Question
Case Study 1: Transforming the Organization
Congratulations! The executives are taking your information system proposal seriously. In fact, they think it has the potential to transform the way the organization works.
The CIO asked you to read Connelly (2016) to think about what resources you’ll need to get your new
information system up and running. Please also review the five case studies in (Basu 2015, p. 32–35) so you can recommend a change management pattern for your company to follow.
Write a memo to the CIO that describes how to implement your information system into the organization. Please focus on these topics:
1. How much of the implementation work can you handle? What additional resources (people,
information, time, money, etc.) will expedite the process so you don’t end up like Susie Jeffer?
2. Outline a change management strategy: What new equipment and software are necessary? What
training and support will the staff need? How will the staff complete their work during the transition period? Do you anticipate other areas of resistance?
3. The CIO is very skeptical, so provide evidence that your assessment is accurate and complete. It
Sample paper
Implementing a New System
To: The Management, TPAC
From: IT Manager
Subject: Implementation the New System
Date: 04/01/2024
Implementing a New System
It is not possible to handle the implementation work alone. Working as a team can allow faster progress of the project and minimize errors (Basu, 2015). For instance, it is possible to have several individuals each leading the implementation of a particular piece of work. There is need for additional resources in order to hasten the entire project. With regard to people resources, the 10 Benefit Administrators should undergo thorough training on implementing the new system and troubleshooting issues. Each would then be responsible for executing a particular aspect of the new system. There is need for additional time to ensure proper training of employees to lead in the new system implementation. Training should have taken at least 6 weeks including rehearsal time.
With regard to time, it would be necessary to implement the new system in about 6 to 8 weeks. This would allow those responsible for implementation to complete all the software implementation steps such as installation, data conversion, configuration, testing, training users, launching, and obtaining system feedback. There would be need to communicate more about the benefits of the new system to users and especially the employees. Communicating the benefits of the new system would help the employees in accepting the changes. Lastly, there would be need for more financial resources to train those to be involved in implementation of the new system as well as users. Such training should cover even the customers who are directly affected by the implementation of the new system.
Change Management at the Organization
Change management is a critical process when implementing a new system. Change management helps to ensure that those affected by the changes will accept them and seen them in positive light. While implementing the new system, it would be critical to ensure that the current hardware components can fully support the new system. For instance, there may be need to consider acquiring computers with higher specification or capabilities in order to support the new system. These should be computers with higher memory and processing speeds. It would be necessary to improve on the network components such as servers, internet speed, and storage capabilities. Lastly, it might be worth considering upgrading the printers in the organization.
The staff will need adequate training and support. Failure to ensure proper training was a major reason why the system implementation failed at TPAC (Connelly et al., 2016). Initial training should focus on why there is need to adopt a new system in the organization. This is important in instilling a positive mindset towards the new system implementation. The second type of training is user training. This should be system-specific training to ensure that the staff knows how to use the new system. Top-up training may be conducted at a later stage for reinforcement purposes. It would be important for those involved in implementing the new system to acquire some technical skills about the new system. Such skills may involve troubleshooting. User support is critical when implementing a new system. An in-house helpdesk would be the best in providing user support. This is because it would be quicker in responding to the queries raised by the staff.
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The transition period will be smooth as per the changeover method adopted. It is recommended that a pilot implementation method be adopted to avoid large-scale disruption of the normal workflow at the organization. This method will involve testing the new system using a small number of users. Tests will be conducted and feedback obtained concerning the working of the new system and using the select users. Once the new system is deemed satisfactory, other staff members will roll to the new system. The test group will help in training other staff and influencing opinion over the use of the new system in processing claims. There could be other areas of resistance such as staff being adamant to take on other duties. Since the new system will auto-adjudicate claims, staff whose work was to adjudicate claims manually will have to engage in other job tasks. It will be necessary to encourage them to accept the new tasks.
The Assessment as Accurate and Complete
This assessment has outlined what the management needs to do in order to have a successful system implementation. The new system implementation process was not successful because certain important factors were not taken into account during the implementation process. The operations leadership for the project was weak as only one person was responsible for implementing the massive project. In addition, the person implementing the project did not have adequate skills and knowledge to manage such a project. With the right team leading the implementation of the project, there is a high likelihood of its success.
Key steps such as testing the functionality of the new system were disregarded in implementing the new system. Failure to test the new system led to errors occurring in the production environment rather than in a test environment where they could be resolved easily. Implementing a new system calls for thorough testing before migrating to the new system. This would have helped in eliminating the many errors that resulted after the launch of the new system. There will be efforts to ensure proper training of users and the IT personnel. Lastly, there will be internal support team for users to ensure that problems are addressed quickly.
References
Basu, K. K. (2015). The leader’s role in managing change: five cases of technology‐enabled business transformation. Global Business & Organizational Excellence, 34(3): 34-42.
Connelly, B., Dalton, T., Murphy, D., Rosales, D., Sudlow, D., & Havelka, D. (2016). Too Much of a Good Thing: User Leadership at TPAC. Information Systems Education Journal, 14(2): 34-42.
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