> Please find the attachment for the first three papers (methodology, literature review, proposal-iteration1)

The second phase of the iteration is the action phase. The action phase means that the researcher undertakes to accomplish the research by actually doing the activities laid out in the plan. The researcher follows the course of action developed previously making modifications and changes where necessary. Corrective actions are also undertaken whenever the researcher establishes that the actual actions undertaken have deviated from the plans. Modifications are meant to keep the researcher focused on the ultimate outcome of the action research.

In determining the objectives of this action research, there are several activities that the researcher had to undertake. The first action was to clarify on the topic for the research. This was determined to be the concept of enterprise resource planning. The second activity was using the resources made available to define the research objective. The resources used is information pertaining to the enterprise resource planning, as well as the products offered by the said company (Oracle Inc.). The researcher specifies the research objectives as outlining the features of the enterprise resource planning and the e-business suite offered by the company. Lastly, the researcher had to determine the various groups of people who were to be involved in the action research. These are the participants who will actively participate in the research process, as well as other stakeholders who are likely to be affected by the process of undertaking the action research, or by the outcome of the action research. The researcher is to conduct the action research alongside the company employees and executives. Users of the system offered by the company will also be active participants in the action research. Other stakeholders include corporations and individuals who are potential customers. The competitor will also be affected.

Observe.

The third phase of the iteration is called the observation phase. This phase entails keeping track of all happenings and the result of all happenings of the previous phases of the iteration. Most likely, the action researcher will focus on taking note of the outcomes of the various actions undertaken in the previous phases, and also seeking some explanations pertaining to various issues. There are a number of observations that were made for the first iteration, and these are as discussed below:

· The research objectives are narrowed down from the general concept of the enterprise resource planning to the more specific e-business suite, an integrated system offering the enterprise resource planning (the focus of the discussion topic) as part of the products that come with the package. However, this integration makes it impossible for the researcher to talk about the enterprise resource planning system alone without paying attention to the rest of the products within the package.

· Being a system of its kind, it was not easy to obtain much data about it, as only a few facts were given by the company (Oracle). It is this limited information, in addition to the interaction with the producer and the uses that the researcher was able to display all the details necessary for this action research.

· The company was not willing to give the much sensitive information for fear of compromise. The same case happened with the users who wanted to keep their secrets about the system and it uses. However, all basic data needed was obtainable from both of these parties and from other sources of information.

Reflect.

The last phase of the iteration is about reflecting on the happenings of the previous phases, and seeking explanations for various phenomena. In this iteration, the reflection phase will focus on outlining the successes and/or failures, things that went on well and those that did no, challenges and restraints, as well as risks observed in this iteration.

Firstly, the entire iteration was a success, and this was made possible by the clear course of action given during the planning phase. The resources made available facilitated the smooth undertaking of the actions that followed. The scope of the entire action research was defined, and this also is to be a guide to the rest of the iterations in the action research. Some processes needed to be improved, and these included the means of obtaining insight into the concept of e-business suite and its usability. Since the researcher was able to interact with the company and users, a better approach would have helped gain more information. For example, taking part in operating the systems rather than just observing at a distance. Everything about the iteration went on well.

Any research is prone to challenges and constraints, as well as risks. In this iteration, the main challenges getting the various participants to give relevant information about the systems. As mentioned above, they focused more on conserving sensitive information. This caused data constraints – that is, data became very hard to access. In turn, this created the risk of inadequate insight into the concepts or problem under investigation, and this could possibly lead to biased outcomes and biased conclusions to be made after the completion of the action research.