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PH1 - History Of ERP Systems

Before analyzing the pros, cons, and potential of ERP systems, I think it is very important to provide a brief overview of the history of these systems. When starting this project, I assumed ERP systems were recent phenomena in large enterprises. I was led to believe that because the way I was exposed to them at my place of employment made it feel like not only something new to the company, but also something new for the wider industry. However, after doing some research, I found out that I was wrong.  The history of Enterprise Resource Planning systems goes back to the 1960s. At the time, many companies and industries in the United States focused on manufacturing, and there was a need to use computerized technology to keep track of raw materials and products in terms of procurement. The first form of these centralized systems was called MRP, or Materials Requirements Planning. J.I. Case , a manufacturer of tractors and construction machinery, worked with IBM to develop one of th...
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Applied Digital Humanities: Project Proposal

Project Focus This project examines Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems as socio-technical infrastructures that reorganize knowledge, labor, and authority within large organizations. Rather than treating ERP as merely business software, this study frames it as a digital infrastructure that reshapes how disciplines communicate, how workflows are structured, and how institutional knowledge is produced and controlled. Using the ongoing ERP implementation at Avista Corporation as a case study, this project analyzes whether ERP systems meaningfully integrate organizational functions or simply reorganize and redistribute existing silos under a centralized technological framework. What is an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning System):  Enterprise resource planning (ERP) refers to a type of software that organizations use to manage day-to-day business activities such as accounting, procurement, project management, risk management and compliance, and supply chain operations.  ...
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Applied Digital Humanities: Project Proposal Draft

Project Focus: Pros and Cons of Enterprise Resource Planning as an Interdisciplinary Infrastructure What is an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning System):  Enterprise resource planning (ERP) refers to a type of software that organizations use to manage day-to-day business activities such as accounting, procurement, project management, risk management and compliance, and supply chain operations.  ERP systems tie together a multitude of business processes and enable the flow of data between them. By collecting an organization’s shared transactional data from multiple sources, ERP systems eliminate data duplication and provide data integrity with a single source of truth. - Oracle: What is ERP? (https://www.oracle.com/erp/what-is-erp/) Project Objective and Motivation:  The objective of this project is to critically examine enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems as interdisciplinary socio-technical infrastructures that shape how labor moves across an organization. I will ...
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Good Data

Good Data:  Data whose originator had good intentions:  The FEWS Net (Ethiopia): FEWS NET monitors and provides early warning analysis of ongoing, imminent, or emerging threats to food security and maintains the flexibility to analyze unanticipated crises around the world. Between 1983 and 1985 there was a heavy drought and famine in Ethiopia particularly in the northern region.  FEWS NET has significantly helped Ethiopia by providing early warnings and detailed food security analyses, enabling timely responses to famine threats. By monitoring factors like rainfall, crop yields, market prices, and nutrition data, it predicts food shortages and identifies at-risk populations. These forecasts have allowed the Ethiopian government and humanitarian organizations to prepare in advance, mobilize resources, and implement targeted interventions, such as food distribution and cash transfers. The FEWS NET is data being used for a good purpose that has a positive life saving impac...
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Bad Data

Data whose originator had good intentions: Eugenics: Eugenics is a set of beliefs and practices aimed at improving the genetic quality of a human population, often through selective breeding or sterilization. The concept has its origins in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, drawing on advancements in genetics and evolutionary theory. Okay labeling this as "good intentions" is a stretch but for the sake of the argument given by the leaders of the eugenics movement, let us take their word for it and assume this was an attempt at a scientific breakthrough Reflection: Eugenics is an immoral and pseudoscientific theory that claims it is possible to perfect people and groups through genetics and the scientific laws of inheritance. Eugenicists used an incorrect and prejudiced understanding of the work of Charles Darwin and Gregor Mendel to support the idea of “racial improvement.” In their quest for a perfect society, eugenicists labelled many people as “unfit,” including eth...
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Digital Humanities: Week 8 Reflection

  "If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it." — Joseph Goebbels The other day in class, the class got into a very active discussion about misinformation, which reminded me of a debate round I had at a tournament. The resolution stated, “When in conflict, censorship should be preferred over misinformation.” I was on the affirmative side, and when my coach saw that I chose the resolution, he had to slap his own head, disappointed in me for choosing a resolution that was heavily negation-grounded. However, with more research and conversation, I realized that there is such widespread misinformation that there is room to make this argument, which by itself seems crazy. This reflects the modern-day spread of information. We are in an age where we are surrounded by information, and being informed has a significant effect on the human brain. It makes us identify patterns and create our own narratives. We also have mediums to share ...
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Render Data

This is data from a company's defect chart. A defect chart is used in supply chain management for quality control. In my Supply Chain Management class, we're learning about the stages and factors that influence supply chain management, covering topics such as inventory, planning, accounting, human resources, and quality control. A defect chart depicts the defects reported in a manufacturing context at each hour of operations. There are three different ways to visualize this data, each highlighting different aspects of quality control. It is the responsibility of the operations manager, or whoever is in charge, to discern which visualization method is most relevant for showing these effects. The three main ways to visualize this data are through a histogram, a Pareto chart, and a bar graph, each serving a specific purpose in quality control. Paetro chart: Useful for identifying the "vital few" factors, by frequency. Histogram: Histograms are commonly used for process c...
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