Hi All,

I wanted to write this post to open up any feedback based on our White Papers.

If you have recieved a White Paper from us in the last few months please feel free to post your comments onto this past so we can share with the network and Authors accordingly.

I look forward to your comments and feedback.

Regards,

Bec

Hi All,

With good news we would like to announce the top 10 papers for the Quarter 1 White Paper Competition for 2009.
The papers this year were all very diverse and well written. Our in house Guru Jim Crum help me come to the final conclusion after our directors had assisted me in reading over all the entries.

Papers were weighted on the following;

1. Widest interest for the topic among client readership – 20%
2. Best coverage of the topic – 30%
3. Best writing and presentation – 30%
4. Most valuable to the interests of Contractors Network – 20%

I am very please to announce our top 3 as follows;

1. AME – The Solution to Real World Approval Problems - A guide for functional implementers to configure and use AME with iProcurement, AR, and other modules in eBusiness Suite R12 - Dean Christofolis 

Well Done Dean, I know you had entered our previous competition in 2007 so well done on another great paper!!!

2. Release 12 Ledgers - Melanie Cameron
3. MDM Best Practices - Bob Barnett

Also Congratulations Bob & Melanie for great papers. Melanie this has been our first year of working together and your papers have been very well received by our Clients & Consultants globally. Bob well done again, Bob also entered our 2007 competition.

We can not forget the rest of our top 10:

4. R12 Subledger Accounting - Melanie Cameron 
5. Building an Employee Registration Process in Oracle User Management Using OA Framework, AME and Workflow (3 part series) – Kuren Dhand
6. Implementing your Pricing Policy within standard Oracle Applications Functionality – Aidan Duffy
7. Payment plans for Oracle Receivables – Stuart Micdiarmid
8. Oracle Applications 11i Output in Excel – Robin Bremer
9. The Single Euro Payment Area (SEPA) - Jose Luis Herrera
10. Loading Data from Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet software into Oracle – Matt Canning

A big Thank you to all the Authors who entered the competition. We appreciate the time and effort it has taken to produce these documents. I will be touching base with you all shortly to finalise the details.

Get ready for the next competition Bec

Why do people who ostensibly have the same start in the career race perform at different levels?  Despite the same standards of academic achievement, similar backgrounds, the same training, shared social skills and work experience, some individuals perform much better than others. Recent studies have shown that  our natural and learned skills through training and experience - the basics - only represent at best a 20% contribution to our performance.

The remaining 80% which affects our performance comes from our personal skills - those crucial other elements such as our thinking and our behavioral aspects. Including but not limited to:

• Decision making ability and judgement
• Leadership
• Assertiveness
• Coping with stress
• Enthusiasm and energy (Passion)
• Motivation
• Team building
• Self-confidence
•  Initiative

These are the drivers for successful personal performance. It explains why some professionals with less academic achievement outstrip their better qualified peers.   Perhaps acquiring the basics will ensure satisfactory performance - but it’s the drivers that deliver superior performance.

In a recent poll on the value of ERP systems as seen by business professionals on the social networking website LinkedIN.com the results were as follows:

32% - Real Cash Benefit / Can’t Live Without It
68% - Too Complex / Little Value / In Learning Mode

So why are so many organizations failing to perform to a high level  in automating processes, informing stakeholders (reporting), educating users and managers,  and transforming they way business is done? Surely these are the key objectives for all ERP systems. I believe we can learn a few things from people performance when we analyse the shortcomings of ERP systems performance.

Many of these organisations share the same basics including: the technical infrastructure; qualified IT and Applications staff; competent users; the project methodology; implementation integrator and the same ERP application itself which is in use in many global organizations. 

Organisations which fail to maximise the potential of ERP systems display similar problems such as heavy customizations, a lack of planning and management, disgruntled users, ad hoc ancillary systems in MS Excel and MS Access, an array of reporting tools; problematic interfaces and are often IT driven. There is a big gap between the users and the applications team in IT.

Could it be that just like people, ERP systems need behaviors and attributes to drive them to success? Does the ‘Go live’ signal the end of the process or merely a point in the journey. I believe even in successful ERP implementations the ‘Go Live’ is the half way mark at best.

So what are the drivers for ERP performance success? In my experience I would suggest the following:

• Actually Managing Oracle Applications – as an investment
• Successful Change Management  - people are key 
• Leading a Support Team – proactive not reactive
• Measuring Success and Value for Money – monitoring performance
• Data and Information – planning and managing
• Customers and Collaboration – working together for the benefit of all
• Reporting and Business Intelligence – the right tools for the job
• Empowerment and Super Users – unleash skills and passion
• Change Control and Value for Money – cost benefit analysis
• Project Management Kept Simple – the short and long term view
• Process Improvement – continuous and alignment with applications
• Management Information Systems –  efficient and effective systems

These are all people centred activities required for better ERP systems performance.  Fundamentally, ERP systems are investments. They need plans, actions, energy, rules, policies, analysis, management, customer focus, leadership and lots of passion to drive performance. The drivers of people and ERP systems performance have striking similarities.
I wonder if there is a link between highly performing ERP management and highly performing ERP systems…..

BIO: John McGrann MBA ACMA AIMC

John describes himself as an ‘ Oracle Applications Manager’ and has a practical and professional approach with well developed business management, financial and applications skills, gained through working on a range of projects, change and support assignments for UK public sector and international private sector organisations.

www.DriveERP.com
John@DriveERP.com or john.mcgrann@oraclecontractors.com

+357 96-728265

Hi Everyone,

I Just wanted to remind you all our White Paper Competition Entries will need to be in no later than the 31st of March 2009 (just under 2 weeks away)…

Prize fund includes;

1st Prize  $4000 USD
2nd Prize  $2000 USD
3rd Prize  $1000 USD
10 x Runner Up $300 USD

Subjects are open across the E-Business Suite, Oracle Databases, Oracle Development Tools, Oracle SOA Suite, Oracle Fusion Middleware.

This is a great opportunity to promote your expertise to a global audience.

If you have not already please email me for a template on rebecca.bragg@oraclecontractors.com.

It’s that time again.

Contractors Network are holding their second White Paper competition for the authoring of Oracle White Papers, Including E-Business Suite, Oracle Databases, Oracle Development Tools, Oracle SOA Suite, Oracle Fusion Middleware.
 
1st Prize  $4000 USD
2nd Prize  $2000 USD
3rd Prize  $1000 USD
10 x Runner Up $300 USD
 
White papers are a great way of promoting your skills to the global Oracle Applications Install base. Contractors Network  has an agreement in place that encourages Oracle Contractors to author White Papers on a specific subject, which is then marketed globally by our world wide local offices via our website, the OracleContractors.com Blog, Telemarketing campaigns and as handouts at the various Conferences and Special Interest Groups where we exhibit and present.
 
The rewards are two fold, one is the recognition within the market place as the author and the second is to share in the financial rewards if the white paper you write opens the door and ends in securing business wherever in the world.
 
The papers will be judged by Bob Barnett, Nic Connor, Steven Godkin, Andrea Toscani, Stefano Pancani, Rory Dwyer, Jason Howlett and Matt Jenkins all of whom are Directors at various OracleContractors.com offices and cover all of the Oracle Technology.

The White Papers will be judged on content, accuracy and style of writing.
 
We have a template which is also a White Paper on how to write a White Paper  - so if you are interested please contact myself on rebecca.bragg@oraclecontractors.com or telephone your local Contractors Network Office to find out more today.

All Papers are to be submitted by end of March 2009 (This is to ensure that we meet presentation deadlines globally for local User Group Conferences)

Any questions please let me know.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Ps. Congratulations on last years winners Matthew Bezuidenhout, Richard Byrom & Jeremy Coleman.

Bec