Search results

This chapter investigates if and how the introduction of an Enterprise Resource Planning System (ERPS) influences the information characteristics quality, timeliness and complexity. Subsequently we analyze whether the influence of an ERPS adoption on these information characteristics has an impact on the perceived value of information available for performance measurement (PM) purposes. On the basis of the extant literature a structural model is developed which tries to capture the direct and indirect effects of the degree of ERPS adoption on the perceived value of the information available for PM.

The case of Alpha, a group of small subsidiaries, confronted with a strong crisis following the implementation of an enterprise resource planning (ERP) in a context of financial crisis (Spanish subsidiaries) allows the authors to illustrate the dynamics of collective bricolage, from individual bricolage to intra-subsidiary bricolage and then inter-subsidiary bricolage, network and more globally a strategy of bricolage within the group. Would multi-level bricolage be a new way for companies facing more and more crises, scarcity of resources and uncertain environments?

The action research (AR) conducted by the ERP project manager – researcher – during two years (2012–2014) shows a dynamic that increases tenfold the potential of discovering at low-cost tinkered solutions that work, adapted to the specificities of the group. Bricolage includes the constitution of the repertoire of resources (material and immaterial resources and intimate knowledge of resources) and the art of bringing the different elements of the repertoire into dialogue (tests, permutations and substitutions) in order to find an arrangement that works despite limited resources (Lévi-Strauss, 1966). In order to combine the advantages of an ERP designed according to an engineer approach and the advantages of small subsidiaries (flexibility, reactivity and local adaptations) accustomed to “bricolage,” to make do with the means at hand, the group is gradually developing a “strategic bricolage” approach. This approach contributes to enriching the repertoires of resources and developing the capacity for dialogue between the elements of the different repertoires (individuals, subsidiaries, countries, activities, external network and group), which encourages the discovery of bricolage solutions that are difficult to imitate. The evaluation of the tinkered solutions at both the local and global levels allows the group to improve, enhance and disseminate them to all subsidiaries.

During the past decade, enterprise resource planning (ERP) system implementations have exponentially grown within first large and then small- and medium-sized enterprises. Contemporary implementations, often through application service providers (ASPs), increase already existing pressures to adopt the embedded “best practices” that have been incorporated into the ERP software. The result is the rapid spread of generic business processes enabled through one of only a handful of leading ERP packages. This chapter focuses on the extant research on biodiversity and its focus on the negative effects of monoculture strategies – that is, the focus on a single crop (system) versus a diversity of crops (systems). The biodiversity research establishes a clear pattern of deleterious effects resulting from the vulnerabilities of monoculture strategies. These patterns are mirrored in the ERP environment as vulnerabilities loom from the diminution of diverse business processes, limited adaptability to business environment changes given technology-driven/enabled processes, and increased susceptibility to widespread parasite damage through cyber-attacks. The implications of the study raise questions as to the sustainability of accounting systems, the business environment, and society as a whole from the rapid implementation of sterilized business processes and uniformly vulnerable enterprise software.

Neuroimaging research has substantially enhanced our understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms of typical and atypical learning in children. These developments can advance the design of novel approaches to diagnosis and intervention for learning disabilities. Despite the promise of educational neuroscience, there are still walls between neuroscience and special education researchers such that more collaboration and understanding are needed between these disciplines. This chapter attempts to break down the walls by discussing how neuroimaging techniques can be incorporated into special education research. We also present arguments as to why neuroscience is “the next big thing” in special education research and the obstacles that must be overcome in order for neuroscience to be incorporated into education research. To describe how neurobiology might impact special education, we focus primarily on reading disability. We believe that educational neuroscience can aid in the identification and intervention of other learning disorders as well.

We use design thinking in the context of accounting pedagogy to exploit recent advances in cybernetics in the form of generative artificial intelligence technology. Relying on the intuition that supplementing or augmenting human argumentation (natural intelligence or NI) with parallel AI output can produce better student written assignments, we posit the “augmentation premise,” that is, ((NI + AI) > AI > NI). To test the augmentation premise, we compare student written submissions in an Accounting Information Systems (AIS) course with and without the benefit of parallel generative AI output. We then evaluate how the generative AI output enhances student-crafted revisions to their initial submissions. Using a summative quality improvement index (QII) consisting of quantitative and qualitative assessments, we present preliminary evidence supporting the augmentation premise. The augmentation premise likely extends to other accounting subdisciplines and merits generalization for enriching accounting pedagogy.

Purpose: Analysis and systematisation of global trends in the transformation of DSSs from the standpoint of solving their global and local problems and determining the central axioms of setting up and supporting business processes in DSSs.

Need of the Study: Decision Support Systems (DSSs) are the basis of doing business in an enterprise by automating business processes, keeping accounting and reducing various risks associated with complexity, labour-intensiveness, slow execution time and, therefore, potential loss of profit. In recent decades, the rapid development of DSSs has led to the emergence of complex enterprise information system architectures. At the same time, many local business processes are not implemented or are partially implemented. In Ukraine, such techniques include VAT accounting.

Methodology: The study is based on the literature analysis, Internet resources and practical experience obtained during the SAP ERP system implementation projects. Particular attention is paid to developing information systems architecture to solve the problems enterprises face during their growth. Thanks to the analysis of the example of the realisation of the Internet sales process and the induction method, the axioms of automation of business processes in accounting systems were formed.

Findings: Regardless of the qualitative and quantitative transformation, modern DSSs still cannot solve all the enterprise’s problems, mainly due to the use of paper documents and the diversity of national legislation. By the example of the SAP ERP system, the optimal implementation of the business process of VAT liabilities was proposed by Ukrainian legislation for sales below cost price.

Practical Implications: Compliance with the established axioms of automation of business processes will reduce the cost of resources for their implementation, maintenance and correction of potential errors and, therefore, will provide an opportunity to process more transactions. Implementing the proposed algorithm for calculating VAT liabilities in SAP ERP for sales below the cost price will simplify the existing process and enable the fulfilment of other requirements within the framework of current legislation.

Bill Freudenburg’s concept of recreancy is used as a frame for explaining processes that perpetuate questionable regimes of emergency response planning. The specific instance of tar sands upgrading in Alberta, Canada, is used as a case in point. When recreancy is institutionalized so that the results correlate across permitted hazardous facilities, it must be concluded that recreancy is less of a situational response than a normative dynamic.