In einer Client/Server-Netzwerkarchitektur wird die Kommunikation der Komponenten durch Protokolle geregelt. Die Wahl des Protokolls hat dabei Einfluss auf die Verzögerungszeiten im Datentransfer. Diese Arbeit hat ausgewählte Protokolle und Technologien für A12 Business-Anwendungen bezüglich des Aspekts der Performance getestet. Der Fokus lag auf HTTP/2 HTTP Long Polling, Web Sockets und der AMQP-Implementierung RabbitMQ. Um dies zu realisieren wurde die Applikation entwickelt, die alle Anwendungsfälle für jede der Technologien implementiert. Die erstellten Testszenarien wurden daraufhin ausgeführt und die Ergebnisse zeigen, welche Technologien in welchen Anwendungsfällen gut oder schlecht sind. HTTP/2 erzielt im Vergleich gute Ergebnisse, wenn der vorliegende Anwendungsfall dem Request/Response-Muster entspricht. Wenn es sich zudem um große zu sendene Objekte handelt, kann HTTP/2 Verzögerungseinsparungen von mindestens 22% gegenüber den anderen getesteten Technologien vorweisen. Long Polling erweist sich für A12 Business-Anwendungen mit sich ständig aktualisierenden Live-Daten als keine gute Option. WebSockets hingegen stechen in diesem Fall durch eine sehr geringe Latenz hervor, die insbesondere bei einer höheren Anzahl von Clients überzeugt. Hier existieren Anwendungsfälle, bei denen der WebSocket 63% schneller ist als die Alternativen. RabbitMQ überzeugt durch gute Resultate in verschiedensten Anwendungsfällen. Bei Live-Daten für einen Client kann die Message Queue mit den Latenzen des WebSockets mithalten. Erst eine Erhöhung der Anzahl der Clients bewirkt eine größer werdende Abweichung. Zudem überzeugt RabbitMQ mit geringen Zeiten in der Neu-Verbindung und für A12 Business-Anwendungen mit Request/Response-Muster. In Letzterem existieren Anwendungsfälle bei denen RabbitMQ 10% schneller ist als HTTP/2.

Das Thema besteht aus zwei Hauptteilen, der Entwicklung eines Metamodells zur Abbildung der Aufbauorganisation und einer deklarativen Sprache für die Definition der Rechte und Pflichten in Unternehmen. Das Metamodell beinhaltet die Primär- und Sekundärorganisation, domänenspezifische Relationen (z.B. Vorgesetzten-, Berichts- und Stellvertreterbeziehungen) und Attribute für die Strukturelemente. Betriebliche Aufgabenträger können mit ihren Relationen im Organisationsmodell, konsistent zum Metamodell, abgebildet werden. Als zweiter Aspekt wird eine deklarative Sprache entwickelt. Die Sprache wird für die Zuweisung von Aufgaben zu Aufgabenträgern und die Definition von Zugriffsrechten eingesetzt. Sie wird als Anfragesprache von Anwendungssystemen an den logisch zentralen Organisationsserver (enthält das Organisationsmodell) und die Formulierung von Prädikaten (Sprachausdrücke auf Relationen) verwendet.

Das Thema besteht aus zwei Hauptteilen, der Entwicklung eines Metamodells zur Abbildung der Aufbauorganisation und einer deklarativen Sprache für die Definition der Rechte und Pflichten in Unternehmen. Das Metamodell beinhaltet die Primär- und Sekundärorganisation, domänenspezifische Relationen (z.B. Vorgesetzten-, Berichts- und Stellvertreterbeziehungen) und Attribute für die Strukturelemente. Betriebliche Aufgabenträger können mit ihren Relationen im Organisationsmodell, konsistent zum Metamodell, abgebildet werden. Als zweiter Aspekt wird eine deklarative Sprache entwickelt. Die Sprache wird für die Zuweisung von Aufgaben zu Aufgabenträgern und die Definition von Zugriffsrechten eingesetzt. Sie wird als Anfragesprache von Anwendungssystemen an den logisch zentralen Organisationsserver (enthält das Organisationsmodell) und die Formulierung von Prädikaten (Sprachausdrücke auf Relationen) verwendet.

An understanding of opportunities and challenges in cloud computing is needed to better manage technology costs and create financial value. The purposes of this transcendental phenomenological study were to understand the lived experiences of minority business owners who operated business applications in the cloud and to explore how these experiences created financial value for businesses despite security challenges. Historically, minority business owners have experienced high rates of business failures and could benefit from information to help them manage business costs in order to position their businesses to grow and succeed. Modigliani-Miller's theorem on capital structure and Brealey and Young's concept of financial leverage were the conceptual frameworks that grounded this study. Data consisted of observational field notes and 15 individual semistructured interviews with open-ended questions. I used the in vivo and pattern coding approaches to analyze the data for emerging themes that addressed the research questions. The findings were that drivers of positive cloud-based experiences, such as easy access, ease of use, flexibility, and timesavings, created financial value for small business owners. In addition, the findings confirmed that opportunities in the cloud such as cost savings, efficiency, and ease of collaboration outweighed security challenges. Finally, the results indicated that cost-effective approaches such as the subscription model for acquiring technology created financial value for businesses. The findings of this study can be used by business owners, especially minority small business owners, to decide whether to move operations to the cloud to create financial value for their businesses.

Bei Entscheidungen über abzulösende oder neue Anwendungssysteme kann mit Hilfe funktionaler Anforderungen immer nur der gegenwärtige oder vorhersehbare Bedarf ermittelt werden. In einem turbulenten Umfeld sind die Anwendungssysteme jedoch häufig langere Zeit im Einsatz als die Anforderungen gültig sind, mit Hilfe derer sie ausgewählt wurden. An der Universität Potsdam wird im Rahmen des BMBF-Projektes CHANGE eine Vorgehensweise zur Ermittlung der Zukunftsfähigkeit unternehmensweiter Anwendungssysteme entwickelt, deren wesentliche Merkmale in diesem Beitrag beschrieben werden. / A process model for determination of future suitability of business application systems: <br><br> Before decisions concerning reinvestments or additional usage of business application systems can be made, functional requirements depending on the actual or foreseeable demand are collected. In turbulent circumstances business application systems like ERP systems are longer used than the requirements for their choice are valid. At the university of Potsdam within the german research project CHANGE a process model was developed which is able to determine the future suitability of business application systems investigating possible turbulences on the market and around the company. <br> ---------<br> © GITO mbH Berlin

由於資訊科技的進步與網路的普及，企業得以收集與儲存大量的資料。使用資訊工具來協助資料處理、資訊擷取、以及產生知識已然變成企業的重要課題之一，所以如何良好運用資料探勘工具成為使用者關注的焦點。由於並非每一個使用者對於資料探勘的原理都有充分的了解，所以如何從探勘工具提供的功能中選用最佳的解決方案並不容易。如果對於探勘結果不滿意而需要調整軟體邏輯，與IT人員的協商溝通卻又曠日費時。 為了解決這個問題，本研究提出一個演算法選擇方法，藉由分析商業應用的內容，來自動對應到特定的資料探勘方法與演算法，讓選擇演算法的過程更為快速、更系統化，提升利用資料探勘工具解決商業問題的效率。 / Due to the information technology improvement and the growth of internet, companies are able to collect and to store huge amount of data. Using data mining technology to aid the data processing, information retrieval and knowledge generation process has become one of the critical missions to enterprise, so how to use data mining tools properly is users’ concern. Since not every user completely understand the theory of data mining, choosing the best solution from the functions which data mining tools provides is not easy. If user is not satisfied with the outcome of mining, communication with IT employees to adjust the software costs lots of time. To solve this problem, a selection model of data mining algorithms is proposed. By analyzing the content of business application, user’s requirement will map to certain data mining category and algorithm. This method makes algorithm selection faster and reasonable to improve the efficiency of applying data mining tools to solve business problems.

This study investigated the causes of employee dissatisfaction by means of a case study of the Business Application Solution Centre (BASC) at the Eskom Academy of Learning (EAL). The rationale for the study was to contribute further to a general understanding of employee dissatisfaction. This study highlighted the issue of the under-representation of blacks and females (of all races) in senior positions, and further emphasised appointment and recruitment issues that promote unfair labour practices, organisational culture and structure issues that undermine workplace relations, and the extent to which management responds to the abovementioned issues. A mixed method approach was employed to gather data from BASC employees. Qualitative data was collected by means of one focus group discussion and nine in-depth, face-to-face interviews. For the focus group and face-to-face interviews, purposive sampling was used for the selection of respondents, in order to ensure representation on all race, gender and occupational strata. A semi-structured questionnaire was used for both the focus group and face-to-face interviews. The questioning route was guided by the themes of gender, appointment and recruitment issues, culture and structure issues, and management response and practice. Quantitative data was collected by means of an online survey. Even though the online survey link was sent to employees on all strata, top managers did not participate. The use of a web-based online survey had an element of immediacy and also ensured maximum confidentiality, as responses were transferred to a development server with no link or trace to the respondents. The study revealed many underlying causes of employee dissatisfaction, such as the following: (1) the main drivers of black and female under-representation in top positions were lack of skills development, mentoring and career-pathing; (2) among the recruitment and appointment practices leading to employee dissatisfaction was the appointment of employees to ‘acting’ rather than permanent management positions; (3) there was a perception that managers abused their authority by promoting their favourites and overlooking those who they did not like; (4) although an affirmative action (AA) policy had been implemented at BASC, it was felt that employees should be appointed and promoted on merit, and that this should be accompanied by mentoring; (5) in some instances, the hiring of consultants deprived employees of opportunities to perform critical tasks. The fact that consultants were paid more than employees was also a source of discontent; (6) appointment criteria were non-transparent, and respondents revealed that they knew who was going to be appointed even before the recruitment process had been completed; (7) a bureaucratic culture was found to be the main organisational culture issue undermining workplace relations. On the other hand, a culture of teamwork appeared to reduce dissatisfaction and enhance unity; (8) the major organisational structure issues undermining workplace relations were managers who lacked managerial competencies and unequal payment on the same grade; (9) employees who stood their ground were given a low rating during performance appraisals. Others were bullied by senior managers and colleagues, who were rude towards them; (10) a hostile working relationship between managers and employees was caused by managers who lacked human resource skills; and (11) junior managers were undermined by employees who bypassed them and went straight to senior managers to discuss workplace issues. This study addresses both the general lack of information regarding the causes of employee dissatisfaction in South Africa, and of employee dissatisfaction in the information and communication technology (ICT) workplace environment. The findings of the study will also contribute towards a better understanding of the general causes of employee dissatisfaction. The results of this study suggest that more in-depth investigations of the causes of employee dissatisfaction are necessary to fully address this issue, and in order to ultimately prevent a further increase in the rate of employee turnover. Some implications for further research became apparent during the course of this study: similar studies on employee dissatisfaction should be conducted with top managers; studies on the experience of managers appointed to acting positions should be undertaken; and follow-up studies on employee dissatisfaction should be conducted as causes are addressed and relevant interventions are implemented. / Business management / D.Litt. et Phil. (Sociology)

<p>The global business environment of today requires companies to be flexible, in order to quickly react and respond to the ever-changing market. Business-to-business application integration (B2BAI) can be seen as a tool which enables companies to stay competitive and it is often regarded by the theory as a must for survival in today’s fierce business environment. Eventhough the employment of a B2BAI strategy can generate a lot of advantages and opportunities for companies operating within today’s global business environment, there are still many challenges and problems to overcome in order to have a successful B2BAI solution.</p><p>Based on this we found it highly interesting to see whether the theories positive outlook on B2BAI could be supported by an empirical research. In this essay we have therefore studied and identified the underlying reasons and the contributing factors to why or why not companies choose to integrate externally, from the perspective of IT-consulting agencies. Besides this, a description and an explanation regarding the concepts covered by the field of B2BAI have been made in order to facilitate the understanding for the reader. As our intention primarily was to investigate the reasons behind and the contributing factors to why or why not companies choose to integrate, we chose to make qualitative interviews. This, as we were in need of information which described the course of events and expressed individual opinions, in order to achieve the purpose of the essay. Regarding the selection of research objects for the research, the population consists of all IT-consulting agencies in Sweden. The research has however been delimited to a selection of the population, where the sample consists of three IT-consulting agencies located in Jönköping, with experience of B2BAI.</p><p>One of the most interesting discoveries we have made in this research is that the empirical findings agree with the theory in regards of that globalization is a central factor contributing to why companies chose to invest in B2BAI. However, the respondents do not discuss all the advantages of B2BAI mentioned in the theory and emphasize slightly different underlying reasons for choosing to employ a B2BAI strategy. The most central reason for not choosing to employ a B2BAI strategy was according to the respondents due to the lack of knowledge regarding issues relating to the phenomenon and this have not been discussed in the theoretical framework. The challenges with B2BAI stated in the theory, were on the other hand not regarded as issues contributing to not choosing to implement B2BAI. We are under the impression that the advantages and the oppor-tunities with B2BAI carry more weight then the challenges, as the essays empirical findings indicate that the demand for B2BAI today is high and constantly growing.</p> / <p>Dagens globala affärsvärld kräver att företag ska vara flexibla för att snabbt kunna reagera och anpassa sig till den ständigt föränderliga marknaden. Business-to-business application integration (B2BAI) kan ses som ett verktyg som hjälper företag att vara konkurrenskraftiga och i teorier som behandlar ämnet beskrivs det ofta som ett måste för att överleva i dagens tuffa affärsklimat. Trots att tillämpandet av en B2BAI strategi kan generera ett flertal fördelar så finns det fortfarande många utmaningar och problem att bemästra för att kunna få en framgångsrik B2BAI lösning.</p><p>Baserat på detta fann vi det högst intressant att undersöka huruvida teorins positiva bild av B2BAI kunde stödjas av en empirisk studie. I denna uppsats har vi därför undersökt och identifierat de underliggande skälen och de bidragande faktorerna till varför företag väljer eller inte väljer att integrera externt, utifrån ett IT-konsultföretag perspektiv. Utöver detta ges en beskrivning av och förklaring till de begrepp som kunskapsområdet B2BAI innefattar för att underlätta förståelsen för läsaren. Eftersom vår avsikt huvudsakligen var att undersöka skälen bakom och de bidragande faktorerna till varför företag väljer eller inte väljer att integrera, valde vi att genomföra kvalitativa intervjuer. Detta då vi hade ett behov av information som beskrev händelser och uttryckte personliga åsikter för att kunna uppfylla syftet med denna uppsats. Vad gäller urvalet av undersökningsobjekt består populationen av alla IT-konsultföretag i Sverige. Undersökningen har dock avgränsats till tre IT-konsultföretag belägna i Jönköping med erfarenhet av B2BAI.</p><p>En av de mest intressanta upptäckterna vi har gjort i denna undersökning är att empirin överensstämmer med teorin beträffande att globaliseringen är en central bidragande faktor till varför företag väljer att investera i B2BAI. Respondenterna diskuterar dock inte alla fördelar med B2BAI som omnämns i teorin och framhåller delvis andra underliggande skäl till varför företag väljer att använda an B2BAI strategi. Det mest centrala skälet till varför företag inte väljer att implementera en B2BAI strategi var enligt respondenterna på grund av bristande kunskaper beträffande frågor relaterade till fenomenet och detta har inte diskuterats i det teoretiska ramverket. Utmaningarna med B2BAI omnämnda i teorin ansågs emellertid inte vara bidragande faktorer till att inte välja att implementera B2BAI. Vi har fått intrycket att de fördelar och möjligheter som B2BAI medför är av större vikt för företag än de utmaningar och problem som existerar, då uppsatsens empiriska studie pekar på att efterfrågan för B2BAI är stor idag och kon-stant växande.</p>

No description available.

The global business environment of today requires companies to be flexible, in order to quickly react and respond to the ever-changing market. Business-to-business application integration (B2BAI) can be seen as a tool which enables companies to stay competitive and it is often regarded by the theory as a must for survival in today’s fierce business environment. Eventhough the employment of a B2BAI strategy can generate a lot of advantages and opportunities for companies operating within today’s global business environment, there are still many challenges and problems to overcome in order to have a successful B2BAI solution. Based on this we found it highly interesting to see whether the theories positive outlook on B2BAI could be supported by an empirical research. In this essay we have therefore studied and identified the underlying reasons and the contributing factors to why or why not companies choose to integrate externally, from the perspective of IT-consulting agencies. Besides this, a description and an explanation regarding the concepts covered by the field of B2BAI have been made in order to facilitate the understanding for the reader. As our intention primarily was to investigate the reasons behind and the contributing factors to why or why not companies choose to integrate, we chose to make qualitative interviews. This, as we were in need of information which described the course of events and expressed individual opinions, in order to achieve the purpose of the essay. Regarding the selection of research objects for the research, the population consists of all IT-consulting agencies in Sweden. The research has however been delimited to a selection of the population, where the sample consists of three IT-consulting agencies located in Jönköping, with experience of B2BAI. One of the most interesting discoveries we have made in this research is that the empirical findings agree with the theory in regards of that globalization is a central factor contributing to why companies chose to invest in B2BAI. However, the respondents do not discuss all the advantages of B2BAI mentioned in the theory and emphasize slightly different underlying reasons for choosing to employ a B2BAI strategy. The most central reason for not choosing to employ a B2BAI strategy was according to the respondents due to the lack of knowledge regarding issues relating to the phenomenon and this have not been discussed in the theoretical framework. The challenges with B2BAI stated in the theory, were on the other hand not regarded as issues contributing to not choosing to implement B2BAI. We are under the impression that the advantages and the oppor-tunities with B2BAI carry more weight then the challenges, as the essays empirical findings indicate that the demand for B2BAI today is high and constantly growing. / Dagens globala affärsvärld kräver att företag ska vara flexibla för att snabbt kunna reagera och anpassa sig till den ständigt föränderliga marknaden. Business-to-business application integration (B2BAI) kan ses som ett verktyg som hjälper företag att vara konkurrenskraftiga och i teorier som behandlar ämnet beskrivs det ofta som ett måste för att överleva i dagens tuffa affärsklimat. Trots att tillämpandet av en B2BAI strategi kan generera ett flertal fördelar så finns det fortfarande många utmaningar och problem att bemästra för att kunna få en framgångsrik B2BAI lösning. Baserat på detta fann vi det högst intressant att undersöka huruvida teorins positiva bild av B2BAI kunde stödjas av en empirisk studie. I denna uppsats har vi därför undersökt och identifierat de underliggande skälen och de bidragande faktorerna till varför företag väljer eller inte väljer att integrera externt, utifrån ett IT-konsultföretag perspektiv. Utöver detta ges en beskrivning av och förklaring till de begrepp som kunskapsområdet B2BAI innefattar för att underlätta förståelsen för läsaren. Eftersom vår avsikt huvudsakligen var att undersöka skälen bakom och de bidragande faktorerna till varför företag väljer eller inte väljer att integrera, valde vi att genomföra kvalitativa intervjuer. Detta då vi hade ett behov av information som beskrev händelser och uttryckte personliga åsikter för att kunna uppfylla syftet med denna uppsats. Vad gäller urvalet av undersökningsobjekt består populationen av alla IT-konsultföretag i Sverige. Undersökningen har dock avgränsats till tre IT-konsultföretag belägna i Jönköping med erfarenhet av B2BAI. En av de mest intressanta upptäckterna vi har gjort i denna undersökning är att empirin överensstämmer med teorin beträffande att globaliseringen är en central bidragande faktor till varför företag väljer att investera i B2BAI. Respondenterna diskuterar dock inte alla fördelar med B2BAI som omnämns i teorin och framhåller delvis andra underliggande skäl till varför företag väljer att använda an B2BAI strategi. Det mest centrala skälet till varför företag inte väljer att implementera en B2BAI strategi var enligt respondenterna på grund av bristande kunskaper beträffande frågor relaterade till fenomenet och detta har inte diskuterats i det teoretiska ramverket. Utmaningarna med B2BAI omnämnda i teorin ansågs emellertid inte vara bidragande faktorer till att inte välja att implementera B2BAI. Vi har fått intrycket att de fördelar och möjligheter som B2BAI medför är av större vikt för företag än de utmaningar och problem som existerar, då uppsatsens empiriska studie pekar på att efterfrågan för B2BAI är stor idag och kon-stant växande.