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226 MANAGING KNOWLEDGE WORK AND INNOVATION

will be a further meeting to take a decision. Currently Oakland has a number of
unconnected software systems (for payroll, accounts and sales and a CAD pack-
age). You know all about them and thoroughly enjoy keeping them working in
good order. There are three staff working for you in this area. The payroll and
accounts systems are standard packages with ‘bits added in here and there’. The
CAD package has evolved way beyond the original version, largely on account
of Rowan Gregory’s enthusiasm and predilection for experiment – aided and
abetted by you. However, this is now getting very creaky and unwieldy – far
more effective packages can be bought on the market. The sales system is a
customized one with few problems. This is good for generating the appropri-
ate paperwork for vendors and for linking up with the accounts but it is use-
less for tracking materials or for stock control within the company. There is no
systematic parts numbering system – the present plethora of piece parts (some
22,000 and growing) is described in a vast array of drawings and process specifi-
cations that reside in an untidy set of filing chests in the design office. There are
good systems available but Robin Johnston, Rowan Gregory and Jan Pettigrew
between them hold the information necessary for linking the final products to
the raw materials, essentially in their heads!
You are interested in the ERP idea but also understand the practicalities of
implementing associated software, like how long it takes to read in data and set
up new systems and parameters. This always takes far longer than people expect
and they never give you enough resources to do the job properly. Computers
and web-based communication technologies are obviously the way forward, the
life-blood of any organization, yet they never get taken seriously enough. You
are often treated like some sort of semi-skilled mechanic – no one appreciates
how good you are really are. Sometimes, when you feel that you are underappre-
ciated, you remind yourself that there are many good opportunities elsewhere.
In particular, Alex Rheingold seems insufficiently appreciative of your special
skills. Alex is apt to think that buying in new systems or some form of facilities
management arrangement would eliminate entirely the need for the systems
group. You are always stressing how your group forms the essential link between
the systems and actual business processes. Is the consideration of ERP an oppor-
tunity for demonstrating the true value of your systems expertise? Or is it just an
attempt by Alex to eventually outsource systems development entirely. Well, if
so they’d better watch out. There might be a few surprises if they try to get rid
of you! It might just be rather difficult for anyone else to take over.

>> SANDY CORBETT: CONSULTANT

You are a consultant with access to the latest technology, the ability to work
closely with senior management and a track record of success. In your previ-
ous job as a production engineer and manager in an aerospace company, you
were directly involved in the implementation of MRP2 – a precursor of ERP.
You are very much an enthusiast for this approach to production control. This
technology allows the integration of business functions and achieves and sustains

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