Blog 3 - Project Management - The Struggle of Implementating Information Systems

 The Challenges of Information Systems Implementation

There are usually a number of reasons why companies often struggle with implementing information systems: 

• With a lack of a clear and well-established strategy with the company's goals, the company may struggle with choosing the correct process of implementation. A cause of this may just be poor and inadequate project management. In 2015 General Electrics (GE) created a new business unit called GE Digital, its goal was to be able to leverage data in order to turn GE into a technological powerhouse. GE Digital became focused more on short-term goals and earnings rather than long-term innovative goals and returns. As a result the company’s stock price continued to drop and other products suffered. The CEO was soon forced out. 

What can be learned from this example? GE should have focused on a real strategy in a specific area, the company was too large to implement it at once, particularly with the absence of a vision of what the company was trying to achieve.

• If the company is in a highly competitive market it must not encounter a lack of monitoring within the market when implementing the information systems. If the goal for the information systems is to boost competitiveness in the market the company has to evaluate its position in the market, will its position be affected by this implementation? A prime example of this was in 2012 when consumer packaged goods giant Procter & Gamble (P&G) set out to become “the most digital company on the planet.” P&G were already at the top and leading the industry prior to the decision to take things to the next level. However, P&Gs broad goal led to broad initiatives that lacked a clear purpose. P&G faced problems from the beginning. The board soon asked the CEO to resign.

What can be learned from this example? Ignorance due to a lack of monitoring can cause the implementation of information systems to do more harm than good. P&G could have been more successful if it focused on smaller efforts that were targeted to its existing products and processes, they failed to examine what was going on in the industry to see if they were already ahead of competitors.