COURSE SYLLABUS

School of Management
The University of Texas at Dallas

Course: Enterprise Resource Computing

Instructor: Nirup Menon and Lou Thompson
Semester: Summer 2005
Course Start/End Date: May 16, 2005 – July 26, 2005

| Course Information | Technical Requirements | Course Access | Communications |

| Student Assessment | Scholastic Dishonesty | Course Evaluation | Course Schedule |

Course Information
Course Description

1. Course introduction
This course introduces students to typical business processes seen in large corporations, with typical
transaction documents in various functional areas such as sales, purchasing, Human Resources and
production. The SAP R/3 system serves as an enterprise model for data and processes. This model
emphasizes the integration between the different functional areas. This course also covers managerial
issues in ERP using an ERP life cycle approach. Topics such as selection of ERP and implementation
approach are covered. Assignments will include exercises and demos in SAP R/3 and ERP case
analysis
2. Prerequisites
Graduate level course in databases (MIS 6326) or industry experience
3. Learning objectives
To be able to define the stages for implementing ERP Systems, know the vendors of ERP System,
perform ERP configurations, and perform SAP lab exercises in the SAP R/3 modules covered in this
class.

Instructor Information

1. Instructor brief biography

Lou Thompson – Sr. Lecture been with UTD for 4 years. Previous to UTD career, spent over 25 years
in Software Development, Software Testing, Project Management, Quality Management, Customer
Service, and Software Tools . Participated on the SAP R/3 Implementation Team at Fujitsu Network
Communications. Masters of Science in Computer Science from DePaul University. Completed
Middle Management Certification Program at Southern Methodist University.

Nirup Menon – Asst. Professor been with UTD for 4 years. Taught at Texas Tech for 4 years prior to
that. Phd in MIS from the University of Arizona.

2. Contact information (phone, email)

Lou Thompson – 972-883-2558 Email via Webct
Dr. Nirup Menon – 972-883-4823 Email via Webct

3. Web site
 Lou Thompson www.25cubed.com/utd
Dr. Nirup Menon www.utdallas.edu/~menon

4. Online office hours

Lou Thompson Tuesday 3:00 PM. – 4:00 P.M. or by appointment
Dr. Nirup Menon by appointment

Course Materials

1. Required and recommended texts and materials

• Sumner, M., Enterprise Resource Planning, Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005 1/e.
• SAP GUI Download
• A course packet with cases and articles is available at the on-campus, and off-campus bookstores.
For the list of cases and articles included, see the ‘List of cases and articles’ section below.

Textbooks and other materials can be ordered online through MBS Direct Virtual Bookstore or Off-
Campus Books web ordering site. They are also available at UTD Bookstore and Off-Campus Books.

List of Cases and Articles

1. “Putting the Enterprise into the Enterprise System,” T.H. Davenport, Harvard Business Review,
July-August 1998, pg. 121-131.
2. “Harley-Davidson Motor Company: Enterprise Software Selection,” Harvard Business School
Publishing, Boston, MA 02163, case study #9-600-006.
3. “Tektronix, Inc.: Global ERP Implementation,” Harvard Business School Publishing, Boston,
MA 02163, case study #9-699-043.

General Policies
• Students must login to WebCT (http://webct.utdallas.edu) as often as a couple of times a day to
check announcements and documents for downloading.
• Start home work early. Late home work will not be accepted. System crashes within 48 hours of
homework due date are not valid excuses for late home work.
• Only print-outs of assignments/exercises will only be accepted via webct.

Technical Requirements
In addition to a confident level of computer and Internet literacy, certain minimum technical requirement
must be met to enable a successful learning experience. Technical requirements include but are not
limited to:

Hardware
• A Pentium processor or equivalent Mac system; Windows 98/Me/2000/XP or Mac OS 9.x or OS
X 10.1.
• Internet access with 56.6 modem (minimum). A high-bandwidth connection is recommended.
• 32 MB system Ram; 200 MB free disk space or sufficient storage
• Sound card
 • CD-ROM capabilities
Software
• Internet Explorer 5.0 to 6.0 (but 5.5 SP1 not supported), or Netscape Navigator 6.2.x (see notes)
and 7.0 (4.78, 4.79 and 6.0-6.1 not supported), or AOL 7.0 and 8.0. See browser configuration
information below.
• MS Office 2000 is the minimum standard. (Microsoft software is available at a nominal cost from
the UTD/Microsoft Program. For more information, visit the Global MBA Online Student
Service web page at: http://som.utdallas.edu/globalmba/gmba_online_services.htm).
• Virus detection/protection software (such as McAfee)
• “Plug-ins” including the most current version of RealPlayer (http://www.real.com), Java – Sun
Microsystems (http://www.java.com) and Adobe Acrobat Reader
(http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html)
• A zip file expansion tool such as WinZip or Stuffit Expander (available at:
http://www.download.com).

Web Browser Configuration

For WebCT courses to work properly, you will need one of the WebCT supported browsers listed
above with JavaScript enabled and cookies enabled. It is also important that you set the cache
settings of your browser to verify web documents “Every Time”. The methods for configuring
these settings vary among browsers. Please follow this web link provided by WebCT to tune-up
your browser: http://www.webct.com/tuneup/.

Course Access and Navigation

This course was developed using a web course tool called WebCT. It is to be delivered entirely online.
You will be notified by email about the course access information at the start of the course. You’ll need to
have a UTD NetID and password to access the course. If you have not set up a UTD NetID account yet,
please go to the UTD NetID page at http://netid.utdallas.edu to initiate your account shortly before or at
the start of the semester. Your UTD NetID is your WebCT ID. It is to be used to access all of your UTD
WebCT courses plus other UTD computing systems e.g. your UTD email account. Please note that it’s
required that your account password to be updated every 6-12 months . UTD IR will send you
reminding messages to your UTD email account towards the time when your password is getting expired.
To update your password, please login at the above NetID page. For more information, please visit the
NetID FAQs page.

The URL for the course login page is: http://webct.utdallas.edu. The course may be accessed at any time.
You are required to meet all assignment and exam deadlines. Participation in scheduled class activities is
required. You should login to the course site regularly (at least three times per week) to check course
updates, and discussion board messages.

You’ll access the “My WebCT” page after you login. The page lists all courses that you have registered
for. You can click the course title to access the course Home Page which displays several icon links.
Clicking each icon link will take you to different subsidiary pages containing the course content elements
or built-in course tools. Some navigation components such as the Navigation Bar with Course Menu on
the left side, the Menu Bar and the path link on the top, and the Action Menu on the content page can help
you navigate within the course site.

To get started with a WebCT course, please see the Getting started: Student WebCT Orientation link. For
more information about WebCT tool usage, please see the WebCT Student Help Index. Within the course
site, you can always click HELP on the WebCT Menu Bar to find information and answers. You can also
check out the Orientation Center to Online Learning and WebCT provided on WebCT’s web site. For
more WebCT information and its learning resources, visit http://www.webct.com.

If you have any problems with your UTD account or any problem with the UTD WebCT server, you may
email to: assist@utdallas.edu or call the UTD Computer Helpdesk at: 972-883-2911. If you encounter any
technical difficulties within the course site, please send an email to gmbasupport@utdallas.edu.

Communications
WebCT built-in communication tools : There are four built-in communication tools to facilitate
learning, communication, and collaboration. A course conferencing system, the Discussion, allows
communication among all course participants. Discussion topics or groups can be set up for topic
discussions and homework assignments. You can use the course Mail tool to communicate privately with
the instructor and any class participants. The Chat tool can be used for real-time communication among
course participates. Please see specific information for accessing Chat tool. Finally there is a graphic
interface Whiteboard tool which allows real-time interaction among course participants. If necessary, I
will schedule times to use the Chat and/or Whiteboard tools for office hours and/or class discussion
sessions. Small groups may also use the Chat tool for group discussions.

Interaction with Instructor: I will communicate with students mainly using the Discussion board.
Students may send personal concerns or questions to me using the course Email tool. I will reply to
student emails or Discussion board messages within 3 working days under normal circumstances.

Emailing: Besides using the WebCT course internal email, if there is any need, students may contact me
via external regular emails. UTD provides each student with a free email account that is to be used in all
communication with university personnel. This allows the university to maintain a high degree of
confidence in the identity of all individuals corresponding and the security of the transmitted information.
Beginning September 1, 2004, the Administration has informed faculty to require any email
communications to be through UTD email accounts.

To access your UTD email, please go to: http://pipeline.utdallas.edu and login with your UTD NetID and
password (same as WebCT login). The Department of Information Resources at UTD provides a method
for students to forward email from other accounts to their UTD address and have their UTD mail sent to
other accounts. Students may go to the following URL to establish the email forwarding if necessary:
http://netid.utdallas.edu. For any assistance with UTD email account, call 972-883-2911 or email
assist@utdallas.edu.

MeetingPlace TeleConference System: UTD maintains a telephone conferencing system. All

participants in the course can use the system for teleconferences throughout the semester. Participants
access a meeting by dialing either a “972” area code number or a toll free number if outside the Dallas
area (but within the continental U.S.) with a touch tone phone. When prompted, you will enter a code. If a
teleconference is scheduled for the course, you will be notified of the time and given access instructions.
A class teleconference is usually recorded and can be reviewed over the phone after the conference.
Please see TeleConference Guide for general instructions.

If you would like to reserve a time to meet with a group of your classmates, please send an email
one week in advance to gmbasupport@utdallas.edu. Be sure to include the course name, student
names and email addresses, choice of date, and start and end times. Once a reservation has
been made, students will receive a confirmation email with access instructions.
Student Assessment
Grading Information

List grade criteria for course

Scaled Score Letter Equivalent

94 -100 A
87 - 93 B
75 – 86 C
Less than 75 F

You can check your grades by accessing the “My Grade” icon on the Student Tools page after the grade
for each assessment task is released.

Participation
20 points will be awarded based on “quality” participation on the discussion board. Please maintain clear
threads of discussion. State your viewpoint succinctly. Please remember not to clutter the board with
noisy point.

Assignments

Assignments 1-3,5-8,10,12 10 points each

Assignment 4 15 points
Assignment 9,11,13 5 points each

Assignment submission instructions : You will submit your assignments (in the required file format with
a simple file name and a file extension) by using the Assignment Dropbox tool on the course site. Please
see the Assignments icon on the designated page. You can click each assignment name link and follow
the on-screen instructions to upload and submit your file(s). Please refer to the Help menu or the WebCT
Student Guide for more information on using this tool. Please note : each assignment link can only be
used once and will be deactivated after the assignment due time. After your submission is graded, you
may click each assignment’s “Graded” link to check the results and feedback.

Final Examination
Exam 1 40 points
Exam 2 40 points

Proctored Final Exam Information

This course requires a proctored final examination. An on-campus class exam session is scheduled on
July 27 th 7pm-8:30pm under my supervision. Room information will be announced later on the
discussion board.

Students who are not able to attend this exam session with me can arrange an individually proctored exam
with a testing service of their choice at a date within this required exam time window: July 26-July29.
For local students, testing services are available at the UTD Learning Resources Center. Students who
find UTD geographically inconvenient may use a preapproved testing service at a convenient location.
All individually arranged proctored exams must be completed within the stated exam time window.
Student using either the UTD testing service at the Learning Resources Center or an outside testing
service must inform me, as well as the Global MBA Online office (gmbasupport@utdallas.edu). A
proctored exam form must be completed and sent back to the GMBA Office before June 10th. Please go
to the Proctored Exam Information page at:
http://som.utdallas.edu/globalmba/gmba_proc_exam_info.htm to download the Proctored Exam Form
and to find all the detailed information on arranging a proctored exam. All completed 2nd exams must be
received by July 29th to allow timely grade reporting to UTD Registrar.

The GMBA Office requests all students who need to use testing services strictly follow the proctored
exam scheduling deadlines. If any student fails to submit the exam form on time, the student will be
required to come to campus and attend the scheduled class exam session (or seek my approval for any
special arrangements).

Scholastic Dishonesty
The University has policies and discipline procedures regarding scholastic dishonesty. Detaile d
information is available on the Scholastic Dishonesty web page. All students are expected to maintain a
high level of responsibility with respect to academic honesty. Students who violate University rules on
scholastic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary penalties, including the possibility of failure in the course
and/or dismissal from the University. Since such dishonesty harms the individual, all students and the
integr ity of the University, policies on scholastic dishonesty will be strictly enforced.

Course Evaluation
As required by UTD academic regulations, every student must complete an evaluation for each enrolled
course at the end of the semester. An online instructional assessment form will be made available for your
confidential use. Please look for the course evaluation link on the course Homepage towards the end of
the course.

Course Outline/Schedule

WEEK DATES TOPIC/LECTURE READING ASSIGNMENT /

ACTIVITY

1 May 17 Class Introduction Chapter 1,2

Introduction to ERP Systems Lecture L1 Slides Intro ERP Slides L1-1, L1-2, &
L1-3

2 May 24 ERP Functional Units L2-1 ERP Functional Units Assignment 1 on

ERP Development L2-2 ERP Development Limited Inc ERP model

3 May 31 ERP Organizations Elements L2-3 ERP Organizational Elements Assignment 2 (SAP)
SAP Basic Navigation SAP R/3 Navigation Document Basic Navigation
L2-4 SAP R/3 Navigation Presentation

4 June 7 Sales & Distribution Chapter 4 Assignment 3 (SAP)

L3-1 S&D VC Sales & Distribution
L3-2 Sales Logistics Assignment 4 (SAP)
L3-3 SAP S&D Modules Returns and
L3-4 Organization Units Consignment
L3-5 Basic Functions Assignment 5 (SAP)
Sales Configuration

5 June 14 Production Planning & Execution L4-1 Production Planning & Execution Assignment 6 (SAP)
L4-2 Production Information Flow Production Planning
6 June 21 Mid Term Exam

7 June 28 Procurement L5-1 Material Management Assignment 7 (SAP)

L5-2 Material Management Production Execution

8 July 5 Human Resources Lecture 6 L6 -1 Human Resources Assignment 8 (SAP)

ERP Lifecycle: Davenport Article L6-2 Human Resources Procurement
Review questions on Davenport posted for online Assignment 9 on
discussion Davenport due

9 July 12 Case Study Harley Davidson Assignment 10 (SAP)

Review questions posted for online discussion Human Resources Part 1
Assignment 11 on
Harley Davidson due

10 July 19 Case Study Tektronix Assignment 12 (SAP)

Class Wrap up Review questions posted for online discussion Human Resources Part 2
Assignment 13 on
Tektronix due

11 July 26 Second Non comprehensive Exam