Erp Implementation Failure: A Case Study

While it is true that successful implementation of an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system is a task of Herculean proportions, it is not impossible. If your organization is to reap the benefits of ERP, it must first develop a plan for success. But “prepare to see your organization reengineered, your staff disrupted, and your productivity drop before the payoff is realized.” Implementing ERP must be viewed and undertaken as a new business endeavor and a team mission, not just a software installation. Companies must involve all employees, and unconditionally and completely sell them on the concept of ERP for it to be a success. A successful implementation means involving, supervising, recognizing, and retaining those who have worked or will work closely with the system. Without a team attitude and total backing by everyone involved, an ERP implementation will end in less than an ideal situation. This was the situation for a soft drink bottler that tried to cut corners and did not recognize the importance of the people so heavily involved and depended on.     

Social skills and cognitive-relaxation approaches to general anger reduction.

Inductive social skills training (ISST), skill assembly social skills training (SASST), and cognitive relaxation coping skills (CRCS) training were compared with a no-treatment control condition for general anger reduction. At 4-wk follow-up, compared with the control group, all treatment groups showed equivalent reductions of the amount of anger experienced in a wide range of situations. ISST and CRCS Ss reported less anger in their worst ongoing provocation than did control Ss, whereas SASST Ss did not differ from Ss of other groups. Treatment groups enhanced anger control equally relative to the control group, but only the CRCS group significantly lowered outward, negative expression of anger, and only the ISST group reduced anger suppression, although active treatment groups did not differ from one another on these measures. The ISST group lowered day-to-day anger more than other groups. No treatment effects were found for nontargeted trait anxiety and assertiveness. Results are discussed in terms of prior findings and the efficacy and flexibility of ISST. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Peer-assisted learning interventions with elementary school students: A meta-analytic review.

A meta-analytic review of group comparison design studies evaluating peer-assisted learning (PAL) interventions with elementary school students produced positive effect sizes (ESs) indicating increases in achievement (unweighted mean ES = 0.59, SD = 0.90; weighted ES, d = 0.33, p     

It's the Thought that Counts: The Mediating Effects of Information Processing in Virtual Team Decision Making

Abstract

Previous research shows that although collaboration technology can improve the exchange of information during team decision making, one of the challenges is that this better discussion often does not lead to better decisions. In this paper, we investigate the impact of individual information processing on team decision making. We investigated the effects of two types of collaboration technology when participants were either the member of a team majority or a team minority. There was little impact due to the majority/minority, but the use of collaboration technology that required users to categorize the comments they received from others resulted in increased information processing, which in turn led to better decisions and more satisfied participants.     

On the use of ancillary data by applying the concepts of the theory of evidence to remote sensing digital image classification

In this study we investigate a new approach to implement concepts developed by the ‘theory of evidence’ to remote sensing digital image classification. In the proposed approach, auxiliary variables are structured as layers in a Geographical Information System (GIS)-like format to produce layers of belief and plausibility. Thresholds are applied to the layers of belief and plausibility to detect errors of commission and omission, respectively on the thematic image. The thresholds are estimated as functions of the user's and producer's accuracy. Preliminary tests were performed over an area covered by natural forest with Araucaria, showing some promising results.     

Immune Cells in Cutaneous Wound Healing: A Review of Functional Data from Animal Models

The healing of skin wounds involves the activation and recruitment of various immune cell types, many of which are believed to contribute significantly to different aspects of the repair process. Roles for immune cells have been described in practically all stages of wound healing, including hemostasis, inflammation, proliferation and scar formation/remodeling. Over the last decade, tools to deplete immune cell populations in animal models have become more advanced, leading to a surge in the number of studies examining the function of specific immune cell types in skin repair. In this review, we will summarize what is known about distinct immune cell types in cutaneous wound healing, with an emphasis on data from animal studies in which specific cell types have been targeted.     

Medicare/medicaid billing fraud and abuse by psychologists.

Medicare/Medicaid billing fraud and abuse can be prosecuted under a wider array of laws than apply within the private sector. Cases are typically initiated by whistleblowers or through detection of unusual billing patterns. Few psychologists in independent practice have ever been convicted of Medicare/Medicaid billing fraud or abuse, but government antifraud efforts against psychologists appear to be on the rise. These efforts are pursued under the auspices of containing spiraling health care costs, but they can uncover unintentional billing abuse by psychologists, arising from general ignorance of claim-processing procedures, lack of uniformity across insurance programs, constantly changing guidelines, and ambiguous interpretations. Recent investigations in south Texas have especially targeted the use of extenders for psychological and neuropsychological testing. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of rewards on children's prosocial motivation: A socialization study.

This study examined the relation between mothers' attitudes/practices regarding the use of rewards and children's susceptibility to the undermining effects of rewards. We assessed the attitudes/practices regarding rewards for 72 mothers and assigned their children to a control condition or to one of four experimental conditions that differed in whether children received rewards for helping and whether children engaged in the helping task or watched other children help. Children were then given an opportunity to help in a nonreward free-choice period. Rewards enhanced helping in the immediate situation. However, rewards undermined children's helping in the free-choice period, but only for children whose mothers felt positive about using rewards. Moreover, mothers who felt more positive about using rewards reported their children to be less prosocial than children of mothers who had less positive attitudes. It was suggested that children's responses to rewards depend in part on their experiences with rewards. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)