I saw an article over at SmartChange™ about ERP and the Business of Change. It got me thinking of the culture and business practices I witnessed at my last job at USG. All three main points Marcelino Sanchez reviewed hit very close to home.
Individual Change… An individual may be confronted with a new user interface, a new “best practice”, a different way to make decisions, or any number of new requirements. When this is the case, individuals will tend to experience one or more of the following five key factors: fear, anxiety, confusion, loss of control, or erosion of power or influence in the organization. The more an individual feels any of these emotions, the less likely they are to accept the new way of doing things. Lack of acceptance will diminish or delay the benefits of the ERP effort…
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I just read an article in the Chicago Tribune about the different types of beeps CTA fare boxes make on buses. After reading it, I could not stop thinking about the decision making process the CTA used when designing the form and functionality behind the fare boxes, Chicago Card readers, and fare acceptance process.
If I were designing the bus fare system and process I would have done the following:
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The US Government has embarked upon a mission to convert all US TV broadcast from analog to digital. For more information on the history and details on the conversion go to Wikipedia or to the Government DTV site. Here is my analysis.
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At USG we have many white boards in our conference rooms, and most of them are accompanied by Egan brand dry erase markers. Every time someone starts to use one of the markers, I get rather agitated; the odor of the markers is nearly unbearable. This is not just my thought, it is a belief that I share with others; I have witnessed my boss commenting on how badly the markers smell as he crinkles his nose. The strangest thing is, my coworkers who use the markers use them like they have no idea they smell so badly.
I decided to take things into my own hands, as I usually do, and I sent a letter to the manufacturer of the markers. It appears as though they couldn’t care less how badly they smell, as long as they produce “maximum satisfaction” when erasing. Now, I don’t know what sort of person only rates a marker based on its erasability, or what person only asked the focus group to rate its “erasability” and not anything else, but the ENTIRE experience of using the marker should be factored into the “satisfaction”. I’ll tell you this; I will not be investing in Egan if their thought process is so convoluted.
Here is the e-mail chain:
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The other week I wanted to set up a direct deposit into my Roth IRA through work, so that a portion of every paycheck went into my Roth IRA. The experience was interesting, to say the least. It got me thinking… Why do large corporations make erroneous decisions?
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