Integrating ERP\u27s Second Wave into Higher Education Curriculum

In the 1990s there was considerable growth in implementations of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Systems. Companies expected these systems to support many of the day to day business transactions. The growth in ERP implementations had a resultant impact on the demand for ERP skills. Many universities recognised this demand and the potential of using ERP Systems software as a teaching tool, and endeavoured to incorporate ERP systems into their curriculum; however most universities have struggled in this task. The application of ERP in education is well documented in many papers on Information Systems education. ERP systems have now evolved to incorporate more strategic components and universities and ERP vendors are investigating ways in which curriculum can be developed to support these new solutions. This paper discusses the evolution of ERP systems and how universities are attempting to develop their curriculum to complement these changes. It identifies how one university is addressing this dilemma and how this approach could be adopted and expanded further. --Conference held Bangkok, Thailand, 7-10 July, 200

Industry Participation in Educating Enterprise Resource Planning

During the last two decades many businesses around the world have adopted Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. Consequently the growth in the number of ERP implementations has had an enormous impact on the demand for ERP skills. This is one of the main reasons that many universities have adopted ERP in their curriculum. However many universities have struggled with the complexity, considerable cost and effort involved with the use of ERP and the way in which to incorporate it into the curriculum. This paper describes a joint effort by industry and the HU University of Applied Science in the Netherlands at designing an ERP curriculum that doesn’t have these problems and at the same time bridges the gap between skills taught by academia and those valued by industr

Integrating Enterprise System’s 3rd Wave Into IS Curriculum

This paper covers our observations that while enterprise systems are in their 4th Wave, current enterprise systems courses mainly cover the skills requirement up to the 2nd Wave. In this paper, we present our experience in developing an elective course (to address the 3rd Wave enterprise systems skills and knowledge) within the BSc Information Systems Management curriculum. This include the learning objectives and competencies, curriculum context, course structure, lab content, assessments, student evaluation and industry feedback

A framework for the adoption of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems in higher education

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

A framework for the adoption of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems in higher education

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