After spending enormous amounts of time and money, not to mention the tremendous emotional and social resources, it’s hard to imagine that conscientious parents wouldn’t be able to answer that question. But every so often it happens. Kids grow up, change, and become difficult to manage. The controls that were originally in place don’t apply, and as the children reach adulthood and some level of maturity, there is a need to develop new approaches for governance.
Similarly, companies have invested enormous resources in their ERP systems, nurturing them and adding to them over time as the needs of the business changed. The original Oracle E-Business Suite implementation, for example, was designed with the best of intentions. The team, along with the busload of consultants, tried to build a system that would last the company for years and through generations of change. They provided each location the ability to govern its own system and configure it for flexibility to meet the operational needs of that entity. As with children, providing a good foundation prepares the organization for change, but it is difficult to predict the external factors that influence the adaptation and performance of the company over time. Read More…