Working in the Shadows

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dc.contributor.author	Christiansen, Ulrik
dc.contributor.author	Kjærgaard, Annemette
dc.contributor.author	Hartmann, Rasmus Koss
dc.date.accessioned	2011-11-01
dc.date.accessioned	2011-11-18T13:17:01Z
dc.date.available	2011-11-18T13:17:01Z
dc.date.issued	2011-11-18
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8364
dc.description.abstract	Organizations are met with increasing demands for being in strategic control. According to conventional managerial wisdom, clearly defined tasks, uniform processes, thorough documentation and strategic oversight are all perceived as part and parcel of making large and unwieldy organizations manageable, transparent and efficient (Johnson, Scholes, & Whittington, 2008; Kaplan & Norton, 2008). To live up to these demands, numerous efforts have been undertaken, including the design and implementation of management information systems. These systems, as epitomized in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, seek to bring the organization under strategic control by creating a unified infrastructure for collecting and analyzing data from virtually all fields of organizational operations to enable planning and monitoring of activities (Kallinikos, 2006). Expectations of these systems at all levels of the organization are high as they are expected to create organizational transparency and oversight for decision making (Hanseth, Ciborra, & Braa, 2001). In this paper, we explore how ERP systems are used and impact local practice in a specialized unit within The Danish Defense. Specifically, we ask what role SAP R/31 plays in enabling and constraining everyday local practice and the handling of complexity and uncertainty at the organizational front‐line. We draw on a case study conducted in a special operations force unit within the Danish Defense, “The Frogman Corps”. The case illuminates the difficulties of using ERP systems for management control in organizations experiencing complex operational conditions, including tension between centralized control and uniformity on the one hand and unpredictability and need for decentralized decision making on the other hand.	en_US
dc.format.extent	21	en_US
dc.language	eng	en_US
dc.relation.ispartofseries	Working paper;
dc.title	Working in the Shadows	en_US
dc.type	wp	en_US
dc.accessionstatus	modt11nov18 lbjl	en_US
dc.contributor.corporation	Copenhagen Business School. CBS	en_US
dc.contributor.department	Institut for Produktion og Erhvervsøkonomi	en_US
dc.contributor.departmentshort	PEØ	en_US
dc.contributor.departmentuk	Department of Operations Management	en_US
dc.contributor.departmentukshort	OM	en_US
dc.idnumber	x656316178	en_US
dc.publisher.city	Frederiksberg	en_US
dc.publisher.year	2011	en_US
dc.title.subtitle	Understanding ERP Usage as Complex Responsive Processes of Conversations in the Daily Practices of a Special Operations Force	en_US