Critical success factors for the acquisition of enterprise resource planning (ERP): Empirical validation

Implementing an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system project is a difficult and high cost proposition as it places tremendous demands on organization\u27s time and resources. The ERP implementation literature contains many case studies of organizations that have implemented ERP systems successfully. However, many organizations do not achieve success in their ERP implementation projects. Much has been written about implementation and the critical success factors for ERP implementation projects. But there very few studies have scientifically developed and tested constructs that represent critical success factors of ERP implementation projects. Based on a survey of 53 organizations in Australia, the results suggest that a 65 item instrument that measures seven dimensions of ERP implementation is well validated. It is argued that model proposed in the paper is valuable to researchers and practitioners interested in implementing Enterprise Resource Planning systems

A quantitative model for measuring technology transfer potentials at the industrial level - an application towards establishing technology cooperation

International transfer of technology is the key element for the industrialisation and economic development of countries. But the success of any transfer depends on the judicious selection of appropriate technology from the right source and its effective absorption. This depends to a large extent on the selection, adaptation and assimilation capabilities of the recipient of the technology. In technology transfer, adaptation at the transferee end is an important stage. The difference between the technology levels of the transferor and transferee causes a technological gap which creates a potential for technology flow, but the transfer will depend on the assimilating capability of the transferee. In this study, a mathematical function that determines the technological level of a country is developed using the logistic growth pattern. The technological level of a country, in a given industry, is measured by an indicator called 'Technology Index' using the variables that influence and reflect the performance of that industry. The technology index is computed using the factor loadings obtained by the statistical technique factor analysis. In technology transfer, one of the most important problems facing countries is the selection of a transferor. Using the classical optimisation method, optimum transferors for various hypothetical transferees are determined in order to study the optimal partnership in technology transfer. A theoretical framework is provided for technological cooperation among the member countries of APEC based on the technology transfer model and classical optimisation method developed in this study. The theoretical framework can be applied to establish, for each industry, a technology cooperation network among the member countries by identifying the optimum partnership, that will provide an effective technology transfer process. Finally, based on the outcome of the research undertaken, conclusions are drawn and recommendations for further study presente

The critical success factors for the acquisition and implementation of ERP systems

The main objective of this paper is to identify the success factors that are critical to the acquisition and implementation processes of ERP systems. In this paper, these critical success factors are determined using a two-tier approach. In the first approach, these factors are identified thoroughly scanning the literature. Based on the literature support, a final survey instrument was developed. This was then mailed to Australian companies that had already implemented an ERP system or were in the process of implementing one of them. To enable the IS executives to indicate their degree of agreement with each item, a 7-point Likert rating scale was used. Data from 53 respondents were analysed and interpreted by using various statistical techniques. This paper empirically investigates critical factors that contribute to the success of acquisition and implementation of ERP processes. The major findings from the analysis are that planning, accurate information, selection criteria, structured process, vendor relationship, top management support, communication, team work, user involvement and consultants’ involvement are critical for the acquisition of ERP systems. Project management, business process reengineering, user training, change management, top management support, effective communication, team work, users’ involvement, consultants’ involvement and clear goals are found to be important for the ERP implementation process. The intensity of the impact of the critical success factors such as planning, accurate information, top management support and consultants’ involvement is greater than that of the remaining factors

Assessing and prioritising noise hazard potentials at workplaces using workers compensation statistics.

Industrial deafness is an irreversible hearing loss caused from exposure to high levels of noise within working environment. Statistics show that the highest percentage of industrial disease claims are due to industrial deafness. Noise pollution is therefore a major hazard and its prevention is a key health and safety issue for employers and employees at workplaces. This paper focuses on the development of a modified methodology to assess and prioritise the noise risk potentials at workplaces so that strategies can be developed to eliminate or reduce the hazards due to noise. The modified methodology is compared with the existing methodologies and it is found that it provides a comprehensive measure for assessing the risk rates on noise hazard potentials

An innovative postgraduate program on enterprise resource planning : Master Of Business (ERP) : incorporating SAP R/3 system and related products at University of Western Sydney, Australia

This paper outlines the details of an innovative postgraduate program, Master of Business (ERP), incorporating SAP R/3 System and related products that was introduced at the University of Western Sydney, NSW, Australia, in 1999. The program aims to develop integrative enterprise skills in a holistic business process management perspective, and provide ability to reengineer processes and implement an ERP system, in particular SAP R/3 system. The program has undergone continuous review to incorporate advanced dimensional products of SAP in order to improve its structure and the contents. As a result, this program has become one of the very popular ERP related postgraduate courses in Australia. This program explains the ERP concepts and contexts with the use of several SAP R/3 system application modules. It introduces students to modules such as Materials Management (MM), Quality Management (QM), Production Planning (PP), Sales and Distribution (SD), Financial (FI) and Controlling (CO), and Human Resources (HR). Students are also given an opportunity to work on other areas of SAP R/3 system such as Basis Technology, ABAP Workbench, Business Workflow as well as the advanced dimensional products such as Supply Chain Management (SCM), Business Information Warehouse (BW), Strategic Enterprise Management (SEM), Customer Relations Management (CRM), and Supplier Relations Management (SRM)

Pathways to achieving optimum business outcomes using a Quality Management Assessment Framework (QMAF) with Information Communication Technology (ICT) as an enabler

Value creation for the customer through quality is a primary competitive strategy of firms globally. This paper presents a Quality Management Assessment Frammork (QMAF) model and establishes causal relationships between the various constructs in the model to determine optimum patlnf!ays in achieving business outcomes encompassing business results, customer and stakeholder value