Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) adoption in a hybrid service and manufacturing Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) : an action case study

There is a growing need for understanding business process re-engineering within SMEs such as the service management companies and this calls for more research focusing on Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and implementation. The aim of this study is to highlight the impact of an in-depth business process analysis during the pre-adoption and implementation of an ERP system in a hybrid service and manufacturing Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise (SME). Service management SMEs are identified as lacking in research focus especially in service operations, and in hybrid organisations that combine manufacturing and service provision. The study extends the existing knowledge in business process analysis and ERP adoption research by drawing upon the interpretive action case and Organisational Information Processing Theory (OIPT). The emphasis is on the impact of appropriate business process analysis during the pre-adoption decision making of an ERP system in a hybrid service and manufacturing SME. Primary data was collected using an online survey with 72 customer responses, questionnaires for in-company observations and third party meetings conducted at an SME in the North West of England, UK.OIPT specifically states that organisations are structured around information and the flow of information in order to minimise uncertainties. The theory suggests the use of information processing needs and information processing capabilities of an organisation to find an optimal performance. The theory however made no suggestion of how to find this optimal performance. Customising OIPT as the theoretical framework, the current study identified two variables a) information processing needs and b) information processing capability of the case organisation and used Value Stream Mapping (VSM) to analyse both variables in order to obtain an optimal fit during IS/IT pre-adoption decision making. The current study takes an original approach by combining and customising OIPT with VSM to the needs of the current study. It also highlights existing wastes in the business process and areas of improvement are suggested while mapping the information processing needs and information processing capabilities of the organisation.The study used action case methodology to provide a rich insight into business process analysis and ERP pre-adoption in a hybrid service and manufacturing SME. The current study was conducted over a period of two years from January 2010 to December 2011. The author was fully immersed into the study as both a participant and a researcher. The action case provided an environment where information processing needs and information processing capabilities as well as the application of VSM could be studied while analysing the resultant implications. Using action case, the current study was able to focus on pre-adoption decision making and monitored the initial impact of action on the case. The key finding is that OIPT and VSM are compatible and offer an opportunity of closing the weaknesses of not being able to identify the optimal fit when using OIPT alone during business process analysis.The contributions to knowledge are: i) Modification of OIPT in the form of OIPT2.0 to reproduce the current state as well as develop the future state value stream to suggest the optimal fit between the information needs and capability of an organisation. ii) Emphasis on extensive scoping during an IS/IT pre-adoption process aids the identification and adoption of an ERP system which best fits the business process and also suggests areas of the business process which could benefit from improvement. iii) The study also creates more awareness of action case methodology by demonstrating how it provides a rich insight into the process of ERP pre-adoption decision making in a hybrid SME. iv) Recommendation is made to the definition of hybrid service and manufacturing SME

Molecular phylogeny of horseshoe crab using mitochondrial Cox1 gene as a benchmark sequence

An effort to assess the utility of 650 bp Cytochrome C oxidase subunit I (DNA barcode) gene in delineating the members horseshoe crabs (Family: xiphosura) with closely related sister taxa was made. A total of 33 sequences were extracted from National Center for Biotechnological Information (NCBI) which include horseshoe crabs, beetles, common crabs and scorpion sequences. Constructed phylogram showed beetles are closely related with horseshoe crabs than common crabs. Scorpion spp were distantly related to xiphosurans. Phylogram and observed genetic distance (GD) date were also revealed that Limulus polyphemus was closely related with Tachypleus tridentatus than with T.gigas. Carcinoscorpius rotundicauda was distantly related with L.polyphemus. The observed mean Genetic Distance (GD) value was higher in 3rd codon position in all the selected group of organisms. Among the horseshoe crabs high GC content was observed in L.polyphemus (38.32%) and lowest was observed in T.tridentatus (32.35%). We conclude that COI sequencing (barcoding) could be used in identifying and delineating evolutionary relatedness with closely related specie

Crab and cockle shells as heterogeneous catalysts in the production of biodiesel

In the present study, the waste crab and cockle shells were utilized as source of calcium oxide to transesterify palm olein into methyl esters (biodiesel). Characterization results revealed that the main component of the shells are calcium carbonate which transformed into calcium oxide upon activated above 700 °C for 2 h. Parametric studies have been investigated and optimal conditions were found to be catalyst amount, 5 wt.% and methanol/oil mass ratio, 0.5:1. The waste catalysts perform equally well as laboratory CaO, thus creating another low-cost catalyst source for producing biodiesel. Reusability results confirmed that the prepared catalyst is able to be reemployed up to five times. Statistical analysis has been performed using a Central Composite Design to evaluate the contribution and performance of the parameters on biodiesel purity