IT in business

The Information Technology
in Business
Main Theme
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How to Use Information Technology to Boost
Your Business
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Research Papers Briefing
Best-of-Breed of ERP Systems: Pros and Cons
ERP is business process management software that allows an
organization to use a system of integrated applications to
manage the business and automate back-office functions. ERP
software typically consists of multiple enterprise software
modules that are individually purchased, based on what best
meets the specific needs and technical capabilities of the
organization.
The authors conducted an empirical study in the Egyptian
context to highlight factors that should be considered prior
the implementation. Sharing the experiences for adopting
best-of breed solutions and getting valuable lessons will guide
the enterprises to choose carefully what is best for their
business. The management should to pay consideration for
organizational culture. The user resistance may facilitate or
inhibit the integration of ERP systems.
The Application of Information and
Communications Technologies (ICT) in Small
Medium Enterprises (SMEs)
SMEs have been acknowledged as a key condition in promoting
equitable and sustainable social development. They are very
important for the economic growth of a country.
This paper focuses on the implementation of ICT applications
within SMEs boundaries and concludes a number of deficiencies
facing SMEs in adopting ICT in the context of developing
countries.
The use of ready-made office application can automate the
administrative duties and handle transactions storage and those
applications provide a significant level of automation there.
Limited resources, and labor skills, are considered as barriers for
future IT investments. Poor technological infrastructure led to
fragmented platform within organizational boundaries, which
interferes for further ICT investments.
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ERP Best-of Breed Solutions Enabling JIT Adoption
Real Success in Real World
This research triggers a real implementation of one of ERP top-vendor solutions and showed the
applicability to be combined with just-in-time adoption for inventory elimination & demand variability
management. The study provides a real evidence of how can the right usage of best-of-breed solution
can lead to supply chain streamlining. The use of ERP solution and feeding such solutions with realistic
pattern of demand could achieve this goal and streamline the procurement complexity to have more
controlled pattern of supplies and rational buffer of inventory that can fit well with forecast.
Adopting JIT can provide a faster turnaround of stock, reduce the overhead expenses and unblock
Waste reduction. The just-in-time inventory model provides with a greater level of control over the
entire manufacturing process and enable to respond quickly for customers change. Managing JIT
limitations are the real challenges of ERP solutions adoption as it may have slow dispatches if the
logistics flow is not reliable or the supplier are not highly committed with delivery scheduled timings in
which will consequently affect customer satisfaction ratio.
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iLearn: Implication and Complications
Number of universities took the advantage of cloud-based
applications offered by service providers and provided their
instructors/students with remote access to handle their
educational tasks. This paper discusses advantages, challenge
and limitation of using cloud service in educational system.
The authors tried to capture implications and perception of
different participates toward moving to cloud service. The
findings highlight main issues and concern that should be
taken into consideration prior merging cloud service into the
learning process.
Coping with recent technologies and saving the huge
investment in technological infrastructure are key drivers for
such institution to use the cloud service in their learning
system. The trade-off between the internal hosted system and
remotely accessed one should be based on reliable internet
connectivity and sufficient bandwidth that can ensure
providing reliable learning system to all participants.
Modelling the Effect on Quality of
Information and Communications Technology
(ICT) facilities in Higher Education
The higher education system must fulfil the community expectation
of perceived quality and have a distinguished balance in graduate
output relative to labour market requirements. Better finding
strategy for information and communication technology (ICT)
facilities should be adopted to enhance the performance of the HE
institutions. Hence, these facilities in Egyptian Universities were
synthesised to establish the effect of the resources provided by
Egyptian HE institutions in the context of the quality of the
education through the enrichment of student experience.
The concept of systems thinking and the adoption of system
dynamics approach provide a worthwhile framework in which
various performance indicators and improvement initiatives should
be evaluated. Systems thinking allow the clear representation of
process, structure and method in which effects can be derived from
causes and the dynamics of the proposed decision-making could be
appropriately interpreted in regard to the overall institutional
situation. 5

The Use of Systems Dynamics in the Analysis
of Facilities Management Affecting the
Quality of Higher Education in Egypt
The chapter provides the background to the problem
distinguishing between private and public universities to
prioritise the six most important facility services (Library
Facilities, Computer Labs, Classrooms, Sports Services, Health
Services, Extra Facilities).
The budgeting for these services are individually modelled
using System Dynamics and then incorporated into a
combined stock and flow model.
The model allow a facility service administrator to optimise
spending in a particular area and also to rank the spending
between the six facilities. The changing priority of classrooms
could reflect the fact that this is a problem with the public
university whereas the private one has adequate classrooms
and budgets are needed only for maintenance. As the private
one has a better infrastructure, then this may explain the
prominence of the sport facilities.
The Potential of Social Media in Emerging
Supply Chain Management
This paper discusses the potential role of social media in managing
supply chain activities for business in the developing countries and
how to face unexpected challenges in these countries. Proposing the
use of such platforms for third-world business might enable these
enterprises to survive globally. Exploratory case studies performed
by authors to drill down and figure out the issues faced by their
business and how these businesses are trying to survive.
The study proposes a model of how can the socialized platforms
could give more visibility and knowledge discovery tool along supply
chain channel. perceived value had been acknowledged of business
such as more transparency with customers, prompt shipment
notification or inventory drop, minimize supply chain risks and
manage unfrozen external factors, working closely with multi-tier
partners, optimize data exchange on day-to-day transactions.
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THE ANALYSIS OF THE PERCEPTION OF SERVICE
FACILITIES AND THEIR IMPACT ON STUDENT
SATISFACTION IN HIGHER EDUCATION
The paper structure begins with the illustration of
facilities perception and how its effective management
can lead to quality improvement in higher education and
subsequently student satisfaction and loyalty to the
institution.
Then next deliberates the quality dimensions used in the
questionnaire conducted to collect the student feedback
about the offered facilities in the College of
Management and Technology at the Arab Academy for
Science & Technology.
In addition, the analysis of the data gathered using the
sentiment model is discussed to evaluate findings and
then end up with the conclusion and propose
recommendations.
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Facilities Management can include the full range of
task activities that involves budgeting, organizing,
staffing, directing and reporting the provision. The
proper allocation of resources is definitively crucial to
the achievement of cost effectiveness to end up with
the true management concept of financial control.
The main objective behind FM should not be only the
optimisation of the running costs of buildings
nonetheless, the promotion in the space
management and related assets to achieve the best
combination between cost and efficiency.
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The organisational strategic needs are fulfilled through this
approach of operational environment’s sustainability.
Therefore, the quality assurance integrates the main
business processes and the resulting output can be
examined against user satisfaction through the following:
Environment – for the creation of productive healthy
environments;
Information technology – for the effective support of
communications;
Infrastructure – for reliable appropriate provision;
Space – for the adaptation of changing needs;
Support services – for improvement of quality.
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The collection of student feedback about service quality
delivery participates with a very important role in the
higher education institutions. This service involve their
perceptions about the following: learning and teaching
methods; supporting facilities such as libraries and
computing facilities; the learning environment via lecture
rooms, laboratories, space and university buildings; other
facilities like refectories, accommodation and health care;
besides external aspects such as transportation.
The correlation between the negative and positive
emotions and the rational component of student
satisfaction leading to student loyalty acts as sentimental
satisfaction component which can be considered as a better
indicator than reasonable factor.
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Data were collected from 100 students in their
graduation year enrolled in College of Management
and Technology at Arab Academy for Science and
Technology ad Maritime Transport.
The performed sentiment modelling analysis focuses
on defining the facilities that affect the satisfaction of
the students. Sentiment model passes through the
following steps:
Pre-processing;
Feature selection;
Classification and evaluation.
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Analysis Modelling Findings
Findings have shown that the students’ sentiments are categorized into: university location
and surrounding environment attractiveness, computer equipment, facilities (theatres –
stadium – gym), library, medical facilities, cafeteria, transportation services, school campus
and buildings, furthermore they added social events such as celebrities’ parties and
internet access as presented in the following table:
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Category
Attractive
Surrounding
Environment
Computer
Equipment
Facilities
(Theatres -
Stadium-
Gym)
Library
Medical
Facilities
Internet
Access
Cafeteria
Social
Event
School
Campus
Transportation
Services
University
Buildings
Total
Sentiments
19 15 6 6 5 4 8 7 3 8 19

CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATIONS
The conducted study gave a valued insight into how students perceive the
quality of the services provided at the college and whether or not they are
satisfied with these provisions. The output results reveal that students’
satisfaction with their college relies on a fairly well established steady person-
environment relationship.
Students were mostly satisfied with the computing equipment, school
placements buildings and the appealing atmosphere among students and
were dissatisfied with the internet accessibility service. For the enhancement
of students’ satisfaction determinants and hence level of satisfaction, higher
education institutions should pay concern on the levitation of the learning
opportunities and environmental facilities for the students using state of the
art technology. Further study could be applied to embrace more regions and
other factors.
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Many Thanks
For Your Attention
15

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