Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2003. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The aim of this study is to develop a model for knowledge management within project management, as applied to the implementation of information technology systems in the manufacturing industry. The reason for creating models is to create an abstraction of the knowledge processes within a certain context. This model enhances the model builder's understanding of the context being studied and eases the articulation process of describing the context to other practitioners. In an economic climate where knowledge is becoming the differentiating factor for sustainable growth in shareholder value, it is critical to understand and manage knowledge. In doing so. the practically, proven benefits of knowledge management are avoidance of costly mistakes, faster problem-solving, faster development times, improved customer solutions, gaining new business. enhanced customer service and reduction of risk (Skyrme, 1999: 66-67). The model developed in this research was based on, and is an extension to Nonaka and Takeuchi's (1995) knowledge conversion model. The initiating phases of the project see the creation of a new organizational entity, the project team, formed from two originating organizations namely the supplier and the client organizations. At its inception huge amounts of knowledge is transferred to this project team. Tacit knowledge is externalized from various stakeholders and transferred as explicit knowledge into the project team. The project team at start-up also has access to tacit knowledge from the team members. During the initiating phases of the project the process is started to internalize all the knowledge acquired by the project team. The most prominent knowledge processes in action during this phase is; knowledge acquisition and knowledge transfer. The control and execution phases of the project between the initiating and close-out phases, includes phases from design, to development, to commissioning. During these phases the process of internalizing all the knowledge flowing into the project team is continued, and through the team interaction in reaching its goal, the process is taken further to socialize this knowledge. The most dominant knowledge processes taking place during this part of the project life cycle, are those of knowledge creation and knowledge retention. Knowledge creation occurs as the team strives to create a new and unique solution for the client. The project team grows and shrinks during this phase and knowledge retention within the project team becomes of paramount importance. During the close-out phases of the project, the knowledge within the project team must be externalized, and transferred out of the project tearn back into the originating organizations. The knowledge transferred out of the project team must be retained within the supplier organizations, and captured in knowledge repositories for future use. The externalized knowledge must again be internalized into the operation of the supplier organization and client organization. The knowledge transferred into the supplier organization differs from the knowledge transferred into the client organization. The most prominent knowledge processes during this phase are those of knowledge transfer and knowledge retention. This model provides a framework to understand the interaction between knowledge management, and project management concepts in this specific environment. However, this model must still be tested against other environments to determine if the application of the model is generic across industries. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die doel van hierdie studie is om 'n model te ontwikkel om kennisbestuur binne die projekbestuurdissipline, soos toegepas in die implementering van inligtingstelsels in die vervaardigingsbedryf, te beskryf. Die rede waarom 'n model gebou word, is om 'n abstraksie van die kennisprosesse binne 'n sekere konteks voor te stel. Dit versterk die modelbouer se begrip van die konteks wat bestudeer word en vergemaklik die artikulasieproses om hierdie begrip aan ander oor te dra. In 'n ekonomiese klimaat waar kennis dikwels die onderskeidende faktor vir aanhoudende groei in aandeelhouerwaarde is, is dit krities dat die konsep van kennis se waarde verstaan en bestuur kan word. Die praktiese voordele van kennisbestuur is die vermyding van duur foute, beter probleemoplossing, verkorting van ontwikkelingstyd, beter klientoplossings, verkryging van nuwe besigheid, verbetering van klientediens en vermindering van risiko (Skynne, 1999: 66-67). Die model wat in hierdie navorsingstuk ontwikkel word, is gebaseer op en is 'n uitbreiding van Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995) se kennis-omskakelingsmodel. Gedurende die inisieringsfase van die projek word 'n nuwe entiteit gevorm. Hierdie entitieit is die projekspan wat uit personeel vanaf die klient- en verskaffer-organisasies saamgestel word. Met die ontstaan van die projekspan word groot hoeveelhede kennis na die span oorgedra. Die onderskeie rolspelers moet onuitgesproke kennis ekstemaliseer en na die projekspan oordra as eksplisiete kennis. Die projekspan het ook toe gang tot onuitgesproke kennis deur die individue wat deel van die span vorm. Die proses om al die kennis wat die span bymekaar maak, te internaliseer, begin gedurende die inisieringsfase van die projek. Die mees prominente kennisprosesse in aksie gedurende hierdie projekfase, is die van kennisverkryging en kennisoordrag. Die beheer-en-uitvoeringsfase, tussen die inisierings- en finaliseringsfase van die projek, omvat die sub-fases vanaf ontwerp tot ontwikkeling tot implementering. Gedurende hierdie fase word die proses om kennis wat in die span invloei te internaliseer, voortgesit. Soos die span met mekaar en die klient interaksie het in die nastrewe van die projek se doelwit, word die proses voortgesit om kennis in die span te sosialiseer. Die mees prominente kennisprosesse in hierdie fase is die van kennisskepping en kennisbehouding. Kennis word geskep soos die span probeer om 'n nuwe en unieke oplossing vir die klient te ontwikkel. Die projekspan groei en krimp deur sy leeftyd en as gevolg hiervan word kennisbehouding 'n hoogs belangrike taak vir die projekspan. Gedurende die finaliseringsfase van die projek, moet die projekspan se kennis geeksternaliseer word en uit die span terug na die oorspronklike organisasies oorgedra word. Die kennis wat vanaf die span na die verskaffer-organisasie oorgedra word, moet vasgevang en in 'n kennisstoor vir toekomstige gebruik gestoor word. Die kennis wat vanaf die projekspan ge-eksternaliseer word, moet dan in die klient- en verskaffer-organisasies se daaglikse werking ge-internaliseer word. Die kennis wat na die verskaffer-organisasie oorgedra word, verskil van die kennis wat na die klient-organisasie oorgedra word. Die mees prominente kennisprosesse gedurende hierdie fase is die van kennisoordrag en kennisbehouding. Hierdie model stel 'n struktuur voor waarbinne die interaksie tussen kennisbestuur en projekbestuur in 'n spesifieke konteks vestaan kan word. Hierdie model moet egter nog binne ander omgewings getoets word om te bepaal of die model generies oor industriee toegepas kan word.

Information Technology (IT) is often viewed as a resource that is capable of enhancing organizational performance. However, it is difficult for organizations to measure the actual contribution of IT investments. Despite an abundance of literature, there is an insufficiency of generally applicable frameworks and instruments to help organizations definitively assess the relationship among organizational performance, IT-business alignment, and IT governance. Previous studies have emphasized IT-business alignment as an important enabler of organizational effectiveness; however, the direct and indirect effects of IT governance have not been incorporated into these studies. The purpose of this study was (1) to propose a new model that defines the relationships among IT governance, IT-business alignment, and organizational performance, (2) to develop and validate measures for the IT governance and IT-business alignment constructs, and (3) to test this IT Governance-Alignment-Performance or "IT GAP" model. This study made some novel contributions to the understanding of the factors affecting organizational performance. The quest for IT-business alignment in the MIS literature has been based on the presumption that IT contributes directly to organizational performance. However, this study found that although IT-business alignment does contribute to organizational performance, IT governance is an important antecedent of both IT-business alignment and organizational performance. The major contributions of this work are the development and validation of uni-dimensional scales for both IT-business alignment and IT governance, and the confirmation of the validity of the IT GAP model to explain the hypothesized relationships among the three constructs. Future studies may improve upon this research by using different organizations settings, industries, and stakeholders. This study indicates that in order for organizations to improve the value, contribution, and alignment of IT investments they first need to improve the ways in which they govern their IT activities and the processes and mechanisms by which IT decisions are made.

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. / The purpose of this thesis is to discuss the new features and enhancements of Windows Server 2003. Windows NT and Windows 2000 were known to have numerous security vulnerabilities; hence Microsoft focused on improving security by making Windows Server 2003 "secure by design, secure by default, secure in deployment." This thesis examines the differences between the five unique editions of the Windows Server 2003 family. Some of the pros and cons of migrating to Windows Server 2003 are highlighted. The author hopes this study will assist information technology professionals with their decision on whether or not to upgrade to this latest version of Microsoft's flagship network operating system. / Lieutenant Commander, United States Navy

M.Tech. (Operations Management) / The South African manufacturing sector is considered the main driver of economic growth, but is falling behind in adopting and adequately using information and communication technology (ICT) to improve productivity and competitiveness. This is creating a constraint that hinders the manufacturing sector, adversely affecting its ability to access the global market and produce high value-added goods, and also to compete globally. Thus, the main objective of this dissertation is to gain an in-depth understanding of the impact of ICT on service design and operations to address barriers to manufacturing sector growth and to improve productivity and competitiveness. This study proposes an ICT-based service design model to increase productivity and competitiveness in the South African manufacturing sectors. It argues that the challenges faced can be addressed and that some of the solutions lie in the integration of ICT into service design and operations processes. The research adopted an interpretive approach through qualitative methods and, was carried out as a single case study using ArcelorMittal South Africa for which a purposive sampling technique was considered appropriate. Qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews, and tape recorded and analysed through descriptive procedures. The findings suggest that ICT diffuses rapidly, creating opportunities and challenges for manufacturing companies. In addition it was found out that the adoption and adequate use of ICT depends on the implementation phase. This is when most challenges and impacts are experienced: for example, technological capability, technical skills, resources and ICT infrastructure capabilities. In addition, the findings suggest that a more educated workforce possesses the capability to acquire the necessary skills, in the form of self-education to overcome any challenges encountered. Evidence also shows that companies are facing challenges in relation to the selection and integration of the right technologies due to lack of ICT expertise. Therefore, this research proposes an ICT-based service design model to increase productivity and global competitiveness in the manufacturing sectors in South Africa.

The year 2000 (Y2K) problem presented a fortuitous opportunity to explore the relationship between estimated costs of software projects and five cost influence dimensions described by the Year 2000 Enterprise Cost Model (Kappelman, et al., 1998) -- organization, problem, solution, resources, and stage of completion. This research was a field study survey of (Y2K) project managers in industry, government, and education and part of a joint project that began in 1996 between the University of North Texas and the Y2K Working Group of the Society for Information Management (SIM). Evidence was found to support relationships between estimated costs and organization, problem, resources, and project stage but not for the solution dimension. Project stage appears to moderate the relationships for organization, particularly IS practices, and resources. A history of superior IS practices appears to mean lower estimated costs, especially for projects in larger IS organizations. Acquiring resources, especially external skills, appears to increase costs. Moreover, projects apparently have many individual differences, many related to size and to project stage, and their influences on costs appear to be at the sub-dimension or even the individual variable level. A Revised Year 2000 Enterprise Model is presented incorporating this granularity. Two primary conclusions can be drawn from this research: (1) large software projects are very complex and thus cost estimating is also; and (2) the devil of cost estimating is in the details of knowing which of the many possible variables are the important ones for each particular enterprise and project. This points to the importance of organizations keeping software project metrics and the historical calibration of cost-estimating practices. Project managers must understand the relevant details and their interaction and importance in order to successfully develop a cost estimate for a particular project, even when rational cost models are used. This research also indicates that software cost estimating has political as well as rational influences at play.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand, partly for the fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Science in Engineering. Johannesburg 2016 / This dissertation aims to identify whether or not there is clear and tangible evidence to suggest a relationship between the presence of total quality management (TQM) practices and service quality in the restaurant industry. It attempts to investigate if restaurants that show higher levels of service quality do so because they implement quality management practices in some form or another. The study considers four restaurants in Johannesburg. A research method was devised purely for this dissertation to measure the presence of quality management practices within the restaurant and the level of service quality experienced by the customer. Three research instruments were designed for the study by using various frameworks, specifically TQM (a type of quality management practice), the SERVQUAL instrument (a tool used to measure service quality) and qualitative research interviewing. Quality management practices at the restaurants were assessed using the first research instrument: The TQM Questionnaire, which was conducted as an interview between researcher and restaurant employees. The level of service quality was assessed using the second research instrument: The Customer Survey, which was dispensed to the restaurant customers. The third instrument, an observations table was used to corroborate the results obtained by the first two instruments and was designed by the researcher. The results of the TQM Questionnaire were analysed using content analysis, and each restaurant was assigned a total TQM score, which signified the degree to which they implement TQM practices. These scores were compared to the results obtained from the customer surveys, which assigned each restaurant with a SERVQUAL score that measured the degree of customer satisfaction. The TQM results were compared to the SERVQUAL results for each restaurant in order to identify a relationship between the two aspects. The research identified that 3 of the 4 restaurants showed a clear relationship between the presence of TQM practices in their operations and the level of service quality experienced by the customer. It was identified that restaurants that achieved high TQM scores also achieved the highest SERVQUAL scores. This finding recognises that there is a relationship between TQM and service quality, however the study does not go forward to investigate the nature of this relationship. / MT2016

Thesis (MTech (Information Technology))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2018. / This study recognises that, regardless of information security policies, information about institutions continues to be leaked due to the lack of employee compliance. The problem is that information leakages have serious consequences for institutions, especially those that rely on information for its sustainability, functionality and competitiveness. As such, institutions ensure that information about their processes, activities and services are secured, which they do through enforcement and compliance of policies. The aim of this study is to explore the extent of non-compliance with information security policy in an institution. The study followed an interpretive, qualitative case study approach to understand the meaningful characteristics of the actual situations of security breaches in institutions. Qualitative data was collected from two universities, using semi-structured interviews, with 17 participants. Two departments were selected: Human Resources and the Administrative office. These two departments were selected based on the following criteria: they both play key roles within an institution, they maintain and improve the university’s policies, and both departments manage and keep confidential university information (Human Resources transects and keeps employees’ information, whilst the Administrative office manages students’ records). This study used structuration theory as a lens to view and interpret the data. The qualitative content analysis was used to analyse documentation, such as brochures and information obtained from the websites of the case study’s universities. The documentation was then further used to support the data from the interviews. The findings revealed some factors that influence non-compliance with regards to information security policy, such as a lack of leadership skills, favouritism, fraud, corruption, insufficiency of infrastructure, lack of security education and miscommunication. In the context of this study, these factors have severe consequences on an institution, such as the loss of the institution’s credibility or the institution’s closure. Recommendations for further study are also made available.

Retaining business value in a legacy commercial enterprise resource planning system today often entails more than just maintaining the software to preserve existing functionality. This type of system tends to represent a significant capital investment that may not be easily scrapped, replaced, or re-engineered without considerable expense. A legacy system may need to be frequently extended to impart new behavior as stakeholder business goals and technical requirements evolve. Legacy ERP systems are growing in prevalence and are both expensive to maintain and risky to evolve. Humans are the driving factor behind the expense, from the engineering costs associated with evolving these types of systems to the labor costs required to operate the result. Autonomic computing is one approach that addresses these challenges by imparting self-adaptive behavior into the evolved system. The contribution of this dissertation aims to add to the body of knowledge in software engineering some insight and best practices for development approaches that are normally hidden from academia by the competitive nature of the retail industry. We present a formal architectural pattern that describes an asynchronous, low-complexity, and autonomic approach. We validate the pattern with two real-world commercial case studies and a reengineering simulation to demonstrate that the pattern is repeatable and agnostic with respect to the operating system, programming language, and communication protocols. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2015. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Numerous models of IS success and technology acceptance their extensions have been proposed and applied in empirical. This study continues this tradition and extends the body of knowledge on the topic of IS success by developing a more comprehensive model for measuring IS success and technology acceptance within a government organization. The proposed model builds upon three established IS success and technology acceptance frameworks namely the DeLone and McLean (2003), Venkatesh et al.'s (2003) unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT), and Wixom and Todd (2005). The findings from this study provide not only a comprehensive IS success assessment model but also insights into whether and how IS success models are influenced by application variables as applied within a government organization. Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were performed for instrument refinement and validity test of the existing and proposed models. Using data from employees of a local government municipal, the comprehensive model explained 32 percent variance. Four of the hypothesis were fully supported five were not supported, and four were partially supported. In addition, the results suggest that behavioral intention may not be the best predictor of technology acceptance in a mandatory environment.

The specific aims of this study were determined on a conceptual appreciation that management of information assets and services in some government agencies was deficient in meeting both existing and developing demands. This appreciation manifested itself in a commitment to investigate the principles and processes intrinsic to existing management methodologies, to relate these processes to the needs of users, and to determine a strategy which could more ably meet the information provision requirements of those users. The achievement of these aims predicated the use of the case study research method, selecting as the first case study the Department of Human Services and Health (DHSH), an agency that had recognised that a problem existed in the provision of information services, and had initiated action to address that problem. As a counter, the Department of Defence, an agency which adrmts to a problem, but which had yet to initiate an active, global program for its resolution, was chosen as the second case study. A theoretical model, which reflects extant international thinking and practice, was initially constructed in order to establish a basis on which to ascertain and evaluate the information management circumstances of the two case study departments. This model specified the objectives considered to be fundamental to effective information management in a public service environment. It included studying the foundation repositories of information services from which information in the portfolio domains of government are sought. These services are the traditional records centres or registries, the library services which provide a repository of published and grey material in printed, image and magnetic formats, and the computerised networks holding electronic records at varying levels of development. An analysis of findings was carried out separately on each case study agency before bringing the data together for cross-case analysis. In order to maximise the veracity and validity of the data collected and its subsequent interpretation by the researcher, the draft analysed case study findings were submitted to the respective agencies for review and critique. All matters of substance received have been incorporated in the final version. The findings from the two case studies and the cross-case analysis confm that, despite significant advances in some specific agencies, the initial hypothesis that government agencies are still deficient in providing optimum services to meet the information needs of users, is demonstrated. The advances that have been made, however, similarly support the other thesis hypotheses that the implementation of an integrated information management strategy in any government agency will provide a foundation for improved information provision and the timely delivery of relevant available information to the user. Finally, a model of optimum processes involved in such a strategy, derived from the theory and practical products of this study, is offered. This could be the subject for future evaluation and testing for realistic and functional application.