An exploratory study of business intelligence in knowledge-based growth small, medium and micro-enterprises in South Africa

Small, medium and micro-enterprises (SMMEs) play an important part in all economies but particularly in developing economies. Growth 'SMMEs seek to grow either in size, revenue and/or asset value by reinvesting available resources; these enterprises tend to spend their available resources on operational when it comes to information and communication technology (ICT). But these systems, whilst necessary are not sufficient. They are geared toward capturing data but not producing information. Business intelligence (BI) can provide decision-makers, who in SMMEs are predominantly owner-managers, with access to information that enables them to make informed decisions on where to apply limited resources. Because BI requires operational systems to be in place to gather the data it is the logical next step. Despite increasing discussion in the press and amongst BI practitioners, academic research with regard to BI in SMMEs remains sparse. Since the potential contribution of BI to SMMEs can only be assessed by first understanding current information practices and needs in such enterprises, the purpose of this study is to explore the use of use of BI to support strategic, tactical and operational decision-making. This research uses an interpretive approach to collect data using semi-structured interviews from the owner-managers of six knowledge-based growth SMMEs in South Africa selected through purposive sampling. The research results suggest that BI can play an important role in knowledge-based growth SMMEs but that support and guidance is needed to ensure that BI is used appropriately to fully exploit available data for decision-making in addition to expanding available data sources. Future research can adopt a more rigorous positivist approach to confirm the findings of this study, expand the population to other sectors in South Africa and/or SMMEs in other countries. An action research methodology can also be used to apply BI interventions in SMMEs to investigate specific BI solutions in-depth. The research may be of value to participating and other SMME owner-managers, policy makers, government agencies, business advisers, and academic researchers.Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2011.Information Scienceunrestricte

Ethical risks of social media use by academic libraries

With the rapid advances in information and communication technologies (ICT) societies and communities are changing and with them the role of libraries and how they interact with their communities are also changing. Social media is increasingly popular because it enables patrons’ interaction and sharing of information not only with the library but also with each other. However, the introduction of an ICT such as social media requires ethical reflection since there are a number of ethical risks relating to privacy, accuracy, access and intellectual property. The purpose of this paper is to outline the range of ethical risks that can arise as a result of social media use by academic libraries, to consider the implications thereof and to make recommendations to help academic libraries use social media in an ethically responsible manner.http://www.ajol.info/index.php/innovationhb201

Data marts as management information delivery mechanisms: utilisation in manufacturing organisations with third party distribution

Customer knowledge plays a vital part in organisations today, particularly in sales and marketing processes, where customers can either be channel partners or final consumers. Managing customer data and/or information across business units, departments, and functions is vital. Frequently, channel partners gather and capture data about downstream customers and consumers that organisations further upstream in the channel require to be incorporated into their information systems in order to allow for management information delivery to their users. In this study, the focus is placed on manufacturing organisations using third party distribution since the flow of information between channel partner organisations in a supply chain (in contrast to the flow of products) provides an important link between organisations and increasingly represents a source of competitive advantage in the marketplace. The purpose of this study is to determine whether there is a significant difference in the use of sales and marketing data marts as management information delivery mechanisms in manufacturing organisations in different industries, particularly the pharmaceuticals and branded consumer products. The case studies presented in this dissertation indicates that there are significant differences between the use of sales and marketing data marts in different manufacturing industries, which can be ascribed to the industry, both directly and indirectly.Thesis (MIS(Information Science))--University of Pretoria, 2002.Information ScienceMISunrestricte

ICT in Africa : enabling a better life for all

No abstract available.http://www.tandfonline.comloi/titd202016-07-30hb201

A descriptive framework of business intelligence derived from definitions by academics, practitioners and vendors

Although it is widely agreed that business intelligence (BI) plays an important role to ensure that information is available consistently and disseminated to organisational decision-makers, many authors point out that there is little agreement in the literature on a common defi nition of BI. This is not unusual for a fi eld that is still being established, but a shared understanding would contribute to advancing the fi eld. For this research, defi nitions of Pirttimäki (2007) and Chee et al. (2009) were used to identify a priori themes that are used to qualitatively analyse a selection of 27 BI defi nitions by researchers from the academia and industry, in order to derive an integrated descriptive framework of BI. Consequently, the implications and limitations of the defi nitions and the resulting descriptive framework are discussed. It is hoped that the framework can contribute to increase the shared understanding and counter the confusion arising from multiple defi nitions found in the literature. The descriptive framework also provides researchers with categories and descriptors for use in future qualitative research. Through further research, the framework and descriptors can be confi rmed, expanded and refi ned by independent confi rmation of coding, comparing further defi nitions to the framework, and by using the Delphi method to consult a panel of experts.http://www.journals.co.za/ej/ejour_mousaion.htmlhttp://www.unisa.ac.za/default.asp?Cmd=ViewContent&ContentID=20129am201

Distinguishing right from wrong : proposed ethical principles for the development of national information policies

Information policy formulation is not only a matter of politics and policies. In this article it is argued that national information policies are also about ethics and that the moral complexities and challenges associated with the development of national information policies should be taken into consideration. As such it is a matter of social justice. A brief overview of the scope and nature of national information policies is provided. It is also argued that ethical reasoning should not be confused with laws or customs and that sound ethical reasoning is needed to address the ethical complexities associated with the design of national information policies. A set of ethical principles is proposed that can be used as guidelines for the development of national information policies.http://www.ajol.info/index.php/innovationhb201

Teaching Information Economics to undergraduate Information Science students at the University of Pretoria

Information economics forms part of the discipline of Economics. Often information science curricula also include Information Economics as a separate course or as a component of an Information Science course. Although Economics may be recommended as part of the degree programme, it is generally not a formal prerequisite for Information Science students in most educational institutions in South Africa. Therefore, many students do not have any formally acquired knowledge of Economics before studying Information Economics. Unless students receive instruction in the basics of Economics in order to understand the course material presented in Economics, the Economics course material needs to be adapted or course material must be developed specifically for Information Science students. In this article, content of an Information Economics course developed specifically for undergraduate students in the Department of Information Science at the University of Pretoria is described. This elective course introduces students to information as an economic good, the role of information in a national economy, the pricing and packaging of information goods, the economics of intellectual property and the exchange of information to facilitate relationships between organizations in an information economy

To talk or not to talk? From Telkom to Hellkom1 : a critical reflection on the current telecommunication policy in South Africa from a social justice perspective

With the development of new information and communication technologies, the right to communicate assumes new dimensions, since it is almost impossible to fully participate in the globalized world without access to modern information and communication technologies. South Africa held its first democratic elections in 1994 and has subsequently returned to the international arena. Its citizens should rightly expect to be able to participate in all that this return offers, not only politically, but also economically and socially. Telecommunications are vital to making such participation possible. In recognition of this fact, the newly elected government developed policies and enacted legislation to ensure that the telecommunications sector, and specifically the sole fixed line service provider Telkom, provides South African citizens affordable access to the telecommunications infrastructure whilst providing acceptable levels of service. However, rather than meeting its obligation to the government and the people of South Africa, Telkom has misused its monopoly. The social injustice that this situation creates is critically examined against the background of the right to communicate based on Rawls’ principles of social justice and Sen’s capability approach