Enterprise Resource Planning Systems

Course # 22:010:623
Section: 60
http://kogan.rutgers.edu/erp

Spring 2009 - Preliminary
Accounting, Business Ethics, and Information Systems
Rutgers Business School, Rutgers University

Prof. Alexander Kogan
300F Ackerson (Newark), (973) 353-1064
 kogan@rutgers.edu

Catalog Description: "Enterprise Resource Planning Systems" is an elective MBA course that introduces students to the main ideas and fundamental technology underlying the development, implementation, and use of the integrated enteprise information systems. This course covers the following issues: elements of database systems, overview of systems analysis and design, logical and physical modeling for database systems design, Resources-Events-Agents (REA) approach to business data modeling, database view of revenue and procurement business processes, introduction to Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), SAP ECC application modules, technical architecture of SAP ERP, SAP ERP implementation issues and business engineering, Accelerated SAP, going live, post-implementation issues, MySAP, next generation enterprise.

Required Textbooks:

  1. (UM) Uday S. Murthy. Advanced Systems Analysis and Design. CyberText Publishing, Bloomington, IN, 2000 (ISBN 1-890094-02-1). http://www.cybertext.com/. You must register online to setup your account with Cybertext at http://www.cybertext.com/forms/accountform.asp. Make sure you read the registration instructions first!
  2. (DOL) Daniel E. O'Leary. Enterprise Resource Planning Systems: Systems, Life Cycle, Electronic Commerce, and Risk. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, Great Britain, 2000 (ISBN 0521791529). http://uk.cambridge.org/catalogue/catalogue.asp?ISBN=0521791529; also see http://www3.addall.com/New/submitNew.cgi?query=0521791529&type=ISBN&location=10000&state=NJ&dispCurr=USD
  3. (24) George W. Anderson; Tim Rhodes; Jeff Davis; John Dobbins; Andreas Jenzer. Sams Teach Yourself SAP in 24 Hours, Third Edition. Pearson Education - SAMS, Indianapolis, IN, 2009 (ISBN 978-0-13-714284-2). http://www.informit.com/store/product.aspx?isbn=9780137142842; also see http://www.addall.com/New/submitNew.cgi?query=9780137142842&type=ISBN&state=NJ&dispCurr=USD

Additional important information about SAP ECC (R/3) can be found in the following books (not required for this course):

Course E-Mailing List:

The course is supported by the RAMS e-mailing list erp-list. The list membership is automatically synchronized with the current class roster. Make sure that your current e-mail address is available in the Rutgers online directory. To post a message to the list, e-mail it to

erp-list@rams.rutgers.edu

All the postings to this list are permanently archived and available from

http://rams.rutgers.edu/archive/archive.cgi

Please note that your postings should be appropriate for this course.

Every student is responsible for maintaining the current e-mail address in the Rutgers Online Directory. The directory record update page can be found at:

https://www.acs.rutgers.edu/studentdir

Course Blackboard:

For a student to gain access to our Blackboard system, they must be enrolled and they must have a NETID (pegasus or eden account). Once an enrolled student obtains a NETID, they will be added to the roster within 2 business days. Students should also check their email account in the system and if it is not correct, they need to update their official student record. If they do not have a valid email associated with their official student record, their email address will show up as noname@newark.rutgers.edu. Students who do not have a NETID, can create one online using this link:

http://oit.rutgers.edu/services/account/quick.html

The course will utilize the following Blackboard online facilities:

Course Materials

Discussion Board

Course Project:

Students will be required to prepare a course project which should research a related ERP issue. The project will have to be presented in class during the last scheduled regular meeting (April 21), and the project paper and presentation will have to be posted on the course's Blackboard forum.

Examples of Project Topics:

For examples of projects that students have done in this class, take a look at the final projects forums following the link below:

2002-2007 Blackboard Forums

Please keep in mind that some student accounts may have already been eliminated.

Team Presentations of R/3 Modules:

Students will be required to study on their own a certain SAP ECC module, analyze the module's capabilities, and then present their results in class (April 7-14). The presentation should last about 40 min. and include a live demonstration of basic capabilities of the module (including transaction processing and master data editing), analysis of its strengths and weaknesses, and a comparative evaluation of how the module stacks up against its major competitors - both other ERP modules and best of breed applications. The prepared module tutorial, the module analysis paper and presentation have to be posted to the course's Blackboard forum.

Students should join a team which will study one of the six modules listed on this syllabus. Every team should have between one and two students. Students should express their preference to join a certain team by posting a message on the corresponding Blackboard forum. Please note that every student has to express his/her preference individually. No posting should specify a team composition since the teams will be formed by the instructor. The forums will be open on February 4. The deadline for posting a message is February 18. Then the instructor will review the postings and announce the team assignments, trying to accommodate the students' preferences and at the same time make sure that the teams are balanced. The priority will be given to earlier postings.

For examples of module presentations that students have done in this class, take a look at the links below.

2002 - 2007 Blackboard Forums
Spring 2001 Newark Section on Blackboard
Spring 2001 New Brunswick Section on Blackboard

Course Grading:
10% Online Cybertext quizzes
20% Presentation of SAP ECC module
30% Class project
40% Final exam

Weather and Class Cancellation:

The class will meet as scheduled if the University is open. Should the University close for any reason, any assignments due that day will be accepted at the next class meeting. If the class is cancelled for any other reason, emails will be sent to all students. Any assignments due that day will be accepted at the next class meeting.

Recommended Online Resources:

Student Resources of the Rutgers SAP University Alliance can be found at:

http://sap.rutgers.edu/student_resources.html

Tentative List of Topics

    1/20/2009

  1. Introduction to Business Information Processing, Database Systems, and Enterprise Resource Planning Systems: fundamental technologies for business information systems: computers and networks, storage technologies, client/server computing; file-oriented vs. database approaches, fundamental relational database concepts, integrity, validation rules, structured query language (SQL), concurrency, backup, object-oriented databases, integration of enterprise systems.

    1/27/2009
  2. Overview of Systems Analysis and Design, Logical Modeling for Database Systems Design: systems life cycle, steps in the systems development life cycle, tasks involved in systems analysis and systems design, data modeling using ER diagrams and process modeling using data flow diagrams, tasks involved in systems development, systems implementation, and systems operation and maintenance, project management techniques, CASE, RAD, JAD, and prototyping, logical and physical database models, extended entity-relationship logical modeling approach, essentials of data-flow diagrams, Resources-Events-Agents (REA) approach to business systems modeling.

    2/3/2009
  3. Physical Modeling for Database Systems Design: conversion rules for relationships, database normalization - first, second, third, Boyce-Codd, fourth and fifth normal forms, implementing tables in a relational database system, implementing information processes using forms.

    2/10/2009
  4. Introduction to SAP ECC: system log-on, SAPGUI, IDES, SAP ECC application modules. On 2/10/2009, this class meets in the computer classroom 005 in the basement of Levin.

    2/17/2009
  5. Database AIS: Revenue and Procurement Business Processes View: design and development of database driven information systems for revenue and procurement business processes.

    2/24/2009
  6. Database AIS: Enterprise Wide View: information needs within and across functional areas of an enterprise, modeling business processes in an enterprise wide scenario, extended entity relationship diagram for enterprise wide business processes and implementation in a relational database system, integration points between functional areas in an enterprise wide model and benefits of cross-functional integration, features of a high-end enterprise resource planning system, introduction to SAP R/3, the client-server architecture of SAP R/3 and the overview of the major modules within the R/3 system.

    3/3/2009
  7. Technical Architecture of SAP ECC, SAP Application Development, and System Management: architectural principles, hardware configurations, presentation, application and database services, ABAP development workbench, system configuration and management.

    3/10/2009
  8. Guest Visit of Rolf Haardorfer, CISA, Siemens Corporation, Corporate Finance Audit: Auditing SAP ERP.

    3/24/2009
  9. ERP Implementation Issues and Business Engineering in SAP: deciding to go ERP, choosing an ERP system, choosing an implementation strategy, modeling the distributed enterprise, gap analysis, reengineering of business processes.

    3/31/2009
  10. Accelerated SAP, Going Live, Post-implementation Issues: phases of ASAP, going live strategies, change management, user training and documentation, post-implementation support, critical success factors and risks.
  11. Next Generation Enterprise: enterprise application integration, R/3 business processes over the Internet, Internet ERP and electronic commerce, MySAP, NetWeaver and Web services, ERP application service providers, data warehousing, supply chain management.

      • (DOL) CH. 14
      • (24) H. 7, 9, 14
      • Robert Haugen and William E. McCarthy, "REA, a semantic model for Internet supply chain collaboration", presented at the ACM Conference on Object-Oriented Programming, Systems, Languages, and Applications (OOPSLA 2000), Business Objects and Component Design and Implementation Workshop VI: Enterprise Application Integration, Minneapolis, MN, October 16, 2000. http://www.jeffsutherland.org/oopsla2000/mccarthy/mccarthy.htm
      • Thomas H. Davenport. "The Future of Enterprise System-Enabled Organizations", Information Systems Frontiers, August 2000, Volume 2, Issue 2, pp. 163-180.
      • M. Lynne Markus, David Petrie, Sheryl Axline. "Bucking the Trends: What the Future May Hold for ERP Packages", Information Systems Frontiers, August 2000, Volume 2, Issue 2, pp. 181-193.
      • Chris Bennett, Greg T Timbrell. "Application Service Providers: Will They Succeed?", Information Systems Frontiers, August 2000, Volume 2, Issue 2, pp. 195-211.

    4/7/2009
  12. Student Team Presentations of R/3 Logistics Modules:

    4/14/2009
  13. Student Team Presentations of R/3 Financials and Human Resources Modules:

    4/21/2009
  14. Student Project Presentations

    4/28/2009
  15. Final Exams