ERP adoption : selling the system

This paper presents a critical discourse analysis of an extract from an electronic newsletter, which was disseminated to staff by the vice-chancellor of a regional Australian university, announcing the adoption ofan enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. The role of language as a strategic instrument in organizations is discussed. Themes relevant to issues of hegemony, agency, power, and ideology are identified. Contradictions are apparent, namely; the dichotomy between executive decision making and consensus generating, using change to define a stable state, and casting conforming to a software package as business process reengineering.