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Chapter 14 Managing Projects 577

FIGURE 14.5 A PERT CHART

This is a simplified PERT chart for creating a small Web site. It shows the ordering of project tasks and the relationship of a task
with preceding and succeeding tasks.

Participation in implementation activities may not be enough to overcome
the problem of user resistance to organizational change. Different users may
be affected by the system in different ways. Whereas some users may welcome
a new system because it brings changes they perceive as beneficial to them,
others may resist these changes because they believe the shifts are detrimental
to their interests.
If the use of a system is voluntary, users may choose to avoid it; if use is
mandatory, resistance will take the form of increased error rates, disruptions,
turnover, and even sabotage. Therefore, the implementation strategy must not
only encourage user participation and involvement, but it must also address
the issue of counterimplementation (Keen, 1981). Counterimplementation is
a deliberate strategy to thwart the implementation of an information system or
an innovation in an organization.
Strategies to overcome user resistance include user participation (to elicit
commitment as well as to improve design), user education and training,
management edicts and policies, and better incentives for users who cooperate.
The new system can be made more user friendly by improving the end-user
interface. Users will be more cooperative if organizational problems are solved
prior to introducing the new system.
The Interactive Session on Organizations illustrates some of these issues at
work. Westinghouse Electric Company launched a sweeping systems modern-
ization program that included re-implementation of its enterprise applications.
As you read this case, try to determine how Westinghouse addressed the risks
and challenges of this project.

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