The Dag-Brucken ASRS Case Study

In 1996 an agreement was made between a well-known beverage manufacturer, Super-Cola Taiwan, (SCT) and a small Australian electrical engineering company, Dag-Brücken ASRS Pty Ltd, (DB), to provide an automated storage and retrieval system (ASRS) facility as part of SCT’s production facilities in Asia. Recognising the potential of their innovative and technically advanced design, DB was awarded a State Premiers Export Award and was a finalist in that year’s National Export Awards. The case tracks the development and subsequent implementation of the SCT ASRS project, setting out to highlight how the lack of appropriate IT development processes contributed to the ultimate failure of the project and the subsequent winding up of DB only one year after being honoured with these prestigious awards. The case provides compelling evidence of the types of project management incompetency that, from the literature, appears to contribute to the high failure rate in IT projects. For confidentiality reasons, the names of the principal parties are changed, but the case covers actual events documented by one of the project team members as part of his postgraduate studies, providing an example of the special mode of evidence collection that Yin (1994) calls ‘participant-observation’

Teaching enterprise information systems in the United Arab Emirates

Although the notion of an enterprise information system (EIS) has been around now for several decades, there appears still to be a general lack of understanding within various sections of higher education over the true nature of these systems and subsequently how they should be presented to students. Although the topic itself is currently a hot one, with potential employers around the globe eagerly seeking new graduates versed in various aspects of EIS, this apparent lack of understanding has the potential to translate into courses or curricula that may not provide the most appropriate graduate skill sets. This chapter discusses how one university in the United Arab Emirates is addressing this issue by providing a curriculum and courses that set out to develop local graduates that will be highly valued by organisations seeking to extract full value from their own EIS\u27s. © 2013, IGI Global

Developing an IT Project Management Course to Meet Changing Industry Needs

Acknowledging that an awareness of project management skills was an important outcome for their graduates, the IT faculty of one Australian university developed and introduced a new IT Project Management course into their undergraduate curriculum in 2002. A three stage approach that involved identifying students expected learning outcomes, selecting relevant content and choosing the most applicable pedagogy was applied in designing this course. An integrated case study approach, developed over a five year period which was to be the recipient of many teaching awards is described. However, despite its popularity and successes the course was totally rewritten for the 2008 academic year, reflecting alternative views about what IT Project Management courses should contain, which in turn prompts the question of what project management skills should we be teaching students in preparing them for professional IT careers

Reconciling Culture and Digital Literacy in the United Arab Emirates

For a number of years, there has been a concerted effort by the United Arab Emirates to take a prominent role in introducing e-business initiatives throughout the Gulf region, and this effort has translated into widespread access of internet technology for its own citizens. The country, in setting out to become a hub for foreign and domestic companies, realized that to achieve these goals it must provide appropriate e-business frameworks and infrastructures, which it has successfully done. Although, while not the only means of acquiring digital literacy, regular exposure to the internet does contribute to gaining these necessary 21st century skills. It might be expected that with such widespread access to the internet the population would contribute to becoming digitally competent. Using an ethnographic case study methodology, this paper investigates issues contributing to what might be a new form of digital divide; cultural issues which limit the acquisition of such digital skills

Towards the Development of a Team Learning Theory for Information Systems: Implications for Universities, Academics, and Academic Developers

Contemporary universities are charged with the education and preparation of work ready graduates, evident in the establishment of graduate attributes. One attribute particularly applicable for information systems students, is the ability to work in teams. An examination of teamwork in the literature and in teaching practice indicates that many academics are unprepared or ill-equipped to prepare students for a world of work requiring team players. The unavailability of a comprehensive theory to drive the development of team learning in universities may have contributed to their failure to embrace this as a significant and warranted pedagogy. This paper explores a theory of team learning and pedagogy, critically appraises the enablement of students to acquire this attribute, and considers the research necessary to further shape the theory. Implications for curriculum and academic development are highlighted as these are the mechanisms to assist staff in applying the pedagogy

Reconciling Culture and Digital Literacy in the United Arab Emirates

© 2013 by IGI Global. All rights reserved. For a number of years, there has been a concerted effort by the United Arab Emirates to take a prominent role in introducing e-business initiatives throughout the Gulf region, and this effort has translated into widespread access of internet technology for its own citizens. The country, in setting out to become a hub for foreign and domestic companies, realized that to achieve these goals it must provide appropriate e-business frameworks and infrastructures, which it has successfully done. Although, while not the only means of acquiring digital literacy, regular exposure to the internet does contribute to gaining these necessary 21st century skills. It might be expected that with such widespread access to the internet the population would contribute to becoming digitally competent. Using an ethnographic case study methodology, this paper investigates issues contributing to what might be a new form of digital divide; cultural issues which limit the acquisition of such digital skills

Towards a better understanding of learning and teaching in non-native languages in higher education

In this paper we propose a framework designed for more effective teaching of discipline content to non-native English speaking (non-NES) students, extending beyond the boundaries of language itself. While attempts to address the complex issues confronting international students often included language instruction for the learner, less emphasis has been placed on pedagogical issues confronting instructors delivering content to such students. Although students\u27 competency in the language of instruction may still remain of vital importance, our research indicates that there are other factors that need to be addressed in providing competent instruction to non-NES students. This action research study conducted in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with local Arab students as participants provided a rare opportunity to examine the challenge of teaching non-NES students from a homogeneous ethnic background, rather than consolidating findings from a single but diverse cohort of international students. The findings reflect the interrelationship between non-NES Arab university students and teachers, and positions this within an embedded component model for effective teaching. The conclusions may also have broader implications for teaching students of other ethnic backgrounds in other non-native speaking environments

The Role of Informal Networks in Knowledge Sharing

The application of a knowledge management strategy does not take place in a vacuum. Successfully meeting objectives of a knowledge management strategy may depend not only on the efficacy of the strategy itself or of the team that is responsible for its implementation, but also on the environment into which it is being introduced. Research carried out with an application service provider (ASP) indicates that existing informal communication networks will continue to operate independently of any formal strategy introduced. The significance of informal knowledge sharing activity may be in its incompatibility, or possible conflict, with any formal structures that are introduced. The success of any formally instigated knowledge management strategy might therefore depend on an understanding of the existence and nature of already active informal knowledge sharing structures. It is important for management to recognise the existence of such informal networks and to understand how they might affect the success of any formally introduced knowledge management strategy. In this paper the existence and reasons for informal networks, and their subsequent effects on formal knowledge sharing policy is examined

Motivators and Inhibitors for Managing IT Project Knowledge: Findings from Three Exploratory Case Studies

Abstract Managing knowledge on IT projects is an important factor in contributing toward

Using Technology to Enhance a Project Management Course in the United Arab Emirates

Abstract There is little doubt that advances in technology have provided unprecedented opportunities to develop more effective learning platforms, with the aim of ultimately providing better student learning outcomes. However, technological innovations on their own may provide little more than improvements in quality and productivity over previously used methods. Technology, regardless of how advanced the technology is, should never be used as a substitute for good teaching practice, but as a means of enhancing existing good teaching practices. This paper discusses how, over a period of 4 years, technology has been embedded into a project management course within the United Arab Emirates in order to provide students with a more effective learning experience. The various technologies used in this example include videos of a case study project used in the course, a working example of the application software that was developed for the case study, audio recording of lectures and the construction of videos containing power point slides overlaid with previously recorded audio files