Risks and Challenges in Large-Scale ERP Organizational Change
Successful ERP organizational change does not come easy. A lot of great research, facts, statistics, and case studies exist that suggest and demonstrate just how challenging and risk-prone large-scale ERP organizational change can potentially be. Successful large-scale ERP organizational change is certainly not a simple exercise of effective and efficient project management nor just an exercise in revamping information technology systems. Successful ERP organizational change is so much more and requires intentional reflection on organizational, knowledge, and motivational influences of which may be intangible or tangible and include for example;
- organizational diversity (in its many forms)
- transactional versus transformational leadership
- elected technology
- organizational understanding of the functional and conceptual benefits
- employee buy-in
- thorough understanding of the economic benefits and expectations
and so many more influences.
The Role of Metacognition in Successful ERP
Another one of those influences is in the form of “thinking about thinking“. During an ERP organizational change effort, research suggests that organizational leaders may benefit from understanding how to evaluate successful ERP influences and when, why, and how to use specific interventions. Successful ERP is a matter of experience, expertise, and applied principle and research (ERP Organizational Change Success: It’s a Matter of Applied Principle).
Metacognition is the understanding of knowing what one knows, knowing what one does not know, and not knowing what one does not know. Baker (2006) states that metacognition literally means thinking about thinking. Metacognition plays an important role as learners can more readily apply knowledge if they have awareness of themselves as leaders and learners, if resources and strategies are monitored, and if they adequately assess their readiness (Baker 2006).
Essentially, metacognition would allow stakeholders (especially organizational leaders) to evaluate and reflect on their own weaknesses and strengths, planning approaches, assessing demands, and monitoring and adjusting strategies. Baker (2006) states that learning requires the effective activation of relevant background knowledge and the deployment of cognitive strategies to achieve particular goals. Therefore, metacognition is knowledge and awareness about oneself as a leader, a leaner about a given task, as well as the reflection on strategy needed to accomplish a task. This reflection is necessary and with purposeful intent.
The concept of metacognition is valuable in regards to;
- understanding the multitude of successful ERP influences
- determining and reflecting on how well the ERP implementation is being executed
- identifying areas that need improvement
- appropriately setting goals and expectations,
- and bringing clarity and insight to understanding gaps and issues.
Metacognition benefits stakeholders in their ability to reflect on what is known and what is not known, to understand about ERP organizational change, and that it is the unknowns that may be the problem and create risk. Metacognition would allow stakeholders to access the progress and value of learning and education in terms of the knowledge, in its many forms, needed for ERP organizational change success.
Heierhoff, Arntzen, and Muller (2011) provide insight and awareness of the value of an educational and training process required for an implementation and how in an ERP deployment, there are some issues related to the training and learning processes. Research suggests that a clear understanding of roles and responsibilities in this learning process is crucial to ensure the success of ERP implementation. By definition, metacognition would allow stakeholders to evaluate and reflect their own weaknesses as well as organizational weaknesses that may prohibit progress.
Executive stakeholders need to be able to reflect upon their leadership skills as this is a metacognitive skill and lack of clear leadership could prohibit organizational learning (Heierhoff, Arntzen, & Muller, 2011). Stakeholders need to practice, understand, and implement the practice of “thinking about thinking” in order to ensure appropriate organizational learning by providing clear roles and responsibilities and providing a methodical model with a loopback mechanism for adjustment as required (Heierhoff, Arntzen, & Muller, 2011).
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