Module 2 SLP: Introduction to Enterprise Systems, SAP

This SLP will focus on Enterprise Systems that support a Finance Department in an organization. All organizations have finance departments. If you are in the military or other Government agency, the functions may be split. Your local organization may deal with financing the organization with everything except payroll. The payroll might be accomplished at a national level. In a normal company, the Finance generally handles both organizational and personnel costs.
Before reading about Financial Enterprise Systems, go to each of these websites and look at the responsibilities (i.e. the business processes) of a Financial Department.
http://www(dot)ehow(dot)com/about_6614015_role-finance-department-business.html
http://www(dot)ehow(dot)com/facts_5683333_role-finance-department-play-business_.html
http://www(dot)svtuition(dot)org/2010/05/function-of-finance-department.html
Once you have an idea of what business processes finance departments accomplish, take a look at Enterprise Solutions for finance provided by one software company.
Go to : “Drive success across your lines of business” at SAP ERP website http://www(dot)sap(dot)com/lines-of-business/index.epx. You will find a number of videos and white papers.
For this SLP paper, select the Finance functional area from the list above and review the site.
The direct link to the Financial Functional Area is:
http://go(dot)sap(dot)com/solution/lob/finance.html
Read the Potential Benefits section (there are four potential benefits) then go on to look at specific solutions to problems (there is a button called EXPLORE SPECIFIC Solutions). Take a look at some of the solutions.
Now that you have general ideas about what a finance department does and what an Enterprise System that supports Finance can do, please discuss the following questions specifically:
What are the potential benefits of one or more of the solutions identified by SAP? Specifically identify which solution or solutions you selected.
Do you agree with them? Discuss and analyze. Explain why you agree or disagree. Try and explain the benefit that the SAP solutions you selected bring to an organization.
Using the knowledge you gained on Finance departments and Enterprise Systems that support them, discuss how this enterprise module might be useful to your organization? In discussing this state whether your organization has or does not have, one or more Enterprise Systems for Finance and whether the people that run them could use the tools you identified.
SLP Assignment Expectations
Your paper should be two to three pages in length, and reflect your personal experiences with this issue. The important part of all these project assignments is to carefully assess your own experiences with the topic, and then reflect critically on what you might have learned about yourself and about situations through this assessment process.
The more that you can use the exercise to develop personal implications for your growth as a potential business person as well as a knowledge user, the more value you'll get out of the exercise.
If there are reasons why the entire exercise is impractical for you to undertake at all, please explain them to your instructor as early in the Module as possible, so that an alternative assignment can be arranged.
Your paper will be evaluated on the following criteria:
Precision: You carried out the exercise as assigned, or carefully explained the limitations that might have prevented your completing some parts (running out of time isn’t generally considered an adequate limitation).
Clarity: Your answers are clear and show your good understanding of the topic.
Breadth and Depth: The scope covered in your paper is directly related to the questions of the assignment and the learning objectives of the module.
Critical thinking: The paper incorporates YOUR reactions, examples, and applications of the material to business that illustrate your reflective judgment and good understanding of the concepts.