The concept of Operational decision making is not new, but in the context of Enterprise
Resource Planning implementation as is the case at PFK Electronics (PTY) Ltd., it
becomes part of what ERP process that makes organisations more competitive and
profitable as Wallace and Kremzar (2001) comment, "Effective forecasting, planning,
and scheduling is fundamental to productivity and ERP is a fundamental way to achieve
it. Properly implementing ERP will give you a competitive advantage and help you run
your business more effectively, efficiently and responsively."
The Operational decision making process that forms part of the research question is a
process known as Sales and Operational Planning process (SOP's). The research
paper is looking at how Real Time Shop floor information can impact on the decision
making process, as Wallace and Kremzar (2001 : 165) state that this is the most
important element in making ERP systems work.
The study looks at what information is required to make effective decisions in the SOP's
process and how the respondents perceive information quality, its value and the impact
on decision making in the SOP's process. The research sought to further investigate a
diverse demographic population, the behavioural culture within the organisation and
their perception on having this information in real time directly from the shop floor. Data
was collected via a survey questionnaire and an interview process which also required
the review of organisational documentation where available.
The research aimed to investigate what information Operations (SOP's) need to make
effective decisions to meet the organisational strategic objectives and to determine the
best means of obtaining and communicating the information to managers. Developing
this further the research was then broken down into three objectives:
• To investigate 'what' information sales and operations managers need in order to
make effective decisions that will have an impact on them meeting strategic
performance objectives. • To evaluate 'how' real time shop floor information can improve the decision
making process in Operations in meeting strategic objectives; by understanding
the types and methods used in decision making and the significance of time on
information.
• To recommend suitable Information Communication Technology (ICT) systems
to obtain and communicate information to managers effectively within operations.
During this process time constraints were of a concern, which manifested in objective
three not being able to be completed to the satisfaction of the researcher. However the
research process, which included the survey and interviews of respondents, the
researcher felt that respondents where honest and open in expressing their views which
adds to the validity and reliability of the research.
The results showed that there was a clear understanding of the topic amongst the
respondents. It showed that the respondents had a good understanding of information
and its importance in meeting strategic objectives by making better decisions. It became
clear that ERP was generally working well but that timeliness of information was the
biggest obstacle in meeting strategic objectives in balancing supply and demand. The
research identified the information necessary for the SOP's process to be effective and
it also showed the impact of having real time shop floor information available to the
decision making process. It also showed that there would be other benefits as
performance could also be improved by having real time performance indicators that are
used to set the pace and common goal.
The report also identified some cultural differences between PFK electronics culture and
NUMSA unionised employees culture and the impact it has on relationships and
communication.
The report concludes with the research question being answered and with a
recommendation that the single most important means of improving operational
effectiveness is going to be to improve the quality of information used in decision making. The research has shown that getting this information in 'real time' or as close
as possible to real time is the best means of improving the quality of information and its
impact on management decisions. It is further recommended to investigate the
implementation of systems such as Manufacturing Execution Systems to link the shop
floor directly into the current ERP system and lastly to find a means of bridging the
cultural differences between NUMSA unionised employees and PFK behavioural
culture. / Graduate School of Business Leadership / M.B.A.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:unisa/oai:umkn-dsp01.int.unisa.ac.za:10500/4457 |
| Date | 29 June 2011 |
| Creators | Vermaak, Martin |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Research Report |
| Format | 1 online resource (62 p.) |
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