Towards a Framework for Balancing Enterprise Systems Flexibility

Given the uncertainty and changing business conditions faced by North American manufacturers, the need to balance the flexibility of an organization’s information system is more important now than ever before. Too much flexibility may result in workarounds and corrupt data leading to increased inefficiencies and levels of waste, contrary to production goals. Too rigid a system makes it difficult for the organization to adequately respond to uncertainty and change key business process to respond to changing environmental conditions. This research examines the need to balance flexibility in enterprise systems for optimal organizational effectiveness.