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Exercises The Development of Enterprise Resource Planning Systems
1. Moore’s Law is said to be more of a trend, rather than a representation of the actual 45
number of transistors on a silicon chip. What is the current status of Moore’s Law? If it is
not exactly holding true, what does this mean for the future of the computing industry?
2. What are the main characteristics of an ERP system? What are some newly developed
features of ERP systems?
3. Imagine that your uncle owns and operates a construction company. The company owns a
number of very expensive pieces of machinery, such as backhoes, for building houses and
apartment buildings. Up until now, your aunt has “taken care of the books” by keeping
financial records by hand. However, business is picking up, and she has gotten far behind
in filing taxes, paying bills, and so on. Write a persuasive essay to your uncle about why he
needs an ERP system and how it would help with not only the burden of billing, payroll, and
filing taxes, but also with keeping track of the company’s expensive machinery. Use the
Internet for research.
4. Much has been written in the news media about ERP systems, both in print and online.
Using library resources or the Internet, report on one company’s positive experience with
implementing an ERP system, and on another company’s disappointing experience.
5. Some of examples shown in this chapter are from a traditional ERP system, SAP. Consider
some smaller ERP systems. Look on the Internet at Business One by SAP, and an
additional smaller system, such as Pronto software or Exact software. Compare two of the
systems, and list the similarities between the module-type offerings. Are there any clear
differences between them?
6. Visit CIO magazine’s Web site, www.cio.com, and conduct a search on ERP. Based on the
search results, choose an example of an ERP implementation, and write a memo to your
instructor describing the implementation. Discuss ways in which you think the company
adopting the ERP system could have improved its implementation.
7. [Challenge Exercise] From your university’s electronic library, obtain a copy of the article,
“Management Based Critical Success Factors in the Implementation of Enterprise Resource
Planning Systems,” by Joseph Bradley (International Journal of Accounting Information
Systems, Volume 9, no. 3, pages 175-200, September 2008). Write a three-page paper on
the findings of this study concerning factors critical to the success of an ERP
implementation. Choose five factors you think are most important, and focus your writing on
those five.

For Further Study and Research

Allesch, Adolf. “Thriving or Surviving? How to Take Your SAP NetWeaver Pulse.” insiderProfiles
3, no. 3 (Summer 2007). http://insiderprofiles.wispubs.com/article.aspx?iArticleId=4672.
Au Bon Pain. “Au Bon Pain Launches Cafe Remodel Program as Part of National Expansion
Strategy; Transforms New York City Cafes.” PR Newswire, June 8, 2011. www.aubonpain.
com/releases/Au%20Bon%20Pain%20Launches%20Cafe%20Remodel%20Program.pdf.
Barlas, Demir. “Wal-Mart’s Confused SAP Strategy.” IT Knowledge Exchange, May 27 2008.
http://itknowledgeexchange.techtarget.com/sap-watch/wal-marts-confused-sap-strategy.

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