Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems have a good reputation for automation and strength in the integration of business processes (BPs), therefore more and more organizations are adopting ERP systems. The City of Cape Town (CCT), is... more
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems have a good reputation for automation and strength in the integration of business processes (BPs), therefore more and more organizations are adopting ERP systems. The City of Cape Town (CCT), is a metropolitan municipality in the Western Cape province in South Africa. Stock-outs remain a problem at The CCT, though an ERP system was implemented since 2002 to address stock-outs among other issues. The ERP provides insufficient information to link stock-outs to the causes. This makes it difficult to select the most appropriate solution to minimize the causes and number of stock-outs. Qualitative research methodology is applied to explore the possible reduction of the causes of stock-outs at CCT stores. Purposive sampling method is used on five different interviewee groups. Data was collected, using interviews via semi-structured questionnaires and the data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results indicate that the top three, most contributing causes of stock-outs are policies and procedures, followed by ERP system issues, then training related issues.
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Agritourism is an important part of a tourism strategy and can improve the livelihoods of farmers in the agricultural industry. Changes that have been brought on by technology have created a challenging environment for farmers that do not... more
Agritourism is an important part of a tourism strategy and can improve the livelihoods of farmers in the agricultural industry. Changes that have been brought on by technology have created a challenging environment for farmers that do not have access to and knowledge about technologies available for agritourism. The aim of the study was to explore some of the factors that affect the growth of agritourism as in industry in Lesotho. The study further aims to contribute towards agritourism development, related studies and propose guidelines to overcome negative impacts of agritourism growth. Multiple-case studies were used as a research strategy. Six commercial farms were selected using non-probability sampling and judgmental techniques. The units of analysis were farms, officials from government and tourists as a group. The units of observation included the individual farmers, farm employees, officials from Ministry of Tourism, Environment and Culture, and individual tourists. Content...
IT leadership is blamed for being rigid and unable to service the evolving needs of their organisations. Theory guides management what technical skills the IT department requires. However it does not mention what people skills are... more
IT leadership is blamed for being rigid and unable to service the evolving needs of their organisations. Theory guides management what technical skills the IT department requires. However it does not mention what people skills are required. Many management theories have been developed during the last century. The implementation of an effective and efficient IT department remains problematic for business and IT management as traditional management theory does not necessarily support the implementation of IT within organisations in the African Oil and Gas industry. This paper explores the disconnect between traditional management theory and the way that IT implementation work within the African Oil and Gas industry. The research seeks to understand how and why people react in a specific way and how they manage the complex environment they function in. A mixed-model research design was used to add depth and detail to the research findings. Data were collected sequentially through quest...
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Emerging technologies compel small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to advance their digital transformation. However, a conclusive and applicable overview on influencing factors for the evaluation and adoption of new technologies, on a... more
Emerging technologies compel small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to advance their digital transformation. However, a conclusive and applicable overview on influencing factors for the evaluation and adoption of new technologies, on a sensitizing level, is nonexistent. Previous work has focused on adoption frameworks on an implementation level, disregarding the interconnectedness with evaluation and an appropriate application for SMEs. To empower SMEs to develop a transformation strategy considering these influencing factors, the Technology Evaluation and Adoption Influence (TEA) Framework has been designed. It covers nine influence factors operating from the external and internal company environment. To determine the factors, 56 insurance brokers distributed in Switzerland, South Africa and Turkey were interviewed and existing frameworks were analyzed. The design process went through three iterations involving experts for verification and testing. Within a field test with an ex...
No organisation is ever static. For several reasons, each organisation reviews its aims and objectives from time to time. These reasons may be internally or externally driven. They could also be politically, economically and or socially... more
No organisation is ever static. For several reasons, each organisation reviews its aims and objectives from time to time. These reasons may be internally or externally driven. They could also be politically, economically and or socially motivated. Research has established that most of the attempts at bringing about change are based on the needs of employees and customers. Essentially, for the purposes of better management of employees and customers, human resource information systems (HRIS) are touted as the panacea for effective and efficient health sector service delivery. Focusing on South Africa, this paper used the descriptive literature review method to determine HRIS adoption issues within the health sector of South Africa. As an important sector in any growing economy, the health sector in our view benefits from a constant review of its mission. Within the context of South Africa, substantial emphasis is yet to be placed on health sector effectiveness. Elsewhere, in other re...
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An information retrieval system (IRS) is used to retrieve documents based on an information need. The IRS makes relevance judgements by attempting to match a query to a document. As IRS capabilities are indexing design dependent, the... more
An information retrieval system (IRS) is used to retrieve documents based on an information need. The IRS makes relevance judgements by attempting to match a query to a document. As IRS capabilities are indexing design dependent, the hybrid indexing method (IRS-H) is introduced. The objectives of this article are to examine IRS-H (as an alternative indexing method that performs exact phrase matching) and IRS-I, regarding retrieval usefulness, identification of relevant documents, and the quality of rejecting irrelevant documents by conducting three experiments and by analysing the related data. Three experiments took place where a collection of 100 research documents and 75 queries were presented to: (1) five participants answering a questionnaire, (2) IRS-I to generate data and (3) IRS-H to generate data. The data generated during the experiments were statistically analysed using the performance measurements of Precision, Recall and Specificity, and one-tailed Student’s t-tests. Th...
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Orientation: The retail industry is the largest contributor to employment and the gross domestic product (GDP) in the Western Cape, South Africa. The management of human resources in this very competitive industry is a high priority for... more
Orientation: The retail industry is the largest contributor to employment and the gross domestic product (GDP) in the Western Cape, South Africa. The management of human resources in this very competitive industry is a high priority for all retailers. The successful implementation, maintenance and use of human resource information systems (HRISs) are an integral part of many retailers.Research purpose: Human resource information systems are difficult to implement and maintain, and as a result, organisations cannot effectively utilise these systems to their benefit. The purpose of this paper is to explore the factors affecting the implementation, maintenance and use of HRISs in two retail organisations in the Western Cape.Motivation of study: Many retailers find it difficult to apply and utilise HRISs to their benefit and to the systems’ full potential. This study explores the challenges retailers are facing when implementing, maintaining and using HRISs.Research design, approach and...
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Research Interests: Business and Engineering
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Globally, the energy sector is fast nearing a tipping point of no return, transitioning from fossil fuel to renewable energy. Business is turning to the IT department to leverage technology that will reduce organisational wide production... more
Globally, the energy sector is fast nearing a tipping point of no return, transitioning from fossil fuel to renewable energy. Business is turning to the IT department to leverage technology that will reduce organisational wide production and operational cost in a fast changing economy. The business expects the IT department to be innovative and build new IT competencies for a rapid response to the transition towards renewable energy. This study contributes new knowledge regarding the impact of management theory and approaches on the successful implementation of IT in the African Oil and Gas industry. The research shows that capabilities such as innovation and people competencies are growing in importance while IT leadership is becoming a critical role in supporting and delivering on the business objectives as enabler and transformational agent of business. Capabilities such as systems thinking, business acumen and interpersonal skills are key IT management competencies for transform...
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This paper investigates the impact of information accessibility on SMMEs in South Africa in the process of evaluation and adoption of new technology for the business. Information provides SMMEs to have an informed foundation on which to... more
This paper investigates the impact of information accessibility on SMMEs in South Africa in the process of evaluation and adoption of new technology for the business. Information provides SMMEs to have an informed foundation on which to base their decisions on the new technology. The lack of information is perilous to the management of SMMEs, because it limits the ability to adopt, and the affinity to make an informed decision and choice of a new technology. The paper uncovers challenges of information accessibility by SMMEs and their understanding of its impact on adoption. A multiple case study strategy is used, with a multiple methods approach within the qualitative study. Findings from the online survey were analysed in a descriptive manner in line with a qualitative approach. Focus is on data relating to information accessibility forming part of the initial online pilot study leading on to the qualitative interview section. The number of survey respondents was limited to 22 SMMEs and does not support generalization beyond its immediate environment. Thus results from the pilot online survey were applied to give direction to the interviews to obtain deeper and richer context from 15 SMMEs selected. Findings revealed that SMMEs lack knowledge of some factors affecting technology adoption and the roles these factors play in the business and adoption process. There is an acknowledgement that SMMEs lack access to information to identify the functions and features of a new technology with potential before making a decision based on relevant facts and knowledge.
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Above average analytical and mathematical ability are highly sought-after human attributes required from IT professionals at work in the Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC). These attributes are perceived to be ingredients for a... more
Above average analytical and mathematical ability are highly sought-after human attributes required from IT professionals at work in the Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC). These attributes are perceived to be ingredients for a successful career in Information Technology (IT). When companies hire IT professionals, they often focus on the “hard” skills needed to perform the work (Joseph, Ang, Chang, & Slaughter, 2010). There is a growing awareness that technical skills alone are insufficient for success in IT. Technical skills and experience are becoming an entry-level requirement. Being technically competent is no longer enough. For IT professionals, to improve business, a wider set of skills are required. This research aimed to determine what the human attributes are that contribute most to the improvement of business, namely IT alignment. It was found that Emotional Intelligence (EI) of business analysts, systems analysts, and project managers does play a role in the non-delive...
Research Interests: Psychology and IGI Global
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Generally in South Africa the commentary about our competitiveness in the retail, financial services, banking and other industries reveals that we are not growing our businesses into the African continent as fast as other countries... more
Generally in South Africa the commentary about our competitiveness in the retail, financial services, banking and other industries reveals that we are not growing our businesses into the African continent as fast as other countries despite our presence and cultural proximity on the continent. In an attempt to yield an explanation this research explores the IT/IS industry structure in SA looking at both suppliers of services and consumers of IT/IS services along the vectors of productivity, value proposition, design of value proposition and strategic positioning. An IT/IS focus is chosen because this is the main way of enabling business competitiveness in the age were in. 12 in-depth interviews were conducted with Executives leading businesses which provide IT/IS solutions. Through an abductive process a systemic view of these issues is presented and explained in phenomenal terms using Roger Martins ideas around the design of business because of the resonance between the findings here and his ideas on “design thinking”.
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The business community in the past decade has been characterised by debate over the value or effectiveness of e-Commerce and how this type of technology needs to be implemented. During this period the business world has witnessed many... more
The business community in the past decade has been characterised by debate over the value or effectiveness of e-Commerce and how this type of technology needs to be implemented. During this period the business world has witnessed many examples of failures of Internet based business. There is little doubt that the high failure rate in Dot.Coms had much to do with misconceptions regarding the ease with which e-Commerce could be implemented. Unrealistic expectations caused tried and tested business rules to be abandoned as hyperbole over took sound business sense. Although it is clear today that the Internet and the Web can facilitate business processes to add value to organisations, this technology has to be managed with considerable care. This paper reports on a case study conducted in kalahari.net, a well known South African e-Tailing business. This case study highlights several valuable lessons to do with the evaluation of an e-Commerce investment and how to ensure its success. Spe...
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This systematic literature review is aimed at determining the predominance of existing studies conducted in HRIS as it relates to HRM, HRH, workforce management and the use of Information Systems (IS) and technology within the health... more
This systematic literature review is aimed at determining the predominance of existing studies conducted in HRIS as it relates to HRM, HRH, workforce management and the use of Information Systems (IS) and technology within the health sector. The main findings of the study demonstrate that HRIS benefits are the most researched at 11.8% with a) impact: implementation and IS in healthcare:10.5%; b) effectiveness: motivation, competence, workforce IS and adoption: 9.2%; c) workforce retention and migration: 7.9% d) HRIS and EHRM for decisions 5.3%, e) HRIS in HRM and digital records 2.6%; f) IT in the healthcare setting standing at 1.3%.
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This article reports on a horizontal merger of two insurance companies and their failure to properly integrate their information systems. The task that was supported by both well-founded market research and external consultants proved... more
This article reports on a horizontal merger of two insurance companies and their failure to properly integrate their information systems. The task that was supported by both well-founded market research and external consultants proved more challenging than thought due to the complexity and interconnectedness of related business processes. The main difficulties arose in the area of skill development, skill retention, and management buy-in. Thereby, this article adds valuable insights to the stream of case studies of merger and acquisition activities through providing deeper insights into IS integration, which is by most contributions treated as a black box.