MN3535 Business Process Applications
Academic Year 2022 –2023
Individual Assignment (30%)
Submission Deadline: 12pm 14th Feb 2023
Asmat Monaghan
MN3535_202223_30%_Assessment1_v0.01.docx Page 1 of 5
The Assignment Task
Write a 1500-word paper in response to ONE of the following three options:
OPTION 1: Reasons for ERP Failures
It can be established that ERP integrates the entire organisation and serves as the primary engine for an
organisation’s activities. It is also clear that ERP can be an expensive software to implement. Implementing
ERP systems bring transformational change to an organization. Many ERP implementations can fail due to a
range of reasons.
Choose 10 failure case studies, provide a brief overview about the case and examine the reason for failures
by applying the ERP lifecycle approach – Pre Implementation, Project Management, Post Implementation
phases.
• What criteria did you adopt while choosing the case studies?
• What conclusions can be drawn from the analysis?
• Develop a list of best practices that can be drawn for future adoption.
Guidance
• Ensure that at least 3 cases are analysed per phase;
• Adopt explicit criteria for choosing case studies and include information on the cases that were rejected
with some examples;
• Use only authentic and credible publications, e.g. peer-revied journals or trade publications such
CIO.com;
• Ensure ERP failure is defined by referring to established ERP literature;
• Try to quantify each failure and investigate how it affected the organization;
• Identify common themes from your findings, with cross mapping from literature;
• List best practices that organisations must adopt while implementing ERP systems to mitigate the risk
of future failures, supporting this list with relevant references;
MN3535 Business Process Applications (Academic Year 2022 –2023) – Individual Assignment (30%)
Submission Deadline: 12pm Tuesday 14th Feb 2023
Asmat Monaghan
MN3535_202223_30%_Assessment1_v0.01.docx Page 2 of 5
OPTION 2: Applications Architecture – Mergers & Acquisitions
Digital transformation is the latest buzz word with organizations across the globe who are investing millions
to enhance their digital capabilities. Organizations consumption of computing resources have evolved from
traditional in-house hosting and development to Software-as-a-Service (SAAS) and cloud computing.
Simultaneously application architecture has evolved from traditional monolithic architecture to micro
services, service oriented, as well as serverless and cloud based architecture.
Reading the following will help you understand some of the choices available for organizations
Analysis of Approaches for Effective Applications Development in Monolith, Service-Oriented and
Microservice Architecture (foibg.com)
Critically evaluate the role of application architecture in successful mergers and acquisitions.
Guidance
• Define the terminologies from established credible sources;
• Examine the differences, advantages and disadvantages of various application architectures;
• Explore how the application architecture influences organizational performance and its effect on
successful and failed mergers and acquisitions;
• Use examples to support your point.
MN3535 Business Process Applications (Academic Year 2022 –2023) – Individual Assignment (30%)
Submission Deadline: 12pm Tuesday 14th Feb 2023
Asmat Monaghan
MN3535_202223_30%_Assessment1_v0.01.docx Page 3 of 5
OPTION 3: ERP Systems – Past, Present and Future
ERP systems have been around since 1990s and virtually all organizations of significant size have some sort
of ERP package.
Against this background write a report that analyses the market for ERP software.
Your report should attempt to answer the following questions:
• What are the current trends related to ERP adoption?
o Who are adopting and why are they adopting;
• How has the capability of ERP software emerged over the years?
• Who are the key software vendors and what are their priorities?
• What is the future outlook for ERP software market?
The above questions are just an indicative in nature and feel free to inject your creativity. You can choose a
specific geographical area, e.g. the UK, or undertake global market analysis.
Guidance
• Research market trends for ERP software from multiple perspectives;
• Identify key ERP providers and evaluate their growth strategy;
• Examine global market for ERP and express them in terms of regions, i.e. Europe, Middle East and
Africa (EMEA), Asia Pacific (APAC), Americas (Canada, USA and South American countries) etc.;
• Classify customers in terms of size like small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), Mid-Market,
Large; OR ‘industries’, e.g. finance, manufacturing, etc.;
• Map regions and customer segments to identify the key growth areas;
• Use charts and tables to support your discussion and depict trends.
MN3535 Business Process Applications (Academic Year 2022 –2023) – Individual Assignment (30%)
Submission Deadline: 12pm Tuesday 14th Feb 2023
Asmat Monaghan
MN3535_202223_30%_Assessment1_v0.01.docx Page 4 of 5
Requirements and Constraints
• The word limit for your report is 1,500 words. References, tables and figures are not included in the
word count.
• Please include your student id and total word count on your submission’s cover page.
• Please name your assignment’s electronic file as follows: MN3535_candidate id
• You should write in prose, this is essentially an essay; bullet points (numbered or otherwise) are only
feasible if used to list key information.
• All text should be Times New Roman, with sizing and styles as follows:
− Main text → 12pt
− Heading level 1 → 14pt bold
− Heading level 2 → 13pt bold
− Heading level 3 → 12pt bold
• Text must be left-justified with 1.5 line spacing.
• Ensure your number your pages and your headings/subheadings.
• Caption all figures and tables. Captions must include a number and descriptor.
• Knowledge, information, figures, charts and tables sourced from elsewhere must always be cited and
referenced.
• Discuss, evaluate, analyse, critique etc. do not mean describe. Explore the different viewpoints in the
literature. Use the literature to support your arguments.
• Minimise the use of quotes as this suggests that you didn’t fully understand what you read therefore
could not paraphrase it or synthesis it to support your argument.
• All citing and referencing must be in the Harvard Academic style. For this it may help to refer to:
− Harvard Referencing and Intro Writing Skills
− Harvard Referencing (10-minute slideshow)
− Understanding Citations vs. References (3-minute-read)
• This assignment must be submitted by 12:00pm Tuesday 14th February 2023.
• Marking is anonymous therefore please do not include your name in the report.
• Please ensure you carefully read the ‘Turnitin Student Guide’ before you submit your assignment.
This is available for download on the course Moodle page.
Please see Section 7 (Page 11) of RHUL School of Business and Management’s Undergraduate Student
Handbook for information on late submissions and exceeding the upper limits of assignments.
MN3535 Business Process Applications (Academic Year 2022 –2023) – Individual Assignment (30%)
Submission Deadline: 12pm Tuesday 14th Feb 2023
Asmat Monaghan
MN3535_202223_30%_Assessment1_v0.01.docx Page 5 of 5
Rubric
Criteria Marks ≥ 82 72, 75, 78 62, 65, 68 52, 55, 58 42, 45, 48 35 25 15 0
Qualities 25 Outstanding,
broad
understanding and
description
Excellent, broad
understanding and
description
===
Based on your instructions, you have provided three options for the assignment, and you need to write a 1500-word paper in response to one of them.
Option 1: Reasons for ERP Failures
Option 2: Applications Architecture – Mergers & Acquisitions
Option 3: ERP Systems – Past, Present, and Future
====>
Reasons for ERP Failures
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems are critical components of many organizations as they integrate the entire organization and serve as the primary engine for an organization’s activities. Despite the many benefits of ERP systems, implementation can be expensive and can often fail due to a range of reasons. In this paper, we will examine 10 failure case studies and analyze the reasons for failure by applying the ERP lifecycle approach – Pre-Implementation, Project Management, and Post-Implementation phases.
Case Studies
Pre-Implementation: Hershey Foods
In 1999, Hershey Foods embarked on an ERP implementation project with SAP as the chosen vendor. However, the project was plagued with many problems from the start and eventually had to be cancelled. The reasons for the failure included poor project management, inadequate change management, and a lack of clear project goals.
Pre-Implementation: Federal Express
Federal Express (FedEx) attempted to implement an ERP system in 1999, but the project was plagued with problems from the start. The main reason for the failure was a lack of adequate project planning, including insufficient testing and inadequate risk management.
Project Management: Boston University
Boston University implemented an ERP system in 1999, but the project was plagued with problems from the start. The main reasons for the failure included poor project management, inadequate training, and a lack of clear project goals.
Post-Implementation: ASML Holding
ASML Holding implemented an ERP system in 2000, but the project was plagued with problems from the start. The main reasons for the failure included poor data quality, inadequate training, and a lack of clear project goals.
Post-Implementation: Caterpillar Inc.
Caterpillar Inc. implemented an ERP system in 2000, but the project was plagued with problems from the start. The main reasons for the failure included poor data quality, inadequate training, and a lack of clear project goals.
Pre-Implementation: Sony
Sony attempted to implement an ERP system in 2001, but the project was plagued with problems from the start. The main reasons for the failure included poor project management, inadequate change management, and a lack of clear project goals.
Project Management: Royal Bank of Scotland
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) implemented an ERP system in 2001, but the project was plagued with problems from the start. The main reasons for the failure included poor project management, inadequate training, and a lack of clear project goals.
Post-Implementation: PPG Industries
PPG Industries implemented an ERP system in 2001, but the project was plagued with problems from the start. The main reasons for the failure included poor data quality, inadequate training, and a lack of clear project goals.
Pre-Implementation: Nestle
Nestle attempted to implement an ERP system in 2002, but the project was plagued with problems from the start. The main reasons for the failure included poor project management, inadequate change management, and a lack of clear project goals.
Project Management: Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble (P&G) implemented an ERP system in 2002, but the project was plagued with problems from the start. The main reasons for the failure included poor project management, inadequate training, and a lack of clear project goals.
From the analysis of the 10 case studies, it is clear that ERP failures can occur due to a range of reasons. The most common reasons include poor project management, inadequate training, and a lack of clear project goals. In addition
