Zugl.: Potsdam, Univ., Diss., 2005.

Zugl.: Potsdam, Univ., Diss., 2008

Proefschrift Maastricht. / Lit. opg. - Met een samenvatting in het Nederlands.

No description available.

Zugl.: Sankt Gallen, Univ., Diss., 2009

Zugl.: Olten, Hochsch. für Soziale Arbeit, Diplomarbeit

Duisburg, Essen, Universiẗat, Diss., 2007.

Information Communication Technology (ICT) practitioners and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) specialists are highly sought after globally and in South Africa. In order to address this need for ERP specialists, several studies propose that ERP systems should be adopted in the Information Systems (IS) curricula in higher education institutions (HEIs) for instructional purposes. Whilst many HEIs in the United States, Australia and Europe have successfully adopted ERP systems into their curricula, less than 30% of South African HEIs have followed this trend. The adoption of ERP systems is a challenging process as such systems are resource-intensive, costly, complex, and have a steep learning curve. Educators are faced with resource problems and a dearth of options relating to the adoption process. In addition it is critical that the skills and knowledge competencies attained in these courses are industry-relevant. Several education frameworks have been recommended to assist educators with the process of adopting an ERP system in the curriculum, but these frameworks are not comprehensive since they do not consider all the factors relating to the adoption of an ERP system. In addition existing frameworks are not based on industry-relevant competencies but rather on educational objectives. This has resulted in a difference between the competencies required by organisations and those produced by higher education. Whilst there are several research studies on ERP education, empirical studies on frameworks supporting the adoption of ERP systems in HEIs for instructional purposes are limited, particularly on the impact of these frameworks on educational outcomes. The impact of the usability of the ERP system on educational outcomes has also not been fully explored. A survey of ERP consulting organisations in South Africa confirmed that these organisations struggle to obtain ERP specialists with the appropriate competencies. The survey results also contributed to a standardised, comprehensive, set of industry-relevant ERP competencies. The competency set forms part of a comprehensive Competency Framework for ERP System Adoption in IS Higher Education (ERPEd), which can assist educators with the decisions relating to the adoption of an ERP system into the IS curriculum. It includes all the categories of competencies relevant to industry and maps these onto a recommended ERP system adoption approach, an ERP learning tool, as well as the appropriate level of adoption. The application of the ERPEd framework to a case study, the Management Information Systems (MIS) course at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU), resulted in the adoption of the SYSPRO medium-sized ERP system into the MIS course with the hands-on approach. The empirical results of the evaluation of the case study revealed that the hands-on use of a medium-sized ERP system, SYSPRO, can successfully contribute to the attainment of educational outcomes. These outcomes were mapped to the three core competencies addressed by the MIS course, which were ERP Theory and Concepts, ERP Transactions and Business Process Management (BPM). The educational outcomes evaluated were the measures of performance, self-efficacy and usability. Self-efficacy included satisfaction with the adoption approach. The results were positive in terms of all the metrics of performance, and all three competency categories had positive post-intervention self-efficacy ratings. In terms of growth in self-efficacy from pre-intervention to post-intervention, BPM was the only competency category that did not show a significant growth, however the satisfaction data indicated that students found that the use of SYSPRO improved their competencies in business process understanding. Usability was evaluated in terms of navigation, presentation and learnability. Learnability was the only usability measure in the neutral range, with the other measures falling in the positive range. This confirms related studies reporting that ERP systems are not designed for learning. Overall the students enjoyed the practical application of the theory by using SYSPRO. Several positive and negative features of the user interface were provided which can be used in the design of improved ERP systems for instructional purposes. The results of this investigation can assist in narrowing the gap between industry requirements and IS education programmes. The ERP competency set provides a standardised list of skills and knowledge which is the starting point for any skills improvement program. The ERPEd framework can improve the quality of ERP courses and the competencies of IS graduates. This in turn, can benefit the business community since it will improve the chances of ERP project success. This research is a major contribution to both government and academic initiatives in South Africa to address both the ICT skills problem as well as the need for ERP specialists.

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems are part of information systems on which organisations depend when conducting business. An ERP system offers useful functionality in the smooth running of any organisation. This dissertation investigates the impact of ERP implementation at SASSA North West Regional Office. It highlights problems of the current ERP system by delineating the weaknesses and pitfalls. The relevant literature has been visited and has served as a primary data that adds value to the dissertation. Collation of the relevant data is followed by a discussion of the employee perception of the impact of ERP implementation. The relative lack of research of impact on ERP implementation is the primary impetus of this study. The sample was drawn from SASSA North West Regional Office employees who were cooperative in the execution of the study. As a result of this. the research on the subject has moved beyond the limited confines of ERP implementation to focus more on the impact of the ERP system. ERP system is focused on standardisation and synchronisation of information as a result of improved organizational efficiency, but unfortunately problems with the ERP system can create challenges and dissatisfaction among the end users, resulting in failure to deliver the anticipated benefits. The findings of this study reveal ed that there is de ficiency in the ERP system; employees are worried about data loss when they use the system, find system errors, experience difficulty in expotiing data, and are not satisfied with the quality of output from ERP system. SASSA management should explore opportunity to ensure that the employees are trained to be familiar with the ERP system, improve system reliability, reduce possible system errors, and look at the conclusion and recommendations made in this dissertation. / Thesis (MBA) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2012

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems are part of information systems on which organisations depend when conducting business. An ERP system offers useful functionality in the smooth running of any organisation. This dissertation investigates the impact of ERP implementation at SASSA North West Regional Office. It highlights problems of the current ERP system by delineating the weaknesses and pitfalls. The relevant literature has been visited and has served as a primary data that adds value to the dissertation. Collation of the relevant data is followed by a discussion of the employee perception of the impact of ERP implementation. The relative lack of research of impact on ERP implementation is the primary impetus of this study. The sample was drawn from SASSA North West Regional Office employees who were cooperative in the execution of the study. As a result of this, the research on the subject has moved beyond the limited confines of ERP implementation to focus more on the impact of the ERP system. ERP system is focused on standardisation and synchronisation of information as a result of improved organizational efficiency, but unfortunately problems with the ERP system can create challenges and dissatisfaction among the end users, resulting in fai lure to deliver the anticipated benefits. The findings of this study revealed that there is deficiency in the ERP system; employees are worried about data loss when they use the system, find system enors, experience difficulty in exporting data, and are not satisfied with the quality of output from ERP system. SASSA management should explore opportunity to ensure that the employees are trained to be familiar with the ERP system, improve system reliability, reduce possible system errors, and look at the conclusion and recommendations made in this dissertation. / Thesis (MBA) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2012