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xiv   Preface

              for foundational concepts in ERP, SCM, and CRM systems. The goal of this book is to assist
              students in becoming knowledgeable participants in the enterprise system implementation process
              and have the confidence to ask complex questions. Students taking this course ideally should have
              taken the introduction to management information systems (MIS) course, which would provide
              them with a basic understanding of information technology (IT) components, the evolution of
              MIS in organizations, and a systems development life cycle.
                   In addition to students, this book would be helpful for professionals, top management, and
              such other participants as subject matter experts (SMEs), who are involved in an enterprise
              systems implementation project. Professionals will find this book to be a good reference
              resource for terminology and a knowledge base for launching enterprise systems. Top manage-
              ment will gain a perspective on strategies for implementing enterprise systems and resource
              requirements and providing an understanding on the need for organizational commitment for
              the enterprise systems project. They will be able to make better decisions and interact better with
              the implementation team.


              WHAT’S NEW IN THIS EDITION

              This edition has made some significant changes in the content to make the material more current
              for today’s enterprise systems environment. Following are some of the key changes:

                 •Chapter 1 has been revised and edited with more focus on the evolution of the enterprise
                   system rather than on information system; the focus of this chapter is now entirely on ERP
                   components, architecture, and life cycle.
                 •Similarly, several changes have been made to other chapters, for example, business process
                   management and reengineering in Chapter 9, new architectures such as cloud computing
                   and mobile computing in Chapter 3, and new ERP implementation methodologies, such as
                   agile methodology, in Chapter 4.
                 •Several case studies were modified and updated with current material to reflect changes
                   that may have happened to the companies discussed in the case.
                 •Complete new sections have been added on business process management, project
                   management, ERP virtualization, ERP training, green computing and its impact on
                   enterprise systems, and RFID.
                 •Materials have been reorganized to improve the flow of the book and assist in the teaching
                   of the course. For example, change management topic has been consolidated in one
                   chapter instead of spreading it around in the book, outdated diagrams and figures have
                   been removed, and some of the detail lists, like roles and responsibilities of ERP teams,
                   have been moved to the appendix area.

              BOOK FEATURES

              In reviewing the academic and trade books on teaching an enterprise system course, it was
              difficult to find a comprehensive textbook for ERP implementations. Another problem with
              textbooks in MIS today is that the information is often outdated prior to its usage in the
              classroom. With this in mind, we have taken the approach of summarizing the timeless concepts
              of implementing enterprise systems in organizations. Although the textbook is complete in and
              of itself, currency of topics is maintained by supplementing the text with Web materials and links
              on the book materials. Adopting professors will benefit from the instructor’s manual, which
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