Rich-Con Steel

McGraw-Hill/Irwin 1-1 © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Rich-Con Steel
How big a risk did Sawyer think she was
taking when she decided to
implement the BAI system?

Why was there such a severe meltdown

after the new system went live?

What were the principal root causes?

McGraw-Hill/Irwin 1-2 © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Root Cause
Marty Sawyer’s failure to recognize this system as
strategic – lack of leadership/insight/proper planning

PEIT implementation brings new business processes

and business process change is organizational
change:
- Externally imposed
- Interdependence-increasing
- Sudden
- Large-scale
- Core
- Unignorable

McGraw-Hill/Irwin 1-3 © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Implications of an Enterprise-Wide
Process-Enabling IT
The Centrality of General Managers for IT Success

Types of decisions facing general managers with

respect to PEIT have far-reaching consequences:
- Organizational structure
- Performance
- Competitive strategy
- Relations with partner companies

- Does a General Manager need to be deeply versed in

the technologies under consideration?
McGraw-Hill/Irwin 1-4 © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Model to Prepare for Process Enabling
Information Technology
A Model for Implementing Process-Enabling
Information Technology
Descriptive causal link between factors and pitfalls
Prescriptive strategies for managers to influence
implementation
Groups
Pitfalls
Process Technology

People

Strategies

McGraw-Hill/Irwin 1-5 © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 A Model for Implementing Process-Enabling
Information Technology
Understanding causal links between factors and pitfalls can
help managers identify ex ante the most significant non-
technical threats a given PEIT implementation project
will face.

Strategy categories to attempt to counter threats:

Level: at which project is governed
Style: managerial style adopted
Phasing: intended timeline and milestones
Scope: number of sites, divisions, geographies, functionality
Preparation: resources devoted to preparing the organization
and its members prior to cutover
McGraw-Hill/Irwin 1-6 © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Rich-Con Steel
Teams: What would you do if you were
Sawyer at the time of the case?

Continue to use new system vs. pull the

plug.

Why?

McGraw-Hill/Irwin 1-7 © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Rich-Con Steel
Aftermath:
Tried to continue using the system.
Able to stabilize system but too much damage

September 1999 the Sawyer family sold Rich-

Con to Falcon Steel
http://kansascity.bcentral.com/kansascity/stories/1999/09/13/story1.html

http://www.falconsteelco.com/default.htm

McGraw-Hill/Irwin 1-8 © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.