Alison Elam, Vice President of Operations for Cleaver's Sausage House, a maker of fine sausages In Minnesota, was stunned She felt numb Just 30 minutes ago, she had been happy and excited about the upcoming meeting to decide whether to launch the new MRP (material requirements planning software system her department had been planning. Now the meeting was over and Cleaver's executive committee had not agreed to launch the system.

She thought the go/no-go decision would be Just a formality. But David Martin, CFO, expressed a doubt about planning the system and tangs .writ downhill from there '1 so thought he was on board,' Elam Nosed to herself Other senior staff then pushed back hard, They warned that the change could be a costly disaster. The vice president of sales doubted whether the MPP system could provide the sod sales forecasts that Cleaver needed. He called MRP )ust bog corporate BS. He also feared it word result in shortages of raw matinees The director of logistics. Susan Frisch, warned about problems that had erupted at one of her previous employers when a similar system was installed. She related a horror story about customers not getting orders and trucks leaving the plant helpful. Her final comment was, 'We are successful. Why upset the apple cart?'

Cleaver CEO Jayden Anderson hired Elam to take the position vacated by his ailing brother Stefan, who died In late 2009. Elam has been on the ob for ten months, spending much of her time working alone on the MRP project Stefan had purchased the MRP software prior to his dines. It had sat rinsed since its purchase. She sometimes wondered if Stefan would have found implementation easer had he lived to see it through. Exam was a veteran of big core flies such as Heinz and Coca-Cola. Anderson wanted an outsider like Elam to bring We new technology to help operations get to the next level. Liam had worked with successful MRP systems and assured Anderson that the new system would overhaul procurement production, and shipping. and would Impose much needed discipline on operations. She estimated her system would Increase annual cash flow by $600,000 and save t to $200,000 annually by reducing wasted material This was serious money for a company with 350 employees.

Elam wondered If the real problem was that implementing the MRP idea would requiem a radical overhaul of every facet of Cleaves operations. Making the system work would require at least 25 Cleaver managers and employees to change how they did thee jobs Still any. Learn thought to herself, What are the VPs and department heads so scared of?

Prior to the executive committee meeting. Elam had encountered plenty of obstacles She was unable to get data from several people to create a mockup of how the system would work, Some key managers or their dwelt reports came Late to the first and second meetings or simply skipped them She complained about the Lack of cooperation to the CEO, It was obvious to Elam that the topic was not priority for other VP5 and department heads. Anderson's response was to suggest forming a cross-departmental task force to help her. Elam told him, "I believe in this technology arid I will get done. A task force will just slow me down'

Allison Elam was a pleasant, reserved ideal who did not bar conflict. She had been mentally unprepared for the executive committee's no-go decision, and she shuddered at the thought that the MRP system might not be adopted at all. She decided to sleep on it for a night or two and then plan a course of action to get this system implemented for Cleaver's benefit and for her own conscience

What do you believe are the reasons for people's resistance to the MPP implementation?