

1) Due to the nature of organizations and especially their rigidity in policy making anddecision making, many may not fully understand the whole concept of Enterprise

Resource Planning (ERP).

2) Only a number of organizations in particular industries have fully or partly implementedthe ERP system but not in other industrial sectors. Theres more concentration in a

particular industrial sector than in others.


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CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 INTRODUCTION

In order to survive in a rapidly changing business environment, organizations must improve

their own business practices and procedures. Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems can

be considered as the most important development in the corporate use of information

technology and are beginning to be the backbone of organizations. This section aims at

looking at the relevant literature so as to form a basis of the study. It starts by looking at the

Theoretical Literature and then the Empirical Literature.

THEORETICAL LITERATURE:Information systems development has been conceptualized in past research as a process that

leads to a decision about the choice, design and development of an information system. Past

research findings suggest that the effectiveness or success of an information system depends

on a variety of factors, most importantly those relating to the extent of user participation and

involvement in system development, the extent of business process and needs assessment

during the analysis stage of the systems development process, and the level of data integration

designed into the system. In a similar fashion, researchers in the fields of management

decision making have promoted the shared assumption that a better designed information

system would contribute to the efficiency with which organizational functions are carried out

and the effectiveness of attaining desired outcomes (Willis 2001).

ERP is the process of integrating all the business functions and processes in an organization to

achieve numerous benefits. First, a single point of data entry helps to reduce data redundancy

while saving employees time in entering data, thereby reducing labor and overhead costs.

Second, the centralization of information, decision-making, and control leads to increases in

efficiencies of operations and productivity, as well as coordination between departments,

divisions, regions, and even countries (Willis 2001).

Consequently, the factors that influence the process of system development would also have a

significant effect on both organizational performance and user perceptions about the system

after its implementation and continued use in an organization, that is, during its post-

implementation stage (Galbraith 1995).


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FACTORS AFFECTING ERP SYSTEMS IMPLEMENTATION:

Implementing an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system project is a difficult and high

cost proposition as it places tremendous demands on organizations time and resources.

Factors affecting ERP implementation are complex and abundant and numerous authors have

identified a variety of factors that can be considered to be the factors affecting ERP

implementation1.

A description of these factors is described below:

1. Organizational Culture and Change Effort:The following definition will be adopted to enable a clear understanding of what is meant by

organizational culture: A patterned system of perceptions, meanings, and beliefs about the organization which

facilitates sense-making among a group of people sharing common experiences. It emerges

from the social interaction of organizational members and is the product of shared symbols

and meanings.

Derived from (Bloor and Dawson 1994) and (Bright and Cooper 1993)

Organizational cultures are resistant to change (Meyerson and Martin 1987). A crucial

characteristic of most information systems is that individuals are required to change their

behavior (Lucas Jnr 1981, p2). In regard to organizational change and information systems,

four key characteristics have been identified: the content, the social context, the social process,

and the context/process linkage (Walsham 1993). Consideration of these factors in

combination will increase the chance of successful change.

Cultural change requires a thorough understanding of how cultures work, what factors about

them are likely to produce what sorts of resistance to change in a given situation, and what

levers cultures offer for producing change (Gagliardi 1990). The potential diversity of human

behavior can lead to chaos and chaos can be threatening as new uncertainties arise. Some

suggest that cultures cover up the disorder of existence and construct a precarious social

reality that keeps chaos at bay (Gagliardi 1990).

Companies have realized the essence of culture, that change is the next buzz word taking the

corporate market by storm. But flawed corporate cultures are not exclusive to Kenyan

companies. The implementation of ERP systems ultimately results in changes to processes

1Umble, E.J., Haft, R.R., and Umble, M.M. (2003). Enterprise resource planning: implementationprocedures and critical success factors. European Journal of Operational Research, 146: 241-257.


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(business-oriented activities), which in turn inflicts changes to work practices (people-oriented

activities).

2. Top Management Support:Top management support has been consistently identified as the most important and crucial

success factor in ERP system implementation projects [4]. (Slevin, 1996) define top

management to provide the necessary resources and authority or power for project success.

Top management support in ERP implementation has two main facets: (1) providing

leadership; and (2) providing the necessary resources. To implement ERP system successfully,

management should monitor the implementation progress and provide clear direction of the

project. They must be willing to allow for a mindset change by accepting that a lot of learninghas to be done at all levels, including themselves.

A successful implementation is only achievable when high-level executives have a strong

commitment to the project (Davenport, 2000). The attitude of senior managers will affect not

only the flow of funds and information to the project, but also the subordinates view the

project, its future impact upon the company as a whole, and its impact upon the employees as

valued and capable individuals. Top management support is needed throughout the

implementation. The project must receive approval from top management and align with

strategic business goals (Summer, 1999). This can by tying management bonuses to project

success (Wee, 2000).

Top management needs to publicly and explicitly identify the project as a top priority (Wee,

2000). Senior management must be committed with its own involvement and willingness to

allocate valuable resources to the implementation effort (Holland et al., 1999). This involves

providing the needed people for the implementation and giving appropriate amount of time to

get the job done.

3. Clear Goals and ObjectivesThis factor is related with concerns of project goals clarification and their congruence with the

organizational mission and strategic goals. Clear goals and objectives are essential to guide an

ongoing organizational effort for ERP implementation as it usually exceeds the time frame for

a typical business project. Clear goals and objectives were the third most critical success

factors in a study of MRP implementation. It is important to set the goals of the project before

even seeking top management support [14]. The triple constraint of project management

specifies three often competing and interrelated goals that need to be met: scope, time, and


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cost goals. There must also be clear definitions of goals, expectations, and deliverables.

Finally, the organization must carefully define why the ERP system is being implemented and

what critical business needs the system will address (Rosario, 2000).

4. Planning/Development/budgetingPlanning a sophisticated ERP project should not be taken lightly or with little forethought.

There are enormous potential costs associated with such an undertaking. In addition to the

high costs paid out, there can be major expenses incurred by companies that were unable to

fully develop a comprehensive plan. Planning should be closely identified with maintaining

scope during an implementation. Cost overruns and developmental delays are costly,

sometimes fatal results of ineffective planning (Gargeya and Brady, 2005).A clear business plan and vision to steer the direction of the project is needed throughout the

ERP life cycle. A business plan that outlines proposed strategic and tangible benefits,

resources, costs, risks and timeline is critical (Wee, 2000). This will help keep focus on

business benefits.

There should be a clear business model of how the organization should operate after the

implementation effort (Holland et al., 1999). There should be a justification for the investment

based on a problem and the change tied directly to the direction of the company. Project

mission should be related to business needs and should be clearly stated. Goals and benefits

should be identified and tracked. The business plan would make work easier and impact on

work (Rosario, 2000).

5. Effective Project ManagementProject Management involves the use of skills and knowledge in coordinating the scheduling

and monitoring of defined activities to ensure that the stated objectives of implementation

projects are achieved. The formal project implementation plan defines project activities,

commits personnel to those activities, and promotes organizational support by organizing the

implementation process. There are five major parts of project management:

a) Having a formal implementation plan,b) A realistic time frame,c) Having periodic project status meetings,d) Having an effective project leader who is also a champion, ande) Having project team members who are stakeholders.


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The team can have a mix of consultants and internal staff so that the internal staff develop the

necessary technical skills for design and implementation (Sumner, 1999). Both business and

technical knowledge are essential for success. The ERP project should be their top and only

priority and their workload should be manageable (Wee, 2000).

6. Business Process ReengineeringAnother important factor that is critical for the implementation is the Business Process

Reengineering. It is defined by as the fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of business

processes to achieve dramatic improvements in critical, contemporary measures of

performance, such as cost, quality, service and speed. Organizations should be willing tochange their businesses to fit the ERP software in order to minimize the degree of

customization needed. The implementation of ERP requires examination of many business

processes, which believed to be one of the important and beneficial results of the

implementation of ERP system. Dimensions concerning business process reengineering are:

a) Companys willingness to reengineering,

b) Companys readiness for change, and

c) Companys capability of reengineering.

Aligning the business process to the software implementation is critical. Organizations should

be willing to change the business to fit the software with minimal customization (Holland et

al., 1999). The software should not be modified, as far as possible (Sumner, 1999).

Modifications should be avoided to reduce errors and to take advantage of newer versions and

releases (Rosario, 2000).

7. Change ManagementChange management is a primary concern of many organizations involved in ERP project

implementation. Many ERP implementations fail to achieve expected benefits, possibly

because companies underestimate the efforts involved in change management.

Esteves, J and Pastor, J. (2001) identify organizational change is the body of knowledge that is

used to ensure that a complex change, like that associated with a new big information system,

gets the right results, in the right timeframe, at the right costs. Generally, one of the main

obstacles facing ERP implementation is resistance to change. Gupta (2000), points out that the

resistance to change is one of the main hurdles faced by most companies. Resistance can be

destructive since it can create conflicts between actors, it can be very time consuming. To


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implement an ERP systems successfully, the way organizations do business will need to

change and ways people do their jobs will need to change as well [12].[13] propose the

recurring improvisational change methodology as a useful technique for identifying,

managing, and tracking changes in implementing an ERP system. Change Management is

important and one of the critical success factors identified in the literature. It is imperative for

success of implementation project starting at the initial phase and continuing throughout the

entire life cycle.

8. Technological InfrastructureAdequate IT infrastructure, hardware and networking are crucial for an ERP systems success.

It is clear that ERP implementation involves a complex transition from legacy informationsystems and business processes to an integrated IT infra-structure and common business

process throughout the organization. Hardware selection is driven by the firms choice of an

ERP software package. The ERP software vendor generally certifies which hardware (and

hardware configurations) must be used to run the ERP system. This factor has been considered

critical by the practitioners and as well as by the researchers. Two aspects should be cared

when selecting software and hardware:

a) Compatibility of software/hardware and companys needs, andb) Ease of customization.

9. User training and EducationIn ERP implementation process many projects fail in the end due to lack of proper training.

Many researchers consider users training and education to be an important factor of the

successful ERP implementation. The main reason for education and training program for ERP

implementation is to make the user comfortable with the system and increase the expertise and

knowledge level of the people. ERP related concept, features of ERP system, and hands on

training are all important dimensions of training program for ERP implementation. Training is

not only using the new system, but also in new processes and in understanding the integration

within the system how the work of one employee influences the work of others.

EMPIRICAL LITERATURE


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ERP IMPLEMENTATION

The implementation of an ERP changes the way organizations do business and how people

carry out their work (Koch et al. 1999). Three major motivations for implementing ERPs

have been identified by (Koch et al. 1999): to integrate financial data, to standardize

manufacturing processes, to standardize HR information.

(Koch et al. 1999) also discusses three common approaches to ERP systems implementation in

organizations. As the number of modules being implemented increases, there is a shift from a

big-bang to a phased approach. The phased approach is used at the research site.

Big bang This approach enables organizations to cast off all their legacy systems at onceand implement a single ERP system across the entire organization. This is the mostambitious and difficult of approaches to ERP implementation.

Franchise Strategy This strategy, also referred to in literature as phasedimplementation, suits large or diverse companies that dont share many common

processes across business units. Independent ERP systems are installed in each unit, while

linking common processes.

This is the most common way of implementing ERP and it allows the systems to link

together only to share the information necessary for the corporation to get a performance

big picture across all the business units.

Usually these implementations begin with a demonstration or pilot installation in a

particularly open-minded and patient business unit where the core business of the

corporation will not be disrupted if something goes wrong (Koch et al. 1999), as is the

case in this research.

Slam-dunk With this approach, ERP dictates the process design and the focus is on just afew key business processes. This implementation strategy is most appropriate for smaller

organizations.

The benefits and limitations of ERP implementations are well documented in the literature.


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ERP CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK ON BUSINESS PERSPECTIVE

CONCLUSION

The most significant change is that from a paper-based to electronic-based system. This

change is likely to be acceptable to the IT culture of the company as IT people generally prefer

to work with things electronically. The way that ERPs enable information to be uninhibited

by time and space limitations is also a substantial change. For example, users can gather data

at any time during the year therefore supporting planning activities.

The implementation projects of ERP systems are big, strategic and complex projects which

involve lots of risks, what is reflected on time, scope and costs of project implementation.

Because of that, companies have to create conditions, in which they can implement chosen

solution in expected time, scope and evaluated costs. This means, that companies should be

aware of what most factors of ERP implementations are.

Organization responsibility criterion cooperation mechanism Upper level support

Cross-organization team

Business challenges: Intensifying competition forcustomers Customer changing Market share declining Hi h inventor costs

Information system

Order information share &process control module On-line material purchaseroll planning module Production estimation &

planning module

Management Order process reengineering Purchase Plan improving R&D process reengineering IT knowledge management

Information technology Data integration computer networks Data communication

Fuzzy algorithm

Business solution:

Reduce inventory & fundpossession Increase customerSatisfactory Degree

More efficient cooperation

Ensure Success

Enable Realization


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This study aims to identify and evaluate the factors affecting ERP implementation in

organizations. Factors affecting ERP implementation are complex and abundant. A total of 9

factors for ERP implementation have been identified based on a review of the related

literature.

Variables and their measurement


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CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY

3.1 Introduction

The chapter presents a description of the data and methods used for analysis in the study. The

study will make use of primary data and the main method of analysis will be through

descriptive statistics.

The research will be carried out in Nairobi and will target the personnel at Safaricom Ltd, who

play a key role in the use of the system. It was mainly looking at the significant impact it has

had on the organization before implementation and also after implementation. This was also

meant to gauge the effectiveness and efficiency of the system within the organization and howit has enabled it to meet its goals and objectives and maintain a competitive advantage.

To gather the information, questionnaires were used, which were given to the various

employees at the branch level. Other instruments used were oral interviews.

TARGET POPULATION

The target population will be the employees of Safaricom Ltd focusing on 5 departments that

will be selected randomly because the ERP system is in place in all the departments within the

company. From the 5 departments, 7 respondents will be selected on a random basis.

SAMPLING PROCEDURE

The study will employ stratified random sampling technique in each of the 5 departments that

will be randomly selected; since the population has similar characteristics and most of the

activities in each of the department are identical thus they will tend to yield similar results.

SAMPLE SIZE

The study will have a total sample size of 35 respondents. Whereby 5 will be the respective

Heads of department and the remaining will be the staff members of the respective

departments at Safaricom Ltd.

DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURE

Data will be collected using self-administered questionnaires both structured and unstructured

and also the use of personal interviews. The data will mainly be primary.

DATA ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES

The technique of analysis will mainly be through the use of descriptive statistics.


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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Esteves, J. and Pastor, J., Analysis of critical success factors relevance along SAP

implementation phases. Proceedings of the 7th Americas Conference on Information Systems

(AMCIS), Boston, Massachusetts, USA, 2001.

Galbraith, J.R. (1995)Designing Organizations. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Gargeya, V.B. and Brady, C. (2005), Success and failure factors of adopting SAP in ERP

system implementation, Business Process Management Journal.

Govindarajan, V., and Fisher, J. (1990) Strategy, control systems, and resource sharing:

Effects on business unit performance. Academy of Management Journal, 33(June): 259-285.

Gupta (2000), Enterprise resource planning to emerging organizational value systems,

Industrial Management & Data System (100), pp.114 -118, 2000.

http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/E/ERP.html

Koch, Christopher (2004) CIO Magazine The ABCs of Enterprise Resource Planning. (7th

March 2002) The International Data Group, U.S.A.

Laudon, Kenneth. C & Laudon, Jane. P (2003) Essentials of Management Information

Systems, 5th ed. Prentice-Hall Inc., Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.

Nicolaou, A.I. (1999) Social control in information systems development.Information

Technology & People 12 (2): 130-147.

Sumner, (1999), Critical Success factors in enterprise wide information management systems

project, Proceedings of the Americas Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS), 232-4.

Wee, S. (2000), Juggling toward ERP success: keep key success factors high,

www.infoline.com.


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APPENDICES

APPENDIX 1

FINANCIAL BUDGET

Particulars Total cost (Kshs)

Stationery 2000

Transport 4000

Typing expenses 600

Printing expenses 1800

Communication expenses 2500

Binding 400

Contingencies 3000

Totals 14300

APPENDIX 2

TIME SCHEDULE

Administrative and collection of questionnaires 3 weeks

Data analysis and interpretation 3 weeks

Writing the first draft 1 week

Typing and editing 1 week

Final copy 2 weeks

Total time 12 weeks

YOUR QUESTIONNAIRE IS INCOMPLETE


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APPENDIX 3

QUESTIONNAIRE

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am a student at Kenya Methodist University pursuing a Masters degree in Business

Administration specializing in Strategic Management. The following is a questionnaire for my

research study I am conducting, titled The Factors Affecting ERP systems

Implementation.

Please indicate with a tick ( ) your choices, in the spaces provided for questions with optionand for the rest give a brief answer.

The information obtained will be used strictly for academic purposes and will be treated as

strictly confidential and will not be discussed with any other third party.

1) Name.(optional)

2) Gender/Sex: Male Female

3) What is your age bracket? (Tick One)i) 20-30 years ( )

ii) 30-40 years ( )iii) 40-50 years ( )iv) Above 50 years ( )

4) How long have you worked in the organization? (Tick One)i) 0-5 years ( )

ii) 6-10 years ( )iii) 11-15 years ( )iv) Above 15years ( )


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SECTION B

5) Briefly describe your duties and responsibility within the organization.

....

6) Were you in the current position during your institutions ERP implementation? Select theanswer that best fits your circumstance.

i) I was in my position before the planning for ERP began ( )ii) I was in my position after planning, but before implementation began ( )

iii) I was hired during the implementation ( )iv) I was hired after the product was implemented ( )

7) How would you describe your involvement in your institutions ERP implementation?i) I was the executive sponsor/co-sponsor for the project ( )

ii) I was the project leader ( )iii) I was part of the management team ( )iv) I served as a functional or technical specialist ( )v) I was partially involved ( )

vi) I was not directly involved ( )


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8) There are a number of factors that influence (either positively or negatively) theimplementation of ERP systems. In line with the implementation of your organizations

ERP system, how would you rate the following in terms of their effect on implementation.

(tick as appropriate)

Factors Affecting ERP Systems

implementation

Very High High Average Low Very Low

Organizational Culture

Top Management Support

Clear goals and objectives

Planning/development and

budgetingEffective Project Management

Business Process Reengineering

Change Management

Technology Infastructure

User Training and Education

Masters Thesis 7[1]

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