Facing Termination

        In the case “Facing Termination” the VP of Marketing failed to take into consideration the motivations and goals of the functional managers and end users, as well as educate stakeholders on the use of the systems and the pros and cons of implementation. These mistakes were what led to the system’s failure and the fear of being terminated.

        First and foremost, the new VP of Marketing chose and bought a new sales system (VelcroSFA) because they believed it would help them achieve their own year-end bonus. Despite the sales teams statements that the program did not offer the functionality and specifications they needed to perform better, the VP moved forward with the purchase assuming they would change their minds once the system was in place. However the sellers never opened the application, because VelcroSFA did not help them reach their own goals. The Journal of Management and Information Systems reported motivation and end user involvement in choosing an application is highly correlated with the installation’s success (Petter, DeLone, & McLean, 2013). To ensure motivation, the VP should have established measurable and non-conflicting goals for all parties involved. Establishing goals ensure people are held accountable for their actions and installation of the project remains on track (Bolsinger, 2014). For example, the IT Director, Jenny, was not given a proper timeline for the project and this led to tardiness in installation. Furthermore, her main concern during the project was establishing the new accounting system not the sale’s system. These two things could not be done at once. By not understanding the priorities and motivations of the sales team and Jenny were not aligned with theirs, the VP widened the possibility for the systems failure.

        The next mistake was lack of education both in how to use the systems and the potential outcomes, positive and negative, of the installation. The VP admitted they did not know much about IT systems and did not teach themselves and the CEO about the possible risks of integrating VelcroSFA into the existing system. Management’s lack of experience and information on IT integration highly affects the outcome of the installation and the actual use of the program (Petter, DeLone &McLean, 2013).  The crashing of the HR application during integration should have been a known risk, yet it was not. To reduce situations like these large companies, such as Home Depot and Wal-Mart, create IT boards to educate C-level executives on the risks involved with new systems, the measures needed to prevent these risks and how rectify them if they occur (Nolan & McFarlen, 2005). The VP of marketing should have secured experts on system installation to educate them and the team on all possible risks, this would have prevented the crashing of the HR system and ensure the executive team members had realistic expectations for the project.