Managing Globally with Information Technology

edited by Sherif Kamel The American University in Cairo,

Egypt

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

 Kamel, Sherif.   Managing globally with information technology/Sherif Kamel.        p. cm. Issued also in electronic form. 

ISBN 1-931777-42-X (soft cover)

ISBN 1-931777-58-6 (ebook)

1. Business enterprises--Computer networks. 2. Information technology--Management. 3. Information technology--Management--Cross-cultural studies. 4. Management information systems. 5. Globalization. 6. Communication in international trade. I. Title.

HF5548.2.K3196 2003

004'.068--dc21

2002156228

British Cataloguing in Publication Data

A Cataloguing in Publication record for this book is available from the British Library.

About the Authors

Sherif Kamel is an Assistant Professor of Management Information Systems at the School of Business, Economics and Communication of The American University in Cairo, Egypt, and is currently the Associate Director of the Management Center of the university. He was the Director of the Regional IT Institute during the period 1992–2001. From 1987 to 1992, he worked at the Cabinet of Egypt Information and Decision Support Center where he co-established and managed its training department. In 1996, he was one of the co-founding members of the Internet Society of Egypt. Dr. Kamel has published over 60 articles in IT transfer to developing countries, electronic commerce, human resources development decision support applications and knowledge management. He serves on the editorial and review boards of a number of information systems and management journals and is the associate editor of the Annals of Cases on Information Technology Applications and Management in Organizations. Dr. Kamel is currently the VP for Communications for the Information Resources Management Association (IRMA). He is a graduate of the London School of Economics and Political Science (UK) and The American University in Cairo (Egypt).

Amir Albadvi holds joint appointment as Assistant Professor of IT and Systems in the Industrial Engineering Department, Tarbiat Modarres University, Iran, and as Lecturer in E-strategy in Management and Economy Department, Sharif University of Technology. He graduated from London School of Economics (LSE), UK, in 1997 with a PhD in Information Systems. He is recognized as the Information Resource Management Association's (IRMA) World Representative for Iran. He has more than 11 years experience in strategy formation for auto-industry. Dr. Albadvi has conducted extensive research work in the area of e-strategy for the automotive industry in emerging markets and has published a number of awardwinning case studies and articles in international conference proceedings. His research concentrates on electronic commerce and the strategic use of IT. His latest publication is in the area of national information technology strategy.

Nabeel A. Y. Al-Qirim is a Lecturer at the School of Information Technology, Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand. He has a bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, MBA (UK), InfoSys. (Honors with distinction), Cert. (Education), and PhD (Current). His research interests and publications are in IT & e-commerce, small business, education and telemedicine. He worked in the IT industry for 12 years as a consultant and in managing total IT solutions (cabling, networking, internetworking, LAN/WAN, imaging systems, and printing solutions) with international companies: IBM, COMPAQ, Data General, Group Bull and Siemens Nixdorf.

Stewart Bishop is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Computer Science, Mathematics and Physics, University of the West Indies, Barbados, where he lectures in Mathematics and Information Systems. His area of research is Information Technology for development and he has presented papers at regional and international conferences and published on IT utilisation in Caribbean countries. Currently he is assisting the government of Barbados in the formulation of its National Information Technology Strategic Plan. He is a member of IFIP Working Group 9.4, IRMA and a former President of the Information Society of Barbados.

Brian Dobing is an Assistant Professor in Information Systems at the University of Lethbridge, Canada. He received his MBA and MSc in Computational Science from the University of Saskatchewan and his PhD from the University of Minnesota, USA. His research focuses on issues in user-analyst relationships and object-oriented analysis. He has recently published articles in the Journal of Database Management, Internet Research and Journal of Computing Information Systems.

Minyue Dong holds a master's diploma of International Management at HEC, University of Lausanne, Switzerland, with an exchange MBA program at Richard Ivey Business School, University of Western Ontario and a bachelor's degree of economics obtained in China. Ms. Dong conducts PhD research in the field of international financial accounting at HEC and is a Teaching Assistant for the master's program of international management. Her research focus is on the determinants and economic consequences of voluntary information disclosure of non-US firms from developing countries. She also has several years of entrepreneurial experience in international trading.

Ibrahim Elbeltagi is a Senior Lecturer in Information Management at the School of Computing at De Montfort University, UK. He published many papers in refereed national and international conferences. His research interests and publication are in the areas of strategic use of information systems, IS Diffusion in developing countries and trust in electronic commerce. Ibrahim recently received his PhD in strategic use of DSS in local authorities in the UK and Egypt. He is also teaching professional context of ICT and management support systems in the School of Computing, De Montfort University. He is also a member of the Centre for IT Service Management Research at De Montfort University.

Marwa El-Ayouti is a Decision Support Business Partner in Vodafone, Egypt, specializing in financial modeling, planning and forecasting, financial analysis and reporting. Before joining Vodafone Egypt in June 2000, she worked for the International Division of the United Bank of Egypt, handling bank-to-bank relations, trade, money market and forex relations. Ms. El-Ayouti holds a master of business administration with a specialization in globalization from Maastricht School of Management in The Netherlands. She is also a graduate of the American University in Cairo with a bachelor of arts in Economics and a minor in Business Administration.

Luiz Augusto Machado Mendes Filho received an MS in Production Engineering in 2002 and a BS in Computer Science in 1995 from Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. Currently, Mr. Filho has been teaching Information Systems and Business Administration at FARN, (Faculdade Natalense para o Desenvolvimento do Rio Grande do Norte), Brazil. He has already published 13 articles in national and international congresses and is member of the Program Committee of the IRMA. His current research interests include strategic use of information technology and impact of Internet in organizations.

Stewart T. Fleming received the Bachelor of Engineering Degree in Information Engineering from the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, in 1990. He studied under the supervision of Professor Alistair Kilgour at the Department of Computing and Electrical Engineering, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, graduating with a PhD in 1996. Between 1993 and 1996, he worked in industry, developing systems for digital mapping and sales and marketing consultancies. From 1996 to 1998, he was Head of Information Systems in the Department of Business Studies at the Papua New Guinea University of Technology. He is currently a Lecturer within the Department of Computer Science at the University of Otago, on the South island of New Zealand. His current research interests include Software Engineering, Computer Security and the Information needs of Developing Countries.

M. Gordon Hunter is an Associate Professor in Information Systems in the Faculty of Management at the University of Lethbridge, Canada. Dr. Hunter has previously held academic positions in Canada, Hong Kong, and Singapore, and visiting positions in Germany, USA and New Zealand. He has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Saskatchewan in Canada. He received his doctorate from Strathclyde Business School, University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland. Dr. Hunter is an Associate Editor of the Journal of Global Information Management. He serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Global Information Management, and the Journal of Information Technology Cases and Application. Dr. Hunter has conducted seminar presentations in Canada, USA, Asia, New Zealand, Australia, and Europe. His current research interests relate to the productivity of systems analysts with emphasis upon the personnel component, including cross-cultural aspects, and the effective use of information systems by small business.

Suttisak Jantavongso currently is an Assistant Lecturer at the School of Business Systems at Monash University, Australia. He graduated from Monash University with a Business Systems degree in 1999 and a Master of Digital Communications in 2000. During his study, he worked with JiJi Press (Japan) in the 13^th Asian Games in Bangkok in 1998 and as a Kanban Systems project with Wilson Transformer Company in Melbourne in 1999. He is currently undertaking a Doctorate degree in the school of Multimedia Systems. His main research interests are in e-business and international business, especially in social and cultural issues and mobile communications.

Kevin Johnston was born in Umtata, Transkei, South Africa in 1953. He obtained a BSc from Rhodes University, a BSc (Honors) from the University of South Africa (UNISA), and an MCom from the University of Cape Town (UCT). Kevin is married with two daughters. Kevin has over 20 years of experience in the IT industry in Southern Africa, working for companies such as De Beers, Liberty Life and BoE. Kevin has spoken at IT conferences in Africa, Europe and the USA. He is currently a Senior Lecturer in Information Systems at UCT.

Jaroslav Král graduated in 1959 from the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics of the Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic. Since 1959, he has been working in computer science at the Czech Academy of Sciences, Czech Technical University, Masaryk U. Brno, and Charles University, Prague. His research interests were: random number generators and simulations, and hash methods, combinatorial problems connected with the problem of optimal program segmentation, formal language theory, parsing and compiler construction, and the development of process control systems.His present interests are the development of large information systems, software confederations, education of software experts and computational linguists. Jaroslav Král published more than 100 publications in international journals and at international conferences. Jaroslav Král took part (mainly as Project Leader) in several successful projects including macroprocessors, compilers, flexible manufacturing systems, and automated warehouse systems. Jaroslav Král is now a Full Professor at the Faculty of Mathematical Physics of Charles University Prague, and a Visiting Professor at the Faculty of Informatics of Masaryk University Brno, Czech Republic.

Yi-chen Lan is a Lecturer at the School of Computing and IT, the University of Western Sydney, Australia. He teaches Information Systems and Management courses in both undergraduate and graduate levels. Prior to that he worked in industries for five years, holding management responsibilities in the areas of information systems and quality assurance program in a multinational manufacturing company. His main areas of research are global transition process, global information systems management issues, and globalization framework development. He received his undergraduate and postgraduate degrees from the University of Western Sydney. His PhD research is enterprise transition to globalization.

Fernando José Barbin Laurindo holds graduate, MSc and PhD degrees in Production Engineering from the Polytechnic School of University of São Paulo, Brazil. He is also a graduate in law (University of São Paulo) and made Extension Course in Business Administration from Fundação Getúlio Vargas. His researches focus on Information Technology and Business Strategies, Information Technology Planning and Project Management. For 15 years he worked for companies in the manufacturing, financial and service sectors. He is Assistant Professor in the Department of Production Engineering, Polytechnic School - University of São Paulo - EPUSP (since 1997).

Wai K. Law is an Associate Professor of Management at the University of Guam. He earned a master's degree in Computer Science before more than ten years of teaching and research in integrated disciplines of Management Science, Operations Management and Logistics Management. His recent interests are in Information Resources Management and Business Strategy. He served many years on a university committee on Information Technology, and has successfully led the completion of various information projects.

Raymond Koon-Ying Li is a Senior Lecturer at Monash University, Australia. His current research interests include mobile agents, automatic essay scoring using LSA, virtual project office, and web-based project evaluation using AHP and Culture issues of e-business/v-business. His aim is to develop cost-effective business solutions using emerging technologies. For the last few years, Mr. Li has initiated a number of industrial collaborative research programs. Some of the successful multimedia intranet-based developments are: an induction program for Bristol Myers Squibb, competency testing for detective Training at the Victoria Police; and a Just-in-Time training program for nurses at South Health Network in Melbourne. Besides teaching and research, Raymond also consults.

Marly Monteiro de Carvalho holds a Production Engineering degree (Engineering School of São Carlos - University of São Paulo). She holds an MSc and a PhD in Production Engineering from the Federal University of Santa Catarina. Her researches are focused on Project and Technology Management, Quality and Business Strategies. For several years, she was a Researcher at the Technological Research Institute of São Paulo State, Brazil (1992-2000). She is Assistant Professor in the Department of Production Engineering, Polytechnic School - University of São Paulo - EPUSP (since 1992).

Adekunle Okunoye is a doctoral Student at the Turku Center for Computer Science and University of Turku, Department of Information Technology, Finland. He holds BSc and MSc degrees in Computer Science. He is a member of the British Computer Society with about 10 years of practical experience. His research focuses on knowledge management, new information and communication technologies, globalization, and national development. To date, he has published in various conference proceedings and journals.

Alexander Osterwalder holds a master's degree in political science and business information systems. Currently he works as a Research and Teaching Assistant at the Business School of the University of Lausanne in Switzerland. He has published several papers on ICT-related business strategy and business models and ICT opportunities in developing countries. After co-founding Netfinance, a company active in education for online investors, Alexander has worked as a journalist for the Swiss business journal BILANZ. He is a managing editor of Virtual Organization Net. Furthermore, he works for the Summer University on Human Rights based in Geneva, Switzerland.

Anatália Saraiva Martins Ramos received her PhD in Production Engineering from Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She is currently Professor at Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte and a Researcher at CNPq (Brazilian National Science Foundation). Dr. Anatália Ramos has worked in scientific work evaluation committees for congresses and journals and has published over 30 articles in national and international congresses. She has already been awarded the Best Article award by the Information Systems area, given by the National Association of Graduate in Business Administration. Her current research interests include strategic use of information technology and impacts of Internet in organizations.

Mathias Rossi is PhD candidate at the Information Systems Department of the business school of the University of Lausanne (HEC), Switzerland, and holds a master's degree in political science and business information systems. He has teaching and research experience in the field of enterprise competency management. Before joining HEC, Mathias Rossi was Director of a firm active in human resources for the watch industry, has conducted research at the University of Lausanne, at the Ecole d'Etudes Sociales et Pédagogiques and has studied economics and statistics at the University of Economic Science in Budapest and at the University of Colchester. His research interests include theory and practice of competence-based organization and management, knowledge based architectures and systems, knowledge management, Internet, new technologies and developing countries. He has written journal articles on competence-based management and tools. He is co-editor of the Revue Economique et Sociale, bulletin de la société d'études économiques et sociales. Mathias Rossi is the proud father of an adorable one-year-old daughter named Jessica.

Rahul Roy, PhD, is an Associate Professor with the Management Information Systems group of Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, India. He is currently visiting the Department of Management of University of Northern Iowa. Prof. Roy's teaching interest is in the areas of Systems Thinking & Business Simulation, Management Information Systems, Systems Analysis and Design and Software Project Management. His current research centers around modeling global diffusion of Internet and modeling organizational adoption of Information Technology, with particular emphasis on developing countries. His research has been published in Communications of the ACM, European Journal of Operations Research, System Dynamics: An International Journal of Policy Modeling and in a collected volume published by Kluwer Academic Publishers. Prof. Roy has also presented papers at the International Conference on Information Systems 01, International System Dynamics Conference. He is a member of the System Dynamics Society and serves on the editorial board of System Dynamics: A Journal of Policy Modeling.

Marcelo Schneck de Paula Pessôa holds graduate, MSc and PhD degrees in Electronic Engineering from the Polytechnic School of University of São Paulo, Brazil. His research focuses on Information Technology, Software Quality and Software Process Development. For several years, he has been a consultant in the IT arena and also is an Assistant Professor and the current Head of the Department of Production Engineering, Polytechnic School - University of São Paulo - EPUSP.

Ian M. Sims holds MAcc (UWA), BBus (Cowan), CPA, and FAIPMM degrees. Mr. Sims has considerable experience at a senior level in logistics, supply management and financial information systems in the public sector (civil and military), the mining industry and manufacturing and has lectured for many years in Accounting Information Systems at universities in Australia and Asia. His experience has been gained in a variety of line management, consulting and academic roles and has managed complex information systems in both private sector and university environments. This combination of skills, together with his formal qualifications as a Certified Practicing Accountant, gives him a strong background in implementation of change in logistics and financial information systems environments and provides the foundation for his current role as IT coach and trainer to senior executives, management teams and professional accountants.

Adrie Stander is currently a Senior Lecturer in Information Systems at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. He obtained BSc degrees in Information Systems and Psychology from the University of South Africa and an MTech from Cape Technikon. Adrie has over 20 years experience in the South IT industry. He has a keen interest in the human side of IT and has done research in many related areas such as mobile usability, cultural aspects of user interfaces and gender issues in the IT industry. Adrie has spoken at conferences in Africa, Europe and the USA.

Craig Standing has an international reputation in the field of Management Information Systems. He has published widely in leading journals and presented his work at conferences worldwide. He is a Consultant to local and international companies in the private and public sector, specializing in electronic commerce and knowledge management. Dr. Standing completed a Master of Science in Computation at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology, and a Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Western Australia. He is a member of the British Computer Society and the Australian Computer Society. He is currently an Associate Professor in the School of Management Information Systems at Edith Cowan University in Western Australia.

Monideepa Tarafdar, PhD, is Assistant Professor at the Graduate Programs in IT and IS at the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA. Her current research and teaching interests lie in the areas of Strategic Information Systems Management, Management of IT, Enterprise Systems and Organizational Aspects of IS. Her teaching has been in the areas of Data Management, MIS, and E-Commerce. Her research has appeared or is forthcoming in Journal of Information Technology Cases and Applications and System Dynamics: An International Journal of Policy Modeling.

During the 1990's, Benedict Tootell completed a Bachelor of Arts (Honors) and a Master of Business Administration (International Business) at Monash University, Iran. He spent five years working in marketing and market research positions with a number of multinational companies, before returning to study in 2001. In mid 2001, he completed a Graduate Certificate in Information Management and Systems and has recently completed a master's in Information Technology at Monash University. He has spent the past year developing interactive training applications for the Victoria Police Force. He is the Founder of Desktop Multimedia, a company specializing in the design and development of multimedia training applications.

Nata van der Merwe is currently a Lecturer in the Department of Information Systems at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. She has qualifications in Linguistics, Education and Information Technology, with her highest qualification being an MA from the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa. Nata has 15 years experience in the IT Industry and IT-related academic environments. She is currently leading a study of the issues surrounding the retention of women in the IT industry.

Michal ŽemličThorn;ka is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics of Charles University, Prague. He graduated in 1996. His current research interests are extensible compilers, theory of parsing, the design of large software systems, data structures, and computational linguistics.

Sajjad Zahir is a Professor of Management in the area of Decision Sciences and Information Systems at the University of Lethbridge, Canada. He received his doctorate degree from the University of Oregon, Eugene, USA. His current research interests are in Multicriteria Decision Models, Decision Support Systems and Intelligent Systems and the Internet technologies. He has published in the European Journal of Operational Research, Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences, Journal of the Operational Research Society, Journal of American Society for Information Science, International Journal of Information Technology and Decision Making, Internet Research: Electronic Networking Applications and Policy, Journal of Computer and Information Systems, International Journal of Operations and Quantitative Management, INFOR, and also in several physics journals.

Acknowledgments

The editor would like to acknowledge the help of all involved in the collaboration and review process of the book, without whose support and assistance this project could not have been satisfactorily completed. Putting together a book of this magnitude requires a tremendous cooperation and assistance by everyone involved. Respectively, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all the contributors of the book. A further special note of thanks goes also to all the staff at IRM Press whose contributions throughout the whole process from inception of the initial idea to final publication have been invaluable. In particular, I would like to thank Amanda Appicello who kept the project on schedule and to Mehdi Khosrow-Pour whose enthusiasm motivated me to initially accept his invitation to take on this project. I would also like to acknowledge most of the authors of the book chapters included in this book who also served as subject matter experts for chapters written by other authors. Thanks go to all those who provided constructive and comprehensive reviews. In closing, I wish to thank my family for their love and support throughout this project.

Sherif Kamel, PhD
Cairo, Egypt
September 2002