Rich Con
Case Analysis – Rich-Con Steel Question 1: What went wrong?
What went wrong for Rich-Con Steel was an unsuccessful effort to launch a new IT system. Marty Sawyer, the new president of Rich-Con Steel wanted to change its legacy system to a new IT system that would automate order management, have the capability to analyze trend and would be cheaper to maintain. However, the implementation did not go smooth and this played havoc in Rich-Con Steel’s operations.
The reason that the implementation did not go flawlessly, can be root caused to several factors. Some of these factors will be briefly explained here. a. Lack of delegation of responsibilities: Rich-Con Steel’s current strategic approach to IT is in “Turnaround Mode” (Nolan, McFarlan). This mode is characterized by the implementation of a significant IT project within an organization. According to Noland and McFarland, It is essential that board supervision is provided when in turnaround mode. Marty Sawyer did not have the expertise or time to solely handle this effort. She spent copious amounts of time researching and implementing the new system as her business suffered from the absence of a leader during a time of significant change in the company. As a president of a company, Marty should have concentrated on overall management of the company and lead it to meets its strategic goals. Instead, she became intimately involved in integrating the new IT system which demanded more than 75% of her time which she did not plan for.
If Sawyer had appointed a board with IT expertise as well as individuals with industry and process expertise, she could have been moderately involved with the project with more time to spend on the operations of the company. Deliverables from this IT team would then be from selection of an IT system based on Rich-Con’s need to flawless implementation of the system and then follow through its effectiveness for a period of time to make sure it is working properly for all
What went wrong for Rich-Con Steel was an unsuccessful effort to launch a new IT system. Marty Sawyer, the new president of Rich-Con Steel wanted to change its legacy system to a new IT system that would automate order management, have the capability to analyze trend and would be cheaper to maintain. However, the implementation did not go smooth and this played havoc in Rich-Con Steel’s operations.
The reason that the implementation did not go flawlessly, can be root caused to several factors. Some of these factors will be briefly explained here. a. Lack of delegation of responsibilities: Rich-Con Steel’s current strategic approach to IT is in “Turnaround Mode” (Nolan, McFarlan). This mode is characterized by the implementation of a significant IT project within an organization. According to Noland and McFarland, It is essential that board supervision is provided when in turnaround mode. Marty Sawyer did not have the expertise or time to solely handle this effort. She spent copious amounts of time researching and implementing the new system as her business suffered from the absence of a leader during a time of significant change in the company. As a president of a company, Marty should have concentrated on overall management of the company and lead it to meets its strategic goals. Instead, she became intimately involved in integrating the new IT system which demanded more than 75% of her time which she did not plan for.
If Sawyer had appointed a board with IT expertise as well as individuals with industry and process expertise, she could have been moderately involved with the project with more time to spend on the operations of the company. Deliverables from this IT team would then be from selection of an IT system based on Rich-Con’s need to flawless implementation of the system and then follow through its effectiveness for a period of time to make sure it is working properly for all