Thursday, June 18, 2009

Here is Why Work Sucks....

In a Big Way.....
As you know, I work for an advertising agency. The business is changing - slowly moving onto the web and out of print. That being said, what did we do? We went out and purchased a financial software that is oriented to manufacturers. Our job is to adapt it to our business. I always knew we were screwed because of this but it became crystal clear during training this week. All of the talk and examples and verbiage in the system relates to "raw materials" and "plants" and receipt and delivery of goods. Here is a shot of my notes, a weak attempt to map some terms to our world. We are screwed........

5 comments:

Sal said...

Yeah! I always wondered what goes on in an organization that makes such decisions possible. Whose idea was it and why did that person's idea prevail in the face of the problems it would cause? IOW, who benefits from the screw-ups??

Remember when SU went with PeopleSoft, even tho it wasn't made for schools?

FN said...

You know what, Sal, I don't even know how we got where we got. We invited three companies and SAP came in 3rd. Then the lawyers started negotiating with other lawyers about terms and they ended up first.

Translation - we got it for super-cheap. All the negotiatior are slapping themselves on the back. Meanwhile we bought a car to cross a river - but we got a great deal on it!!

Turning the car into a boat is now the team's problem (of which I am a member.)

Sal said...

The PowersThatBe always hope that $$TheRightChoice - $$CheapestChoice is much < $$Customizing + $$MakingStaffCrazy. The PowersThatBe are often dead wrong.
They almost never learn.

FN said...

Sal, I don't know what they think or why they think it. It's all a mystery to me. All I know is this - in France, when you start work at 9:30 and take an hr and a half for lunch and leave at 6, there is no way this project is finishing on time in 13 months.

Not even close....

Sal said...

So, the work isn't done in 13 months...so, it'll take as long as it takes. When in Paree, do as the French do--enjoy life, eat chocolate brioche, drink coffee, play golf. You know, the Europeans think Americans have their noses stuck to the grindstone, eh? Maybe they know something we don't know. C'est possible, n'est-ce pas?