Could you please trying to separate your project into differents parts? I really found hard to segment each part. Please let me know if you can fix it. Thank you Please find below the Theme: Customer Relationship Management(CRM) Dear Marie Your research proposal on ?Customer Relationship Management (CRM)? is a significant MIS topic to be investigated. You wrote a good proposal and your proposal is approved. Comments: 1. Search pertinent articles using UML Library Databases and/or Google Scholar. Study more than ten (10) key current scholarly articles to support your research objectives, hypotheses, framework, and major findings. Download those cited full-text articles from UML Library Databases or other sources for later submission. For cited books, you just need to include the book info in the References section. References shall be listed in alphabetical order following APA format. DO NOT cite from Wikipedia. Corporate white papers and trade magazine papers can be used after fulfilling the requirement of researching at least ten recent scholarly articles. 2. Conduct a thorough literature review on your research topic and its existing issues mentioned in your proposal and other areas such as user perception, user acceptance, user training, culture shift, security, legislation, policy, and PAPA (i.e., privacy, accuracy, property, and accessibility) covered in the textbook. 3. For technical and implementation sub-topics, you can refer to Figures 6.3, 6.4 and 6.7 (pp. 174, 175 & 181, respectively). Address some principles of implementing CRM in businesses and organizations. In addition to the SWOT analysis, you may also extend your research to other managerial considerations such as adaptability, standardization, scalability, ROI, green concept, etc. (pp. 185-191 and 356-371). 4. Summarize and tabulate possible impacts of CRM on customer retention, customer satisfaction, employee productivity, and business performance. 5. Draw implications and conclusions from your research results such as observations, cases of best practice, failures, and lessons learned. 6. You are allowed to alter your title of your paper when you advance and complete your research.

1 Introduction Companies that enter to compete in a new market weaken the existing and solid ones, due to new ways of doing and conceiving businesses. One of the factors that have driven all these changes is the constant change and evolution of technology. Because of this reality, the CRM concept has evolved in such a way that nowadays it must be viewed as a strategy to maintain a long-term relationship with the customers. A good customer relationship is the key to business success. Relationship building and management, or what has been labeled as relationship marketing, is a leading approach to marketing. The use of customer relationship management (CRM) systems is becoming increasingly important to improve customer life time value. Understanding the needs of customers and offering value-added services are recognized as factors that determine the success or failure of companies. So more and more businesses begin to attach great importance to electronic customer relationship management (eCRM), which focuses on customers instead of products or services. By providing information on customer data, profiles, and history they support important areas of a company's core processes, especially in marketing, sales, and services. eCRM is all about optimizing profitability and enabled businesses to keep customers under control, as it makes the customer feel they are really a part of the business progress. When managing the transition to a customer-centric organization, it is mandatory to develop the capabilities to acquire the necessary resources, knowledge, and tools to meet customer's requirements with the appropriate products and services. A knowledge based system is most effective in the managing of semi-structured problems. The abilities of such systems are usually applied on the managing level of strategic planning. An effective CRM system should enable an organization to gain greater insight into customer behavior and preferences whereas ERP analytics are more likely to focus on supply and demand for key resources and materials [4]. In spite of the wide use of sales force automation systems in sales, a Forrester study observes significant deficits in today's marketing, sales and service processes. It was found that just 22% of the companies surveyed possess a uniform customer view and only 37% know which customers are looked after by individual business units. To eliminate weaknesses in customer contact, many companies are either planning or in the process of implementing CRM systems. According to Gartner survey, 65% of US companies intended to initiate CRM projects in 2002. In Europe, roughly 3% of companies had fully implemented a CRM project in 2001, 17% had initiated more than one local project and 35% were developing concepts for the introduction of CRM. The software CRM market is expected to increase from $7 billion in 2000 to 23 billion in 2005, even though conventional wisdom is that 30 to 50 percent of CRM initiatives fall short of meeting company objectives, while another 20 percent actually damage customer relationships. Different organizations are approaching CRM in different ways. Some view CRM as a technology tool while others view it as an essential part of business. According to Verhoef et al, the success rate of CRM implementation varies between 30% and 70%. According to industry analysts, almost two-thirds of CRM system development projects fail. According to IDC (International Data Corporation) and Gartner Group, the rate of successful CRM implementations is below 30% [16], hardly justifying the cost of implementation [17]. Another report estimates that between 60 and 90 percent of enterprise resource planning implementations do not achieve the goals set forth in the project approval phase [18] Hence, key factors of success or failures during CRM implementation have been the subject of active research in recent years [19]. The study performed by Forsyth took a sample of 700 companies, with regards to the causes of failure to reach the CRM benefits [20]. The main causes of failure were: Organizational change (29%) Acta Polytechnica Hungarica Vol. 6, No. 4, 2009 - 85 - Company policies/inertia (22%) Little understanding of CRM (20%) Poor CRM sills (6%) The results show that there is no 'unique' CRM project and that successful implementations are rarely technical projects [10]. Therefore the objective of this paper is to report successful CRM implementation and lessons learned in an organization involved in many countries with operations in different segments. CRM is a synthesis of many existing principles from relationship marketing [21], [22], [23] and the broader issue of customer-focused management. CRM systems provide the infrastructure that facilitates long-term relationship building with customers. Some examples of the functionality of CRM systems are sales force automation, data warehousing, data mining, decision support, and reporting tools [24], [25]. CRM systems also reduce duplication in data entry and maintenance by providing a centralized firm-database of customer information. This database replaces systems maintained by individual sales people, institutionalizes customer relationships, and prevents the loss of organizational customer knowledge when sales people leave the firm [26]. Centralized customer data are also valuable to firms managing multiple product lines. In many cases customers will overlap across different lines of business, providing an opportunity for increasing revenues through cross-selling. The paper is organized as follows: Section 2 reviews the literature on CRM implementation. In Section 3 we have presented the CRM implementation in a multinational organization. Finally Section 4 draws conclusions from the case study in terms of its practical relevance and lessons learned. 2- Literature Review The first requirement for the successful implementation of CRM is clarity regarding CRM terminology. From the many approaches available, the distinction between the following three areas has become generally accepted [27]. Operational CRM supports front office processes, e.g. the staff in a call center. Operational integration points exist to human resource systems for user data and ERP systems for transferring order information which was captured e.g. from a call center representative [10]. From an operations perspective, Bose [28] pointed out that CRM is an integration of technologies and business processes that are adopted to satisfy the needs of a customer during any given interaction. A. Mishra et al. Customer Relationship Management: Implementation Process Perspective - 86 - Analytical CRM builds on operational CRM and establishes information on customer segments, behaviour and value using statistical methods. It is useful for management and evaluation purposes, the operational customer data are integrated with a centralized data warehouse which is consolidated data based on certain criteria (e.g. sales, profits). Here the data mining tool analyses defined dimensions, e.g. compares the characteristics of one customer with another, leading to the determination of a customer segment and thus providing the basis for a targeted marketing campaigns [10]. Collaborative CRM concentrates on customer integration using a coordinated mix of interaction channels (multi-channel management), e.g. online shops, and call centres. Approximately 60% of the companies surveyed use internet portals in their customer communication for selected or suitable activities [10]. CRM is therefore understood as a customer-oriented management approach where information systems provide information to support operational, analytical and collaborative CRM processes and thus contribute to customer profitability and retention. While potential benefits are attractive, CRM implementation must be managed carefully to deliver results [4]. Automation refers to using technologies including computer processing to make decisions and implement programmed decision processes [29]. The CRM system is the automation of horizontally integrated business processes involving \"front office\" customer touch points -sales (contact management, product configuration), marketing (campaign management, telemarketing), and customer service (call center, field service)-via multiple, interconnected delivery channels. Therefore, CRM system implementation is commonly used in functional areas such as customer support and services, sales and marketing. CRM life cycle includes three stages: Integration, Analysis and Action [30]. In the first stage, The CRM lifecycle begins with the integration of front office systems and the centralization of customer-related data [19]. Second stage called Analysis is the most critical to CRM success [30]. CRM analytics enable the effective management of customer relationships [19]. Using CRM analytics, organizations are able to analyse customer behaviours, identify customer-buying patterns and discover casual relationships [30]. The final phase, Action, is where the strategic decisions are carried out. Business processes and organizational structures are refined based on the improved customer understanding gained through analysis [31]. This stage closes the CRM loop and allows organizations to cash in on the valuable insights gained through analysis. Systemic approaches to CRM help organizations coordinate and effectively maintain the growth of different customer contact points or communication channels. The systemic approach places CRM at the core of the organization, with customer-oriented business processes and the integration of CRM systems [32]. Acta Polytechnica Hungarica Vol. 6, No. 4, 2009 - 87 - According to Gefen and Ridings [33], a CRM system consists of multiple modules including: operational CRM, which supports a variety of customer-oriented business processes in marketing, sales and service operations; and analytic CRM which analyses customer data and transaction patterns to improve customer relationships. Operational and analytic CRM modules provide the major functions of a CRM system. Successful CRM implementation often entails significant organizational transformation due to the complexity of multiple operations involved in managing customer relationships [34]. Implementing a CRM system is only part of the needed change. To adopt the new ways of interacting with customers, firms need to align various organizational aspects with their CRM systems, e.g. business processes, strategies, top management support, and employee training [35]. A typical CRM implementation can be classified into six iterative processes including exploring and analysing, visioning, building business case, planning and designing solution, implementing and integrating, and realizing value [31]. Resulting from a variety of catastrophic ERP implementation failures, research on ERP systems points to the need to reduce application complexity. The likelihood of success is related to reduced project scope, complexity, and customization of the application. Defining a reasonable (i.e., smaller) system scope by phasing in software functionality over a series of sequential implementation phases is an important means of decreasing complexity. Similarly, reducing or eliminating customization of the specific functionality of CRM application software is critical to lowering risk. It is business needs that should determine the CRM application functionality - the scope of functions to be implemented [36]. Organizations are finding that implementing CRM functionality beginning with quick, clear-cut and profitable 'hits' helps to insure the initial success, and thus long- term success of a CRM initiative. Generally, the case study method is a preferred strategy when \"how\" and \"why\" questions are being posed, and the researcher has little control over events [37]. The case study method, a qualitative and descriptive research method, looks intensely at an individual or small participants, drawing conclusions only about the participants or group and only in the specific context [37]. The case study method is an ideal methodology when a holistic, in-depth investigation is required [38]. Case studies are often conducted in order to gain a rich understanding of a phenomenon and, in information systems research, the intensive nature, the richness of a case study description and the complexity of the phenomenon are frequently stressed in case study reports [39]. A. Mishra et al. Customer Relationship Management: Implementation Process Perspective - 88 - 3- Case Study 3.1 Organization Background Organization is a trans-national enterprise with operations in different segments. This company engages in the design, manufacture, and sale of precision motion and fluid controls, and control systems for various applications in markets worldwide. The company has been growing rapidly in all segments. 3.2 Information Technology Infrastructure The company has highly skilled engineers and has grown from being a small to a large company. IT in the company has been \"home-grown\63.6010 Management Information Systems Research Project Proposal Name(s) Marie Noel Foning Ngouothe Title Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Synopsis (Briefly describe your research proposal with the following criteria.) The purpose of this research is to highlight how CMR stands for and how Purpose we can use many technology components in other to have a successful business. There are useful strategic processes that can help better understand the customer's needs and how to meet those needs and therefore enhance the bottom line at the same time. Problems & Issues Organizational Impacts Suggestions One of the various issues related to CRM is related to the inability to find new prospects, lack of insight, out-of-date information, missing key information, incorrect or unverified data, and a privacy concerns. There are also possible security attacks; such as Malware (Viruses and worms) to a CRM system that can cause the denial of service, hardware damage and data loss. The company will interact with customers in a myriad of different ways including mail campaigns, web sites, brick-and-mortar stores, call centers, mobile sales force staff and marketing and advertising efforts to collect data. The collected data will therefore flow between operational system (like sales and inventory) and analytical systems that will help sort through these records for patterns. The strategic depends on bringing together lots of pieces of information about customers and market trends so the company can sell and market the products and services more effectively. Company analysts can then comb through the data collected using information process to obtain holistic view of each customer and pinpoint areas where better services are needed. Future Implications & Directions Company need CRM to have an accurate view of who customers are and what their needs or desires are or will be at any given stage in their lives. If a company don't improve their understanding on their customers' needs, they will lose customers to a competitor. Others CRM project depends on the complexity of the project and its components and how well the company will manage the project. It is important to note that company need to know how long it will take them to get CRM in place and how much CRM cost. MIST.6010 Management Information Systems RESEARCH PAPER EVALUATION Project Title: Student: CONTENT Clearly defined goals/objectives, problems, issues, and impacts (10) Review of appropriate literature - based on literature and included prior research, rather than simply describing the problem (15) Appropriate analysis of prior research - relevancy, advances and pitfalls of prior research (15) Feasible suggestions for solving the problem and improving the issuesoriginality is a definite plus (15) Conclusions, implications, further recommendations and suggestions for future research directions (15) FORMAT Title page/Abstract+Keywords/Table of Contents (6) Length/Spacing/Fontsize/Margin (20-40 pages, Line Spacing: Double, Spacing-Before/After: 0 pt, 10-12 points, and 1\" margins) (6) Appropriate headings and subheadings (2) Spelling errors, typographical errors, clarity, blank space, and neatness [Note] 1. Scan your report by Turnitin to have a result less than 15%. 2. Check both spelling and grammar before submission. 3. Figure and Table shall have title and source. (8) References appropriately cited and listed in APA style. [e.g.] Smith and Davis (2013) indicate that ... or ... (Smith & Davis, 2013). [e.g.] Smith, E. & Davis, K. (2013). Virtual collaboration in IT projects. MIS Sample Journal, 14(3), 67-81. (8) MS-Word file of Report (Include your name in research paper file) (10) Digital files of all cited articles including at least 10 scholarly articles [Note] Scholarly article is usually double-blind reviewed and has \"References\" at the end. (10) Turnitin Score (