The Grant Corporation
Technology is credited with promoting business operations in terms of time and ease-of-operation. Modern organizations are implementing technology systems to enhance globalization needs of staffing employees in different market regions across the globe. Nevertheless, integrating an information system into a firm’s organization requires fundamental procedures for a successful implementation process. These would include phases such as gathering user requirements, information analysis, system design, and testing, then an implementation process. Stakeholder involvement and management is an important requirement when implementing a Human Resource Information System (HRIS).
A case scenario depicts Julia who failed to incorporate a stakeholder involvement strategy when implementing an HRIS. Julia was accurate in problem identification and a resolution mechanism which was largely supported by her long experienced professional Human Resource officers who understood information system integration in a firm’s operations. Similarly, Julia’s long experience in providing HR solutions to the management enabled her to come up with a technology solution to the staffing problems that ailed The Grant Corporation. Suggesting an HRIS was the simplest solution whose evidence had worked in other organization whose scope of operation was growing rapidly as the corporation. The implementation success of the suggested HRIS would have improved the firm’s competitive strategy in the finance industry. However, she failed to acknowledge the importance of stakeholder involvement in crucial phases which involve their roles and responsibilities in the organization. This was threatening their job security hence the reluctance Julia encountered, abruptly, by her colleagues.
The change management theory applicable to Julia’s case would include stakeholder involvement in changes affecting job roles and responsibility. Julia’s excitement on the new solution was so overwhelming that she forgot colleagues and employees would oppose the HR changes. However, stakeholder involvement would have ensured that gathering user requirements and information analysis are efficiently integrated into the HRIS. This way, Julia would have experienced minimal challenges in user acceptance. Aside from stakeholder involvement, formal communication should be adopted when identifying professional relationships between employees and their seniors. In essence, Julia was a junior employee to Jackson who operated as the CEO of The Grant Corporation. However, Julia seemed to capitalize on their thriving professional relationship by informing the CEO on issues that lacked stakeholder involvement. In a formal setup, professional communication would have made Julia accountable for major decisions that she involved Jackson without prior consultations with important stakeholders.
User acceptance from employees would be achieved by ensuring effective contribution during user gathering and information analysis phases of implementation. User acceptance is a process that is slowly nurtured in an organization to ensure that a major change in the organization does not halt major operations in the organization. Since most employees operate on the frontend or operational responsibilities, their face-to-face experience with clients warrants them the ability to determine success level for a change. In essence, employee contribution would largely aid user acceptance by ensuring that employees are comfortably adapting to the change with the enhanced operational performance from the HRIS.
The case analysis describes a point of failure in most implementation processes that automate manual activities previously performed by employees. In such circumstances, it would be common for an agent of technology change to receive resistance from affected employees. Julia is a perfect case scenario which illustrates the consequences of poor stakeholder involvement during the acquisition of an HRIS. She experiences difficulty in gathering user requirements and information.