Write one paragraph summarizing the article.

This article discusses the effects that enterprise resource planning has on organizations.  It discusses the various stages, obstacles, and benefits of the system.  The findings were that ERP had significant business process improvements and customer responsiveness.

What was the most useful, novel, or interesting part of the article?

I found it interesting how well the stages of ERP can be compared to a person diving into water and swimming to safety.  It is a very good analogy and gives a heightened understanding of the stages.

What did you disagree with in the article?

Because the information contained in this article was obtained by conducting phone interviews at 15 different companies, I cannot disagree with the facts that were disclosed by the interviewees.

What concepts did you least understand?

Although everything seemed pretty clear to me, the one thing that was the least clear was the discussion of metrics and precisely what those entail and exactly why they prove to be an obstacle to success.

Write one paragraph summarizing the article.

This article, as the title suggests, discusses 4 perils of customer relationship management, their dangers, and how to avoid them.  These perils are referred to as “Implementing CRM before creating a customer strategy, Installing CRM technology before creating a customer-focused organization, Assuming that more CRM technology is better, and Stalking, not wooing, customers.”

What was the most useful, novel, or interesting part of the article?

I feel that it is critical to find out what the customer wants before implementing IT.  After all, without the customer the company would be nothing.  The customers’ wants must be determined or else the demand may decline (even if simply due to IT-related wants).

What did you disagree with in the article?

Although the author makes a good point about Peril 3, “assuming more CRM technology is better,” he doesn’t offer any exceptions to the peril.  I feel that there may be exceptions, depending on the industry.  The important idea is the act of assuming without justifiably knowing that more is better that proves to be a peril.

What concepts did you least understand?

The issues discussed in this article were all very straight forward and to the point with supportive justification, but if I had to choose the least understandable one, it would be the peril involving the installation of CRM technology before creating a customer-focused organization because it seemed to be a deeper issue.

Write one paragraph summarizing the article.

This article discusses the effectiveness and cost savings associated with offshoring initiatives of US companies to Asia.  It discusses such issues as performance levels, skill levels, wage rate differentials, cultural attributes, lower manager to staff ratios, flexibility of supplier relationships, expansion, and strategic choices and how they relate to the offshoring initiatives.

What was the most useful, novel, or interesting part of the article?

The most interesting part of the article to me was the fact that, by outsourcing, a product can be developed “around the clock.”  I’m not sure if this is what the author implied, but I feel that this is very well facilitated by time zone differences.  A factory will be at a higher level of output during the day than at night, so when the US is sleeping, a company in Asia could still be awake and have a higher output.

What did you disagree with in the article?

The author indicates that the transfer of product design as well as responsibility would be effectively done in offshore locations.  I disagree about the transfer of responsibility because this would cause a lack of control by allowing locals of the offshoring location to control the product design.  As a CEO of Coke found, excessive localization of a product results in a loss of control of the product and thus negatively affects the company.

What concepts did you least understand?

The idea of creating more flexible supplier relationships was the least understandable to me because it seems that many complicated factors can be involved in such relationships.