qwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwerty

uiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasd
fghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzx
cvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmq
wertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyui
RESEARCH PROPOSAL
CLOUD BASED ERP : BENEFIT AND PITFALLS
opasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfg
LIVERPOOL BUSINESS SCHOOL

hjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxc
MODULE LEADER: Mr. ALEX WATT

vbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmq
MODULE GUIDE : Mr. BOB MCLELLAND

wertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyui
opasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfg
hjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxc
vbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmq
wertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyui
opasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfg
hjklzxcvbnmrtyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbn
mqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwert
yuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopas
dfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklz
xcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnm
qwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwerty
 RESEARCH SKILLS ANALYSIS (MGTMIM001 2009-2010)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION........................................................................................ 3

1.1. AIM.......................................................................................................... 4

1.2. OBJECTIVES ..........................................................................................4

2. LITERATURE REVIEW ...........................................................................5

3. METHODOLOGY .....................................................................................8

4. METHODS ..................................................................................................13

4.1. INTERVIEWS ........................................................................................13

4.2. FOCUS GROUPS .................................................................................13

4.3. SAMPLING ............................................................................................14

4.3.1. CASE SELECTION ......................................................................14

4.4. DATA ANALYSIS ...............................................................................14

5. ETHICS .......................................................................................................16

6. RESEARCH SUITABILITY ....................................................................16

7. PROJECT MANAGEMENT ....................................................................17

8. REFERENCES ...........................................................................................18

9. APPENDIX .................................................................................................23

Page | 2
 RESEARCH SKILLS ANALYSIS (MGTMIM001 2009-2010)

1. INTRODUCTION
Cloud computing is a new buzzword in the business industry today. The idea leading to cloud
computing paradigm is that the computing resources and software are available to the end
user, whether an organisation or an individual, in a virtualized environment (cloud) and the
user can access it on demand and using a ‘pay as you go’ approach. These services in
industry are respectively referred to as Infrastructure as a Service (Iaas), Platform as a
Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS) (Hayes, 2009). One of the issues faced by
the organisations in the world today is need to make the organisational data globally
accessible while taking into account the intra organisational and extra-organisational data and
a cloud can be a very enabling medium for achieving this.

Enterprise resource planning software is a monolithic piece of software that integrates the
entire organisation into one giant entity while capturing, changing and automating the
organisational processes. The decision to implement an ERP is a very important decision and
is a onetime affair in most of the organizations of small and medium size. Chances of a
successful implementation of an ERP in an organisation are less. Also, it takes sizeable
amount of manpower, cost and effort to deploy and maintain the ERP. An entire ERP
application being outsourced is a relatively new idea and has been under discussion
frequently for its advantages and some latent disadvantages. In today’s world with such
economic conditions, it becomes imperative for an organization to reduce its operating costs
while increasing overall efficiency with the same amount of resources and to fulfil consumer
demands simultaneously. This is where a cloud based ERP can really help an organisation, if
not for some very pertinent disadvantages that have to be overcome to make this a more
viable option to a “best of breed” or an off the shelf ERP solution, globally.

A cloud based ERP is fundamentally different from the traditional ERP as it is designed from
scratch to provide a web based service to the customer. It shifts the main responsibility of the
infrastructure required by the organisation to an external service provider that specializes in
providing web based services. ‘Cyberinfrastructure’ makes the deployment of the business
systems easier and increases the scope of the applications that could be realised within the
organisational constraints such as budget and time. One of the major advantages is that the
user is abstracted from the maintenance of the software. A cloud based ERP can provide an

Page | 3
 RESEARCH SKILLS ANALYSIS (MGTMIM001 2009-2010)

organization much needed flexibility in terms of access to the required business processes
modules in the ERP when it intends to expand its range of operations or it acquires a new
organization. It can also help to divert the attention of the dedicated workforce away from the
maintenance and development and direct it towards the core processes that actually benefit
the organisation in a much better way.

Barriers to adoption of a cloud based ERP system are organisation specific. However, there
are some common issues that push organisations towards the adoption of such a system.
These comprise of cost savings, fault tolerance, on demand service, scalability and flexibility.
Concerns regarding a cloud based system include security, scalability, ease of migration and
licensing issues. There are some notable disadvantages that need to be overcome. A very
pertinent issue is regarding the security of the organizational data. Since the data is stored in
the cloud, an organization does not have a direct control over it. The security of the
organizational data is the responsibility of the service provider and this throws up a lot of
issues for an organization to consider before and after migrating to a cloud based ERP.
Another important issue is of a possible vendor lock in that might disallow the organisation to
migrate to another service provider when it desires it.

1.1 AIM:
To investigate the possible long and short term advantages and the disadvantages that an
organisation can derive from the adoption of a cloud based ERP

1.2 OBJECTIVES:
 To analyse if a cloud ERP could prove to be a suitable alternative to the traditional
on-premise ERP (mission critical application).
 To identify the merits and demerits of a cloud based ERP

Page | 4
 RESEARCH SKILLS ANALYSIS (MGTMIM001 2009-2010)

2. LITERATURE REVIEW
ERP systems are currently the prevailing form of business computing for many large
organisations in the private and public sector (Gable, 1998). An ERP manages and integrates
all the business functions in an organisation and this makes it much more than simple
software that take no thought to acquire (Boykin, 2001; Chen, 2001; Yen, Chou, & Chang,
2002). Organizations view ERP-enabled standardization as a vital means to integrate
dispersed organizational systems and provide a seamless access to information organization-
wide (Osterle et. al, 2000). ERP stores and processes data and allows it to be accessed in an
appropriate format, while stretching beyond the organisational boundaries (Gupta, 2000) (Al-
Mashari & Zairi, 2000) (Gardiner et al, 2002). Because these systems touch so many aspects
of a company’s it internal and external operations, their successful deployment and use are
critical to organizational performance and survival (Tanis et. al, 2000).

One of the major challenges in ERP adoption is flexibility with the integration of newly-
acquired business functionalities into its data processing systems with the minimum time
possible (Gupta, 2000). The flexibility of ERP systems refers to the extent to which an ERP
system may be dynamically reconfigurable to define new business models and processes
(Stedman, 1999). In the near-term perspective, managers find ERP implementation projects
the most difficult systems development projects (Wilder and Davis, 1998). ERP projects are
set apart by their complexity due to enterprise wide scope. Failures of ERP system
implementation and integration (Glass & Vessey, 1999) have been known to lead to
organizational bankruptcy (Bulkeley, 1996 ; Davenport, 1998 ; Markus & Tanis, 2000) or
partial adoption of the ERP system with only a few modules in place (Bingi et al., 1999;
Davenport, 1998).Customization is meant to describe changes or additions to the
functionality available in the standard ERP software. Even in the light of the benefits of
implementing ERP software, some organizations still choose to customize (Davenport, 1998;
Light, 2001). However, customization is very difficult when an organisation wants to
implement a whole new set of modules.

The online delivery of the software has been a long standing dream of the software vendors
and distributors, alike. Sato et al. (1999) and Bennett et al. (2000) put forward several areas
for future research, including integrating ERP and other systems on the Internet. Cloud

Page | 5
 RESEARCH SKILLS ANALYSIS (MGTMIM001 2009-2010)

computing is a fairly established system and has been in the offering since 2000-01 (Bennett
et al., 2000). The concept is deceptively simple and logical. Instead of buying the the license
for an application like an ERP software and then installing it on a machine, it is much cheaper
and convinient to lease the application from a company that created the software (Dubey &
Wagle, 2007).

A Cloud is a type of parallel and distributed system consisting of a collection of

interconnected and virtualised computers that are dynamically provisioned and presented as
one or more unified computing resources based on service-level agreements established
through negotiation between the service provider and consumers (Fox, 2009 ; Buyya, et al.,
2008). Applications built on cloud architectures run ‘in-the-cloud’ where the physical
location of the infrastructure is determined by the provider (Varia, 2008) and is abstracted
from the organisation, thus allowing the focus to shift from IT to business innovation. The
benefits of cloud computing are widely discussed in practice, focusing on increased agility,
availability, flexibility, cost savings and interoperability (Kim, 2009).

The separation of service provider from infrastructure provider has made it much easier for
new services to be established online quickly and with low financial risk, and to scale those,
services as demand dictates (Murray, 2009 ; Buyya, 2009). Using someone else’s
infrastructure on a pay-per-use basis converts the fixed costs into a variable cost based on
actual consumption , reducing initial investment and risk (Buyya, et al., 2008) (Fox, 2009).
Also the demand for online services can be very variable and poor response due to overload
can risk losing customers (Pandey, et al. , 2009). Cloud computing provides easy scalability
and the flexible creation and dismantling of resources that customers need only temporarily
for special projects or peak workloads (Leavitt, 2009 ; Fox, 2009 ; ECONOMIST, 2009)
giving it choice and control over its infrastructure. The ability to scale the use of cloud power
to match the demand also mitigates the risk of failure (ECONOMIST,2009) while making the
organisations more adaptable.

Cloud based ERP has a much smaller time scale for configuration and deployment. This has a
fundamental impact on the agility of a business and the reduction of costs associated with
time delays (ISACA, 2009 ; Hayes, 2009) allowing organisations to realise the competitive
advantage at a much earlier stage than the non adapters. Organisational data is available and
accessible globally through internet improving the overall collaboration in the organsation
(Scale, 2009 ; Armbrust, et al., 2009).

Page | 6
 RESEARCH SKILLS ANALYSIS (MGTMIM001 2009-2010)

When data is stored beyond the organisation, even with lock-tight security and data
management standards, there are confidentiality and privacy risks associated with this model,
not to mention potential industrial sabotage (Fox, 2009 ; Leavitt, 2009 ; Pandey et al., 2009 ;
Das et al.,2009). Also, with a distributed application architecture, there is no possibility for
local customization and development an you are limited to the interface the service provider
gives you (Fox, 2009).

Besides security, there are legal and regulatory issues that need to be taken care of. When
moving applications and data to the Cloud, the providers may choose to locate them
anywhere on the planet (Pandey et al., 2009) which subjects it to the laws of that country. For
example, specific cryptography techniques could not be used because they are not allowed in
some countries. Performance concerns may stop some companies from using cloud
computing for transaction oriented and other data-intensive applications (Leavitt, 2009)
(Hayes, 2009). Cloud services have reduced the cost of content storage and delivery, but they
can be difficult to use for nondevelopers, as each service is best utilised via unique web
services, and have their own unique quirks. (Tari, et al., 2009). A user could also get a nasty
surprise if they have not understood what they will be charged for (Broberg, et al., 2008).
Vendor lock-in is another problem that an organisation may have to face if they want to
migrate towrds a new service provider. (Armbrust, et al., 2009).

People are focusing on the core technologies that will lead their business forward over the
next five years and want to know how to manage varying degrees of risk wisely. They are
wary of making a complete jump in computing ideology in one fell swoop (ECONOMIST,
2009)

Page | 7
 RESEARCH SKILLS ANALYSIS (MGTMIM001 2009-2010)

3. METHODOLOGY
The learning style assessment was undertaken by the researcher adopted from Kolb and
McCarthy(1984). The results indicated that the researcher’s style is one of the interpretivist
and a diverger.

Research, according to (Smith & Dainty, 1991), is concerned with problem solving
investigating relationships and building on the body of knowledge. It is a plan or design with
the view to finding a solution to the research problem by social workers. Formulating and
clarifying the research topic is the most important aspect of the research project as it is the
starting point of the entire process (Alvesson & Skoldberd, 2000 ; Ghauri & Gronhaug, 2005
; Mouton & Marais, 1990). Once the research topic is finalised, it becomes easier to choose
the research method. To understand the pros and cons of a cloud bases ERP system, it is
essential, that the background of the cloud based systems and virtualization of resources is
established along with the factors that may affect the bias of the subject (Denzin & Lincoln,
1998 ; Bogdan & Biklen, 1992).

Kolb (1984) created his famous model out of four elements: concrete experience, observation
and reflection, the formation of abstract concepts and testing in new situations. Kolb and Fry
(1975) argue that the learning cycle can begin at any one of the four points - and that it
should really be approached as a continuous spiral. The researcher tilts towards the diverger
which suggests a preference for an interpretivist approach. Saunders, et al. (2003) discusses
deductive and inductive research methods. Johnson (1996) describes the inductive theory as a
mirror image to deductive which starts with an established theory (Spens & Kovacs, 2006).
An individual makes a number of observations which are then moulded into a concept or
generalization. Since the researcher is trying to develop and understanding into the
advantages and disadvantages of a virtualised ERP from an organisational perspective, which
has a high number of conflicting views (ECONOMIST, 2009), inductive approach is a better
option as it helps to deal with uncertainty by linking all the contextual factors into a single
overall view.

Methodology is a way of thinking about and studying social reality (Strauss & Corbin, 1990).
Bazeley (2004) mentions that approaches taken to defining “qualitative” and “quantitative”
have long been associated with different paradigmatic approaches to research, different

Page | 8
 RESEARCH SKILLS ANALYSIS (MGTMIM001 2009-2010)

assumptions about the nature of knowledge (ontology), and the means of generating it
(epistemology) . Babbie and Mouton (2001), Denzin and Lincoln (1994), Du Plooy (2001),
Marshall and Rossman (1995), and Mason (2002) describe qualitative research as a paradigm
that allows the researcher to get an “insider perspective on social action”. Babbie and Mouton
(2001) further describe the primary goal of this research approach as describing and then
understanding as opposed to merely explaining social action. Qualitative research contributes
to discovery and theory-building (Gilles, 2000) which is what is being attempted by the
researcher here with respect to a cloud based ERP.

Qualitative techniques based on the interpretation of non-numerical data can provide meaning
to human behaviour missing in quantitative data (Rossman & Marshall, 1999 ; Creswell,
1994). It seeks to develop sensitizing concepts and the meanings of central themes in the life
world of the subjects (Maykut & Morehouse, 1994). Acquisition of an ERP is a major
decision which affects the organisation on multiple levels. The ‘intangible’ factors related to
changes and its adaptability or competitive advantage, are difficult to quantify and a
qualitative approach is a better suited mode of research here. Qualitative approach is based on
the belief that the persons are actors who take an active role in responding to situations and
the realisation that the response is based on a certain meaning (Strauss & Corbin, 1990 ;
Rossman & Rallis, 2003). The understanding of this meaning is defined and redefined
through interaction with sensitivity to conditions and the relationship between condition,
action and the result. Qualitative analysis allows for finer differences to be brought to light
which will allow the researcher to investigate his case thoroughly. Denzin & Lincoln, (1998)
summarise the characteristics of this approach as enabling the researcher to study phenomena
in their natural settings, while attempting to interpret these phenomena in terms of the
meanings people bring to them.

Observations are the starting point for this approach (Kvale, 1996) and seek to develop
theory, but not test it (Rossman & Rallis, 2003). Qualitative researchers analyze their data
inductively using a bottom up approach. Induction is usually described as moving from
specific observations to broader generalisation and theories (Miles & Huberman, 1994).
Glaser & Strauss (1967) and later Strauss & Corbin (1990) mentioned grounded theory where
the theory is grounded in the observations made by the researcher. Inductive approach is
intended to aid the researcher to understanding of meaning in data through the development
of emergent themes or categories. These themes are likely to be based on premises of the
research such as security, adaptability, performance factors, scalability etc and will guide the

Page | 9
 RESEARCH SKILLS ANALYSIS (MGTMIM001 2009-2010)

researcher when examining and analysing the data, thereby forming theory. Since qualitative
methods can be used to explore substantive areas about which little is known or have
conflicting views (Stern 1980; Rossman & Marshall, 1999), this approach is better suited to
this research topic.

Grounded theory is an inductive, comparative, and interactive approach research that offers
several open-ended strategies to identify emergent themes. Grounded theory used the
inductive approach towards the research with no preconceived notions (Glaser & Strauss,
1967) about the research topic. This use of induction and deduction is supported by Bryman
and Bell (2003) who argue that grounded theory is an iterative process which includes
elements of both induction and deduction. The analysis within grounded theory is done as
the constant comparative method. This included comparing incidents within each category,
comparing categories to each other, clarifying the developing theory, and writing a coherent
theory as a result. (Glaser & Strauss, 1967 ; Strauss & Corbin, 1990). A key concept for this
approach is “theoretical sensitivity” (Glaser, 1978), which can be described as an ability to
perceive the interactions between the relevant themes and factors. The researcher finds this an
apt approach due to his interpretivist nature and the fact that the cloud computing is a novel
concept that can be adopted by every organisation due to various set of factors which can
have a varying degree of influence on the decision.

Interview is the primary technique of the researcher here. The main task in interviewing is to
understand the meaning of what the interviewees say (Kvale, 1996). An interview seeks to
determine the factual information along with the contextual information. An interview with
the subject in its natural environment brings out the nuances in their perspectives and the
definitions are continuously refined (Kalnis 1986 as cited in Marshall and Rossman, 1995).
However a cloud based ERP is a relatively new concept and is a major decision on behalf of
an organisation to actually adopt it. It is important that the data gathered from an interview be
viewed in relevance to the background of the subject being interviewed as some of the factual
information may not make much sense or may stand to be misinterpreted if it is not seen
along with the circumstances that affected it (Saunders, et al., 2003).

Quantitative research allows the researcher to familiarize him/herself with the problem or
concept to be studied, and perhaps generate hypotheses to be tested. This approach is often
viewed in contrast to qualitative approach (Bogdan & Biklen, 1992) (Firestone, 1987). In
this paradigm, the emphasis is on facts and objective data (Bogdan & Biklen, 1998) leaving

Page | 10
 RESEARCH SKILLS ANALYSIS (MGTMIM001 2009-2010)

out the circumstantial evidence. Guba & Lincoln, (1994) say that research and in has been
dominated by a need to quantify the hypotheses. Guba & Lincoln (1994) have further
challenged the effectiveness of quantitative techniques to quantify hard facts when social
factors are concerned due to the objective nature of the approach as it tends to leave out the
context of the information. Also, it limits the scope of the research as it does not encourage
the researcher to look beyond the aims and objective.

Every method has its drawbacks and qualitative approach is no exception. According to Stiles
(1993), Patton ( 2001) and Lincoln & Guba (1985), validity and reliability are the factors that
affect the quality of the traditional qualitative research. Denzin & Lincoln (1998) put forward
four factors to establish the correctness of the data and research: credibility, transferability,
dependability, and conformability. It would be very difficult for another researcher to
reproduce the survey and replicate the finding for confirmation of the research with the same
amount of validity and personal bias. Generalizing the findings of the report is an aspect of
the high quality reports. Maxwell (1992) suggests that it is easier to generalize findings in the
quantitative research and is a potential drawback in this study. Patton (2001) argues that the
generalizability is a criteria that is subjective to the individual case study. Also, according to
Cassell & Symon (1994), it is easy to drift from the original context of the research when
using the qualitative approach due to the changing context of the research

A phenomenalist considers that each event is unique and is controlled by variables such as
time, location and culture which lead to the conclusion that in probability, no two events are
of similar or identical (Bolender, 1998) when taken with their context. Every organisation
may have its own reasons to either acquire or shun a cloud based ERP and these factors are
unique to each organisation which reflects the disposition of the organisation lending itself to
being subjective. The end result would be a descriptive that is mainly expressed in qualitative
terms.

In general, the researcher is pursuing an inductive qualitative approach due to which a

relation can be established between what the subject is expressing, what he means, the
background and the culture he is from and what he requires. This is supported by Elliott
(1995) and Strauss and Corbin (1990) who has taken the position that qualitative research
lends itself to understanding participants’ perspectives Saunders et al. (2003) and Bazeley
(2004) articulate a case for the epistemological relevance of both forms of knowledge and
that it is important to understand how both are established and grounded. It is not that the

Page | 11
 RESEARCH SKILLS ANALYSIS (MGTMIM001 2009-2010)

researcher does not want to pin the issues empirically and statistically. It has more to do with
the caution of not rushing into the subject and realising the fact that the decision to adopt a
cloud based ERP by an organisation is influenced by a lot of contextual factors and the
responsible factors are is not easily fathomed through quantification (Strauss & Corbin,
1990). Apart from this, an ERP is not pervasive, “everyday” computing and it becomes
difficult to gather statistical data from varied sources.

Page | 12
 RESEARCH SKILLS ANALYSIS (MGTMIM001 2009-2010)

4. METHODS
4.1 INTERVIEWS
Interviews are the primary method of data gathering here. Interviews are descriptive and
identify the issues in depth in a holistic perspective (Kvale, 1996). Interviews are an
important part of any action research project as they provide the opportunity for the
researcher to investigate further, to solve problems and to gather data which could not have
been obtained in other ways (Cunningham, 1993). On the downside, they are time consuming
and, unless sampling is done carefully, may yield low quality data. Researcher should also
keep his personal bias in check or the results could be skewed which jeopardizes the entire
research (Williams, 1993 ; Saunders et al., 2003).

Interviews are primarily of three types: Structured, unstructured and semi structured
(Saunders, et al., 2003). The researcher here intends to use semi structured interview
approach as this helps him to delve deep into the interviewee’s background and giving him
enough flexibility to probe and explore any themes that he may find relevant to his research
in some depth (David and Sutton 2004). Probing is the way for interviews to explore new
paths that were not considered at the beginning (Gray, 2004). This may be achieved through
additional questions that were not in the interviewer’s mindset earlier.

One of the drawbacks of a semi structured interviews is that interviewer may not recognise
and prompt those themes of which he is ignorant about due to a mismatch in the backgrounds
of the interviewer and interviewee and this should be kept in mind before taking this
approach (David & Sutton, 2004).

4.2 FOCUS GROUPS

The aim of the combined use of multiple methods is to add something unique to the
researchers understanding of particular phenomena. This approach relates to ethnography
which is a blend of interviewing and observation (Willis, 1990) and is very useful to add
various perspectives to the data, due to the cascading effect (Lindolf & Taylor, 2002) of the
discussions that is gathered through other qualitative methods such as individual interviews
etc. These would be difficult to gather and identify through interviews solely. The group
interview is essentially a qualitative data gathering technique that finds the

Page | 13
 RESEARCH SKILLS ANALYSIS (MGTMIM001 2009-2010)

interviewer/moderator directing the interaction and inquiry in a very structured or

unstructured manner, depending on the interview's purpose (Denzin & Lincoln, 1994).

The researcher will have small sized groups of 5-7. The idea is to keep the group size small
enough to be managed effectively while capturing the essence of the discussion easily.
Homogeneity of the group is an important factor and this is automatically taken care of ,
since all the participants are from India.

4.3 SAMPLING :
Purposive sampling is one technique often employed in qualitative investigation (Rossman &
Marshall, 1999). With a purposive non-random sample the number of people interviewed is
less important than the criteria used to select them. Marshall (1996) describes three methods
of sampling which are convinience, judgement and theoretical sample. The researcher would
pursue theroretical sampling where he would analyse the emergent themes and choose the
next sample to elaborate these themes. Glaser and Strauss (1967) propose that the samples
should be taken and the emergent themes should be compared to the previous samples in an
interative format unless a theoretical saturation point is achieved. This would increase the
validity and strength of the researcher’s theory.

4.3.1 CASE SELECTION :

It is very important to have a criteria or a framework of requirements in place on the basis of
which each individual is chosen to be interviewed. This would give some sort of credibility to
the data being collected. Researcher also keeps in mind that it is difficult to achieve statistical
representation of all the organisations in India that use or are likely to use cloud based ERP.
Hence snowballing is the most practical approach to get the next suitable subject for the
interview but it is this set of criteria that actually justifies him to be an ideal candidate to be
interviewed.

4.4 DATA ANALYSIS

The technique for data analysis is microanalysis (Strauss & Corbin, 1990). The researcher
analyses the data as he gathers it and codes it into probable emergent themes which are based
on his judgement and supported by literature. As and when new data is gathered, same
process of coding is repeated with it. These codes are then compared to the previous codes
and if any new themes emerge are noted. This is an iterative process called ‘constant

Page | 14
 RESEARCH SKILLS ANALYSIS (MGTMIM001 2009-2010)

comparison’ that is done every new set of data that is collected until the researcher saturates
the themes i.e. no new insights can be obtained from the data.

Axial coding is then applied to the derived themes and these are collated towards a central
theme based on the linkage between their properties. This helps in abstracting the high level
factors and their inter-relationships. These higher level factors then form the basis for the
construction of the theory.

QSR NVIVO is going to be used in this research to transcribe and analyse the interviews and
will utilise the “node” feature in the software to perform coding and develop central themes.

Page | 15
 RESEARCH SKILLS ANALYSIS (MGTMIM001 2009-2010)

5. ETHICS:
Once the research project is embarked upon, care should be taken to keep in mind the
concerned ethical issues (Field and Morse 1992). Ramos (1989) mentioned the problem areas
that the researcher should be aware of: the researcher/participant relationship, the researcher’s
subjective interpretations of data, and the design itself. The principles of ethical propriety,
upon which most of these guidelines are based, involve fairness, honesty and openness of
intent. Some of the ethical issues that should be considered here are informed consent, data
protection, confidentiality and anonymity.

Interviewer’s should inform the subjects about the purpose of the study, expected time for
interview and the scope of the study to enable the subjects to reach their own decision of
whether or not they want to be a part of the study. This should be done orally and in writing
(APPENDIX).Interviewer should comply with the laws of data protection and confidentiality
and the arrangements for the same should be conveyed to the participants. If a subject wants
to remain anonymous, it should be left on him/her.

Certainly, no person should be asked to cooperate in any research that may result in a sense
of self-denigration, embarrassment, or a violation of ethical or moral standards or principles
(Leedy, 1997)..

6. RESEARCH SUITABILITY
The researcher is a graduate in Information Technology (B.E.) from Visvesvaraya
Technology University, with a specialisation in mobile systems and distributed computing.
He has also completed his Cisco Certification and Red Hat Certification (Cisco Certified
Network Associate & Red Hat Certified Engineer). He has also worked in Hewlett Packard
Sales Ltd, Bangalore, India where he was employed as a system administrator. This has given
him a decent exposure to networking technologies.

The researcher was always of an entrepreneurial mindset and this led him to LJMU for his
MBA. Here he evolved rapidly over a period of a year in his understanding of various aspects
of business. Cloud computing is an extension of grid computing and technically is a sort of
distributed computing. This got the researcher intrigued in the subject. Coupled with the fact

Page | 16
 RESEARCH SKILLS ANALYSIS (MGTMIM001 2009-2010)

that he had taken up Business analysis as his elective, he chose “Cloud Based ERP : Benefits
and Pitfalls” as his topic.

7. PROJECT MANAGEMENT
This research can be treated as a mini project with apt deliverables and a timeline to follow. It
has been broken down into various stages, each with its own time duration. Research starts on
21st Dec, 2009 and the Introduction stage finishes by 24, Dec 2009. At this stage, the aim of
the research and the high level objectives are totally laid out.

Literature review starts on 25, Dec 2009 and includes the use of NVIVO give shape to the
argument flow being presented. The end of this stage should produce a literature review that
is more or less complete.

Methodology involves the learning style assessment and arguments in favour and against of
qualitative methodology as this is the primary approach of the researcher here. This takes 9
days overall and finishes by 25 Jan, 2010. Data collection is a huge task and takes 15 days.
Transcription and coding the data takes another 5 days and this finishes by March 2, 2010.

Final writeup and referencing takes 7 and 3 days respectively and are done by April 7, 2010.
Proof reading takes another 6 days and is done by 16th April, 2010. 2 days are allocated for
any last moment amendments and the report is sent to be printed on 26 April, 2010.

The final copy is submitted on 5 May, 2010.

8. REFERENCES
Al-Mashari, M., & Zairi, M. (2000). Supply-chain re-engineering using enterprise-resource
planning (ERP) systems: an analysis of a SAP R/3 implementation case”,. International
Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management , 30 (3/4), 296-313.

Page | 17
 RESEARCH SKILLS ANALYSIS (MGTMIM001 2009-2010)

Alvesson, M., & Skoldberd, K. (2000). Reflexive Methodology. SAGE Publications Ltd.
Armbrust, M., Fox, A., Griffith, R., Joseph, A., Katz, R., Lee, G., et al. (2009). Above the
Clouds: A Berkeley View of Cloud Computing. University of California at Berkley, USA,
Technical Report No. UCB/EECS-2009-28,.
Babbie, E., & Mouton, J. (2001). The practice of social research. Cape Town: Oxford
University Press.
Bazeley, P. (2004). Issues in Mixing Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches to Research. In
R. Buber, J. Gadner, & L. Richards (Eds.), Applying Qualitative Methods to Marketing
Management Research (pp. 141-56.). Palgrave Macmillan.
Bennett, K., Layzell, P., Budgen, D., Brereton, P., Macaulay, L., & Munro, M. (2000).
Service-based software: the future for flexible software. Seventh Asia-Pacific Software
Engineering Conference (pp. 214-221). APSEC .
Bingi, P., Sharma, M. K., & Godla, J. K. (1999). Critical issues affecting an ERP
implementation. Information Systems Management , 16 (3), 7-14.
Bogdan, R., & Biklen, S. K. (1992). Qualitative research for education: An introduction to
theory and methods. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Bolender, J. (1998, April). Factual Phenomenalism: a Supervenience Theory. SORITES , pp.
16-31.
Boykin, R. F. (2001). Enterprise resource-planning software: a solution to the return material.
Computers in Industry , 45, 99-109.
Broberg, J., Buyya, R., & Tari, Z. (2008). MetaCDN: Harnessing ‘Storage Clouds’ for high
performance content delivery. Technical Report GRIDS-TR-2008-11, Grid Computing and
Distributed Systems Laboratory, University of Melbourne, Australia.
Bryman, A., & Bell, E. (2003). Business Research Methods. Oxford: Oxford University
Press.
Bulkeley, W. M. (1996). A cautionary network tale: Fox Meyer’s high-tech gamble. Wall
Street Journal Interactive Edition .
Buyya, R. (2009). Market-Oriented Cloud Computing: Vision, Hype, and Reality of
Delivering Computing as the 5th Utility. 9th IEEE/ACM International Symposium on Cluster
Computing and the Grid.
Buyya, R., Yeo, C. S., & Venugopal, S. (2008). Market-oriented Grids and Utility
Computing: The State-of-the-art and Future Directions. Journal of Grid Computing , 6 (3),
255-276.
Chen, I. J. (2001). Planning for ERP systems: analysis and future trend. Business Process
Management Journal , 7 (5), 374-86.
Creswell, J. (1994). Research Design: Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches. Thousand
Oaks, CA: Sage.

Page | 18
 RESEARCH SKILLS ANALYSIS (MGTMIM001 2009-2010)

Das, A., Reddy, R., Reddy, S., & Wang, L. (2009). Information Intelligence in Cloud
Computing-How can Vijjana, a Collaborative, Self-organizing, Domain Centric Knowledge
Network Model Help. Proceedings of the 5th Annual Workshop on Cyber Security and
Information Intelligence Research: Cyber Security and Information Intelligence Challenges
and Strategies. Oak Ridge, Tennessee: ACM NewYork.
Davenport, T. (1998). Putting the Enterprise into the Enterprise System. Harvard Business
Review , 121-131.
David, M., & Sutton, C. (2004). Social Research: The Basics . London: Sage Publications
Ltd .
Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y. S. (1998). The landscape of qualitative research: Theories and
issues. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
Du Plooy, G. M. (2001). Communication Research: Techniques, Methods and Applications,.
Juta: Landsowne.
Dubey, A., & Wagle, D. (2007, May). Delivering software as a service. The McKinsey
Quarterly Web Exclusive .
ECONOMIST. (2009, November 10). Cloud Computing : Economist Debate. Retrieved
December 13, 2009, from http://www.economist.com:
/debate/files/view/CSC_Cloud_Computing_Debate0.pdf
Elliot, R. (1995). Therapy process research and clinical practice : Practical strategies.
Research foundations for psychotherapy practice , 49-72.
Firestone, W. (1987). Meaning in method: The rhetoric of quantitative and qualitative
research. Educational Researcher , 16 (7), 16-21.
Fox, R. (2009). Library in the clouds. OCLC Systems & Services , 25 (3), 156-161.
Gable, G. (1998). Large package software: a neglected technology. Journal of Global
Information Management , 6, 3–4.
Gardiner, S. C., Hanna, J. B., & LaTour, M. S. (2002). ERP and the re-engineering of
industrial marketing processes: a prescriptive overview for the new-age marketing manager.
Industrial Marketing Management , 31, 357-365.
Ghauri, P., & Gronhaug, K. (2005). Research methods in business studies: A practical guide.
Essex : England: Pearson Education Limited.
Gilles, L. (2000). Improving the external validity of marketing models: A plea for more
qualitative input. International Journal of Research in Marketing , 17, 177.
Glaser, B. G., & Strauss, A. L. (1967). The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for
Qualitative Research. New York: Aldine Publishing Company.
Glass, R., & Vessey, I. (1999). Enterprise Resource Planning Systems: Can They Handle the
Enhancement Changes Most Enterprises Required ? Proceedings of First International
Workshop on Enterprise Management and Enterprise Resource Planning Systems: Methods,
Tools and Architectures.

Page | 19
 RESEARCH SKILLS ANALYSIS (MGTMIM001 2009-2010)

Glasser, B. (1992). Basics of Grounded Theory Analysis: Emergence Versus Forcing. Mill
Valley, CA: Sociology Press.
Glasser, B. (1978). Theoretical sensitivity: Advances in the methodology of grounded theory.
Mill Valley: CA: Sociology Press .
Gray, D. E. (2004). Doing Research in the Real World. London: Sage Publications.
Guba, E. G., & Lincoln, Y. S. (1994). Competing paradigms in qualitative research :
Handbook of Qualitative Research. Sage.
Gupta, A. (2000). Enterprise resource planning:the emerging organizational value systems.
Industrial Management & Data Systems , 100 (1).
Hayes, B. (2009). Cloud computing. Communications of the ACM , 51 (7), 9-11.
Hoffer, J. A., Valacich, J. S., & George, J. F. (1999). Modern Systems Analysis and Design.
Reading, MA: Addison Wesley.
ISACA. (2009). Cloud Computing: Business Benefits With Security, Governance and
Assurance Perspectives. Rolling Meadows, USA: ISACA Emerging Technology.
Kim, W. (2009). Cloud Computing: Today and Tomorrow. Journal of object technology , 8
(1).
Kolb, D. A., & Fry, R. (1975). Toward an applied theory of experiential learning. London,
UK: John Wiley.
Kolb, D. (1984). Experiential Learning experience as a source of learning and development.
New Jersey: Prentice Hal.
Kvale, S. (1996). Interviews: An Introduction to Qualitative Research Interviewing. London:
Sage Publications.
Leavitt, N. (2009). Is cloud computing really ready for prime time? Computer , 42 (1), 15-20.
Leedy, P. D. (1997). Practical Research : Planning and Design. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Light, B. (2001). The maintenance implications of the customization of ERP Software.
JOURNAL OF SOFTWARE MAINTENANCE AND EVOLUTION: RESEARCH AND
PRACTICE , 13, 415–429.
Lincoln, Y. S., & Guba, E. G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Beverly Hills: Sage Publications.
Lindolf, T. R., & Taylor, B. C. (2002). Qualitative Communication Research Methods, .
Thousand Oaks, California: Sage .
Markus, M. L., & Tanis, C. (2000). The enterprise systems experience – from adoption to
success. In Framing the Domains of IT Research: Glimpsing the Future Through the Past ,
173--207.
Markus, M. L., Axline, S., Petrie, D., & Tanis, C. (2000). Learning from adopters’
experiences with ERP: problems encountered and success achieved. Journal of Information
Technology , 15, 245–265.

Page | 20
 RESEARCH SKILLS ANALYSIS (MGTMIM001 2009-2010)

Marshall, M. N. (1996). Sampling for qualitative research (Vol. 13). Fam Pract.
Mason, J. (2002). Qualitative Researching,. London: Sage.
Maxwell, J. A. (1992). Understanding and validity in qualitative research. Harvard
Educational Review , 62 (3), 279-300.
Maykut, P., & Morehouse, R. (1994). Beginning Qualitative Research: A Philosophic and
Practical Guide. London: The Falmer Press.
Miles, M. B., & Huberman, A. M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis (2 ed.). London: Sage.
Mouton, J., & Marais, H. J. (1990). Basic Concepts: The Methodology of the Social Sciences
. South Africa: HSRC Press.
Murray, P. (2009). Enterprise Grade Cloud Computing. Hewlett Packard .
Osterle, H., Fleisch, E., & Alt, R. (2000). Business Networking. Berlin: Springer.
Pandey, S., Buyya, R., & Vecchiola, C. (2009). Cloudbus Toolkit for Market-Oriented Cloud
Computing. In Proceeding of the 1st International Conference on Cloud Computing
(CloudCom2009). Beijing, China: Springer: Germany.
Parr, A., & Shanks, G. (2000). A Model of ERP Project Implementation. Journal of
Information Technology , 15 (4), 289-304.
Patton, M. Q. (2001). Qualitative evaluation and research methods. Thousand Oaks: Sage
Publications.
Rossman, C., & Marshall, G. B. (1999). Designing qualitative research. Thousand Oaks:
Sage Publications.
Rossman, G. B., & Rallis, S. F. (2003). Learning in the field: an introduction to qualitative
research. Sage Publications.
Saunders, M., Lewis, P., & Thornhill, A. (2003). Research Methods for (3 ed.). Harlow:
Prentice Hall.
Scale, M. S. (2009). Cloud computing and collaboration. Library Hi Tech New , 26 (9), 10-
13.
Smith, N. C., & Dainty, P. (1991). Management Research Handbook. London: Routledge.
Spens, K. M., & Kovacs, G. (2006). A content analysis of research approaches in logistics
research. International Journal of Physical Distribution and Logistics Management , 36 (5),
374-390.
Stedman, C. (1999). Tracking changes - a must in ERP projects; business users sometimes
fail to realize importance. Computerworld , pp. 41-2.
Stiles, W. B. (1993). Quality control in qualitative research. Clinical Psychology Review , 13,
593 -618.
Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1990). Basics of Qualitative Research. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

Page | 21
 RESEARCH SKILLS ANALYSIS (MGTMIM001 2009-2010)

Symon, G., & Cassell, C. (1994). Qualitative research in work contexts. Thousand Oaks, CA:
Sage Publications.
Tari, Z., Buyya, R., & Broberg, J. (2009). Creating a ‘Cloud Storage’ Mashup for High
Performance, Low Cost Content Delivery. Proc. Service-Oriented Computing--ICSOC 2008
Workshops (pp. 178–183). Berlin: Springer.
The Economist. (2009, Oct 15). Cloud Computing: Clash of the clouds. Retrieved Dec 10,
2009, from http://www.economist.com: /displaystory.cfm?story_id=14637206
Varia, J. (2008). Cloud Architectures. Amazon Web Services .
Williams, F. (1993). Constructing Questions for Interviews. Cambridge University Press.
Willis, K. (1990). In-depth interviews. (R. Birn, P. Hague, & P. Vangelder, Eds.) London:
Kogan Page.
Yen, D. C., Chou, D. C., & Chang, J. (2002). A synergic analysis for Web-based enterprise
resource planning system. Computer Standards & Interfaces , 24 (4), 337-46.

Page | 22
 RESEARCH SKILLS ANALYSIS (MGTMIM001 2009-2010)

9. APPENDIX

Page | 23