Susan Valerie Foster

E-procurement: is the ugly duckling actually a swan down under?

Much of the hype associated with the impact of electronic business is associated with the business to business (B2B) model. Analysts believe that enormous cost savings and efficiencies can be achieved through the utilisation of e‐procurement, a component of the B2B model. The role of procurement and the emerging use of large information systems to conduct e‐procurement is analysed and presented with the results of a survey of 38 major Australian organisations. The current direct and indirect procurement practices of the sample organisations will be analysed together with an analysis of the eprocurement drivers and barriers. The main results show that direct procurement is heavily dependant upon traditional practices whilst indirect procurement is more likely to use “e” practices. Small‐medium organisations are more nimble at adopting e‐procurement practices. Technical issues dominate e‐procurement barriers, with cost factors dominating e‐procurement drivers.

E-HR and Employee Self Service: A Case Study of a Victorian Public Sector Organisation

The application of the internet to the Human Resource function (e-HR) combines two elements: one is the use of electronic media whilst the other is the active participation of employees in the process. These two elements drive the technology that helps organisations lower administration costs, improve employee communication and satisfaction, provide real time access to information while at the same time reducing processing time. This technology holds out the promise of challenging the past role of HR as one of payroll processing and manual administrative processes to one where cost efficiencies can be gained, enabling more time and energy to be devoted to strategic business issues. The relative quick gains with low associated risk have prompted many Australian companies to realise what can be achieved through the implementation of a business to employee (B2E) model. Employee Self Service (ESS), a solution based on the B2E model en- ables employees to access the corporate human resource information system 24x7. This paper adopts a case study approach with a view to investigating the benefits and associated issues obtained from an implementation of an ESS in an Australian public sector organisation. --InSITE 2004, held Rockhampton, Queensland, 25-28 June 2004

The adoption and use of business intelligence solutions in Australia

The global Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems industry blossomed in the 1990s automating back office operations. These systems have now become essential infrastructure for many companies. These companies are now extending these transaction-based systems to support more strategic and complex decisions. Accordingly, the ERP vendors have developed a range of solutions focusing on Business Intelligence (BI) in various functional areas. However, the question must be asked is there an evolutionary nature to the adoption and use of these various solutions similar to that which occurred with ERP systems. This paper adopts a two pronged research methodology to investigate the adoption of BI solutions in Australian companies. The first methodology involved a web-based survey to identify BI implementation patterns. This was then expanded upon using a case study approach. The research identified an evolutionary maturity to how BI solutions are adopted in Australian companies.

An applied approach to teaching HR concepts using an ERP system

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems offer a software-based system that handles an enterprise’s total information system needs in an integrated fashion. These systems are purported to incorporate “best business practice”. Many universities have realized the potential of these systems as educational tools and have developed curriculum accordingly. Many companies in recent times have identified the benefits of the Human Resources functionality offered by ERP systems. However universities in Australia have not realized the potential of this functionality as a teaching tool to reinforce many of the concepts covered in a Human Resource Management curriculum. This paper outlines the experiences at Victoria University where SAP Human Resources functionality was incorporated for the first time. It also describes a number of student projects under development that will enhance this curriculum development. The paper will pro- vide a model to other universities who are considering developing similar type of curriculum. -- InSITE Conference, Where Parallels Intersect, 2002.

The Human Side of ERP Implementations: Can Change Management Really Make a Difference?

In the lead up to large-scale change bought about by enterprise system implementations, there are multiple complex influences at play that impact perceptions that the organisation might not be ready for the change effort. These influences manifest in uncertainty, ambiguity in roles and responsibilities and in many cases, information overload. Organisational change management (OCM) is often considered to be one of the most important success factors for enterprise system implementations and has even be referred to as a critical success factor. In this paper a definition of OCM will be proposed and outcomes of an investigation into the effectiveness of integrating OCM when implementing enterprise resource planning projects will be discussed. For the purposes of this investigation large scale enterprise resource planning systems were chosen as the software of choice to study. These systems by virtue of their complexity and implementation costs often cause long reaching impacts on the organization. Often to the point where organizations can wait for long periods of time to obtain any real benefit realisation. In this study 208 European organisations responded to a survey. Findings in brief indicated that experts who applied CM in their projects evaluated their projects as more successful than projects without CM.

ERP Education in China : The Tale of Two Paths

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 recognized 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 ERP skill shortage has reached an all time high especially in the Asian region. ERP vendors are investigating how to best address this shortfall and the role of universities. This paper outlines two approaches to the delivery of ERP (SAP) education in China.

Approaches to change management in enterprise wide systems implementations

Approaches to Change Management in Enterprise Wide Systems Implementations Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems have become an essential information systems infrastructure for large organisations. However ERP implementations are complex and fraught with problems. One of the major issues facing these implementations is the development and implementation of effective change management programs. This research looks at the change management practices of thirty seven of Australias leading companies and identifies the main success factors and barriers associated with their change management strategies. --Presented at: The Fifth International Conference on Knowledge, Culture and Change in Organisations, University of the Aegean, Rhodes, Greece, 19-22 July, 2005

Teaching eBusiness Concepts using SAP's OnLine Store

Many universities around the world have formed strategic alliances with Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems vendors to incorporate these types of systems into their curriculum. Over the past few years the sharing of curriculum resources between universities has facilitated this process. Universities are now struggling with the concept of how to develop e-business curriculum incorporating their existing ERP system. Universities are faced with firstly having to implement the available functionality and then develop the appropriate curriculum. This paper describes a student centric method to assist universities with this curriculum delivery. Students at Victoria University have implemented and documented the implementation process of SAP’s OnLine Store. This documentation will be freely distributed to other universities to assist them with their implementation. Staff at the University are in the process of developing e-business curriculum based on the OnLine Store which will also be distributed to other universities.