Measuring Organizational Culture in ERP Projects
At Nestell & Associates, as highly experienced ERP practitioners and researchers, and as organizational change practitioners and researchers, the significant value and impact of organizational culture on the success, or failure, of ERP projects is well understood. This is why we not only place emphasis on organizational culture within our implementation methodology, we also measure culture.
There is some great work that presents, suggests, and demonstrates the value of organizational culture specifically in the context of ERP organizational change success which includes: Al-Mashari, 2018; Yongyi & Ying, 2005; Shao, Feng, & Hu, 2017; Ifinedo, 2016; Altamony, Tarhini, Al-Salti, Gharaibeh,& Elyas, 2016; and Stanciu & Tinca, 2013. Hats off to these folks and others who are demonstrating the potential significance of culture on ERP success. As practitioners, we should reflect on their work.
In the previous post, that kicked off this series, we provided a brief typology of corporate culture because not being able to distinguish the influences and perceptions associated with ACTUAL culture could lead to project errors and possible failure.
So, what can we do to better ensure ERP project success? Just like we do for assessing and evaluating legacy and new ERP systems, we can also assess the legacy culture [ACTUAL] and the new culture [VISION] culture. When assessing any firm’s culture, the assessment begins just prior to high-level project planning. The reason for this priority is that several “alignment” issues can be addressed before a project plan is conceived.
- Alignment Pulse Issue 1 – Actual level of project urgency [priority]:
- Alignment Pulse Issue 2 – History of change projects [learning]
- Alignment Pulse Issue 3 – Executive level of authenticity [leading]
- Alignment Pulse Issue 4 – Behavioral-based Roadmap [charting]
- Alignment Pulse Issue 5 – Vision Culture Translations [navigating]
Assessing ERP Project Urgency
ERP project urgency is an important success influence to consider. Does the entire organization view the ERP organizational change effort with a sense of priority and urgency? Most organizations resist changing familiar behavior patterns. Human beings simply move toward creating comfort, regularity, and predictable conditions in their work lives. Leaders must disrupt a culture of comfort-seeking by articulating a strong message as to WHY certain changes are necessary (required). The motivating reasons for change must then be more compelling than the reasons to reinforce the status quo.
The Leadership Role in Creating A Sense of Organizational ERP Project Urgency
Technologies such as ERP systems don’t in themselves motivate large-scale organizational change, however, the design and implementation of such a system can be the motivating platform for change. This largely depends on how well the firm leadership can create and convey a sense of ERP project urgency. Urgency is the weighing and sorting [prioritizing] of our work. Answers the question: Why Change? And, what could we be doing first?
Nestell & Associates can support your ERP project urgency,
By Matthew V. Brown, Ph.D. & Jack G. Nestell, Ph.D.