Abstract
Business Process Education is often aided by teaching Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERP). ERP systems are large software programs which coordinate and/or control many aspects of a company, forming the backbone of most large organizations’ information systems, integrating all functional areas in an organization and promoting a business process perspective. Universities have been teaching ERP and using commercial ERP for experiential learning for at least 10 years now, yet little conclusive research exists that assesses the effectiveness of using ERP in the classroom to further comprehension of business processes. This paper reviews 9 studies that attempt to assess the educational effectiveness of ERP. The outcomes of that review are used to present research in progress that: (a) business simulation should be better used as a measure of students’ understanding of integrative business processes; and (b) the duration of assessment should cover an entire academic semester’s course outcomes.
Recommended Citation
Monk, Ellen and Lycett, Mark, "Using a Computer Business Simulation to Measure Effectiveness of Enterprise Resource Planning Education on Business Process Comprehension" (2011). ICIS 2011 Proceedings. 6.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2011/proceedings/IScurriculum/6
Using a Computer Business Simulation to Measure Effectiveness of Enterprise Resource Planning Education on Business Process Comprehension
Business Process Education is often aided by teaching Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERP). ERP systems are large software programs which coordinate and/or control many aspects of a company, forming the backbone of most large organizations’ information systems, integrating all functional areas in an organization and promoting a business process perspective. Universities have been teaching ERP and using commercial ERP for experiential learning for at least 10 years now, yet little conclusive research exists that assesses the effectiveness of using ERP in the classroom to further comprehension of business processes. This paper reviews 9 studies that attempt to assess the educational effectiveness of ERP. The outcomes of that review are used to present research in progress that: (a) business simulation should be better used as a measure of students’ understanding of integrative business processes; and (b) the duration of assessment should cover an entire academic semester’s course outcomes.