This study investigates to what extent "e"-communication is used successfully by Zimbabwean commercial banks. The study was done using the literature survey method and the questionnaire. The closed and open-ended questionnaires used for gathering data were administered personally by the researcher leading to 99% return rate of questionnaires. The major conclusions from this study are that "e"-communication is widely adopted by the commercial banks in Zimbabwe, examples being the use of email, statement enquiries or bill payment services. Recommendations drawn from this research are that commercial banks' top management should be committed to the establishment of more effective information systems programmes and invest substantially more in Information Technology to meet the demanding needs and expectations of customers. The study could be replicated in other sectors of business in order to strengthen the reliability and validity of the results revealed here. / Financial Accounting / M. Com. (Accounting)

In today's global market environment, enterprises are increasingly turning towards collaboration in projects to leverage their resources, skills and expertise, and simultaneously address the challenges posed in diverse and competitive markets. Moderators, which are knowledge based systems have successfully been used to support collaborative teams by raising awareness of problems or conflicts. However, the functioning of a moderator is limited to the knowledge it has about the team members. Knowledge acquisition, learning and updating of knowledge are the major challenges for a Moderator's implementation. To address these challenges a Knowledge discOvery And daTa minINg inteGrated (KOATING) framework is presented for Moderators to enable them to continuously learn from the operational databases of the company and semi-automatically update the corresponding expert module. The architecture for the Universal Knowledge Moderator (UKM) shows how the existing moderators can be extended to support global manufacturing. A method for designing and developing the knowledge acquisition module of the Moderator for manual and semi-automatic update of knowledge is documented using the Unified Modelling Language (UML). UML has been used to explore the static structure and dynamic behaviour, and describe the system analysis, system design and system development aspects of the proposed KOATING framework. The proof of design has been presented using a case study for a collaborative project in the form of construction project supply chain. It has been shown that Moderators can "learn" by extracting various kinds of knowledge from Post Project Reports (PPRs) using different types of text mining techniques. Furthermore, it also proposed that the knowledge discovery integrated moderators can be used to support and enhance collaboration by identifying appropriate business opportunities and identifying corresponding partners for creation of a virtual organization. A case study is presented in the context of a UK based SME. Finally, this thesis concludes by summarizing the thesis, outlining its novelties and contributions, and recommending future research.

The impact of globalisation and advanced information technology on service and knowledgebased industries in South Africa contributes to these workplaces becoming increasingly virtual. Virtual teams can be seen as a mechanism that organisations could use to increase their orientation for change through enhancing and integrating key organisational resources such as people, space and information technology to deliver greater business value. The findings of several studies suggest that the implementation of virtual teams is associated with benefits such as cost and time saving, increased employee productivity and employee empowerment. There are however salient barriers to effective virtual teamwork that organisations need to address before engaging in the transformational process towards virtual teamwork. The literature review identified ineffective leadership practices, factors relating to virtual team development, inadequate use of information technology and a paucity of social and organisational cultural integration, as the most salient features that impede effective virtual teamwork. The objective of this research was to develop a basic theoretical framework for the implementation of virtual teams. Since virtual teams emanate from a relatively new area of research an inductive methodology, based on a literature review, was used to achieve the research objective. Several theoretical models on virtual teams and their effectiveness thereon were explored to conceptualise the dynamic nature of virtual teams and the requirements for implementing them in the workplace. The results of the study indicated that an emergent approach to change be followed and that the following factors be addressed to determine an organisation's readiness for the implementation of virtual teams, namely: the degree of interdependence between tasks, structural requirements, technological requirements, process redesign and the selection of appropriate people. A methodology for work transformation towards virtual teamwork was suggested based on an integration of these factors. / Thesis (M.Sc. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2004.

No description available.

No description available.

The impact of globalisation and advanced information technology on service and knowledgebased industries in South Africa contributes to these workplaces becoming increasingly virtual. Virtual teams can be seen as a mechanism that organisations could use to increase their orientation for change through enhancing and integrating key organisational resources such as people, space and information technology to deliver greater business value. The findings of several studies suggest that the implementation of virtual teams is associated with benefits such as cost and time saving, increased employee productivity and employee empowerment. There are however salient barriers to effective virtual teamwork that organisations need to address before engaging in the transformational process towards virtual teamwork. The literature review identified ineffective leadership practices, factors relating to virtual team development, inadequate use of information technology and a paucity of social and organisational cultural integration, as the most salient features that impede effective virtual teamwork. The objective of this research was to develop a basic theoretical framework for the implementation of virtual teams. Since virtual teams emanate from a relatively new area of research an inductive methodology, based on a literature review, was used to achieve the research objective. Several theoretical models on virtual teams and their effectiveness thereon were explored to conceptualise the dynamic nature of virtual teams and the requirements for implementing them in the workplace. The results of the study indicated that an emergent approach to change be followed and that the following factors be addressed to determine an organisation's readiness for the implementation of virtual teams, namely: the degree of interdependence between tasks, structural requirements, technological requirements, process redesign and the selection of appropriate people. A methodology for work transformation towards virtual teamwork was suggested based on an integration of these factors. / Thesis (M.Sc. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2004.

No description available.

Information systems are used to increase business performance to gain competitive advantage. Information systems affect both financial measures and internal processes, thus providing different benefits to organisation. The main objective of the thesis is to create a model for evaluation of business performance through implementation of information systems. The thesis consists of three parts. In the theoretical part definition on what are information systems, enterprise resource planning systems and how do they correspond to each other were given. Explanation on how information systems can increase business performance and what business processes and indicators might be affected were analyzed. Integrated information system that refers to enterprise resource planning systems group is presented in the more detailed way. In the second part description was provided on how model was created for evaluation of influence of information systems on business performance. Information how the hierarchical organizational structure and selected performance indicators might be used for evaluation the general business performance index. In the practical model approbation part the results on the evaluation of information Systems, implemented in different branch offices in different countries of company providing engineering consultancy services , was made. Research results analysis has revealed that information systems have a great effect on business performance and can enhance performance... [to full text] / Informacinės sistemos naudojamos siekiant pagerinti įmonės veiklos rodiklius ir įgyti konkurencinį pranašumą. Informacinės sistemos turi poveikį tiek finansiniams, tiek ir vidaus procesų rodikliams, taip suteikdamos naudą įmonei. Baigiamojo darbo pagrindinis tikslas yra sukurti informacinių sistemų poveikio įmonių veiklai vertinimo modelį. Baigiamąjį magistro darbą sudaro trys dalys. Teorinėje studijoje pateikiami informacinės sistemos, įmonių vidinių išteklių planavimo sistemų apibrėžimai ir aiškinama sąsaja tarp šių dviejų reikšmių. Analizuojama, kaip diegiamos informacinės sistemos didina verslo efektyvumą, gerina rodiklius, paveikia verslo procesus. Antroje dalyje nagrinėjamas informacinių sistemų poveikio įmonių veiklai vertinimo modelis. Išanalizuota, kaip esama hierarchinė organizacijos struktūra ir pasirinkti veiklos rodikliai gali būti panaudoti bendro verslo veiklos rodikliui paskaičiuoti. Praktinėje dalyje buvo atliktas modelio aprobavimas inžinierines konsultacines paslaugas teikiančioje įmonės filialuose, įsteigtuose skirtingose šalyse. Tyrimo rezultatai parodė, kad informacinės sistemos turi didelį poveikį verslo rodikliams ir gali padidinti įmonės efektyvumą. Baigiamojo darbo pabaigoje pateiktos išvados ir pasiūlymai. Baigiamojo darbo apimtis – 79 p. teksto be priedų, 24 pav., 22 lent., 82 bibliografiniai šaltiniai.

With the advent of knowledge-intensive economies, plus the ever-accelerating development of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), organisational knowledge has become the key driver of an organisation's value and ultimately, an important source of an organisation's sustainable competitive edge. Thus, numerous organisations have started to invest heavily in establishing knowledge management systems (KMSs). Subsequently, they wish to access knowledge from individuals in order to enhance their acquisition of knowledge and ultimately transform this into organisational knowledge. Even though existing research studies have evidenced extensively the intrinsic and extrinsic motivators of individuals' knowledge-sharing behaviour in organisations from diverse perspectives (e.g. organisational behaviour, sociology and psychology), individuals still seem inclined to hoard their knowledge, rather than share it with others in organisations. To this end, this research aims to investigate and identify essential elements related to individuals' knowledge-sharing behaviour within the complex context of the virtual organisation of Taiwanese Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs), comprising the whole system of Taiwanese Farmers' Associations, by integrating multilevel perspectives of individuals in organisations (the micro-level), workplace networks in organisations (the meso-level) and organisational culture (the macro-level).

This study investigates to what extent "e"-communication is used successfully by Zimbabwean commercial banks. The study was done using the literature survey method and the questionnaire. The closed and open-ended questionnaires used for gathering data were administered personally by the researcher leading to 99% return rate of questionnaires. The major conclusions from this study are that "e"-communication is widely adopted by the commercial banks in Zimbabwe, examples being the use of email, statement enquiries or bill payment services. Recommendations drawn from this research are that commercial banks' top management should be committed to the establishment of more effective information systems programmes and invest substantially more in Information Technology to meet the demanding needs and expectations of customers. The study could be replicated in other sectors of business in order to strengthen the reliability and validity of the results revealed here. / Financial Accounting / M. Com. (Accounting)