Convergence 2010 Atlanta

Microsoft Dynamics Academic Preconference

Presentation Abstracts and PowerPoint Slides

Day One: Saturday, April 24, 2010

Omni Hotel at CNN Center

Rooms: Cottonwood A&B

100 CNN Center

Atlanta, GA, USA

Time	Location	Paper Abstract	PowerPoint Link	Full Paper Link
10:00 – 10:45am		Business School Opportunities to Address the Gap in Global Project Management Needs Edwin J. Andrews, Director, Academic and Educational Programs & Services, Project Management Institute, Newtown Square, PA, USA
11:00 – 11:25am	Track I: Business Decision Making (Cottonwood A)	Incorporating Real-World Projects into Undergraduate & Graduate Accounting Information Systems Classes Jeffrey Pullen, PMP, Adjunct Professor & ERP Systems Project Manager, University of Maryland University College, Adelphi, MD, USA The 21st century student who takes an accounting information system course needs to have hands-on assignments that will prepare them for professional opportunities in accounting. The 21st century student needs know more than to how to record transactions in a computerized accounting system and this presentation will posed a series of sample projects & assignments that can be used for prepare them for exciting opportunities in accounting & business.
	Track II: Technology Decision Making (Cottonwood B)	Predictive Data Mining of CRM Data for Marketers and Managers Todd Schultz, Professor and Associate Dean, Hull College of Business, Augusta State University, Augusta, GA, USA Microsoft provides great developer tools for creating analytic ‘data mines’ from CRM and ERP databases. Data Mining Add-Ins for Office provides a data mining interface for managers and marketers. We review non-technical students’ application of SQL Server Analysis Services predictive modeling of CRM data in a Business Analytics course.
11:35 – 12:00pm	Track I: Business Decision Making (Cottonwood A)	Integrating GP Payroll into the Accounting Information Systems Class Mike Canniff, Faculty, University of the Pacific, Stockton, CA, USA Most AIS classes focus on the primary cash transactions within the Expenditure and Revenue Cycles. Typically, Dynamics Great Plains Financial, Sales and Procurement modules are used to demonstrate this in lab experiences. This presentation demonstrates how to integrate the employee Payroll cycle into an AIS class. Specifically, lab details will be shown on how to leverage GP Payroll as part of the student experience. This presentation will provide an overview of a complete semester AIS lab sequence and where Payroll can fit into the mix.
	Track II: Technology Decision Making (Cottonwood B)	Microsoft Dynamics GP: Dexterity and Crystal Reports, A Case Study Raz Khan, Student; & Smitha Bethi, Student, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI, USA Microsoft Dynamics Great Plains is successor of Great Plains Software Dynamics and eEnterprise ERP application, which provides accounting software package. Microsoft Dynamics GP 10.0 is more prominent in North America that provides business management solution for growing and midsize organizations with complete and scalable financial and operational functionality. Everything a user may need is in his/her operating system, database, personal productivity tools, and e-mail. All of these will work together with Microsoft Dynamics GP 10.0. Originally, Great Plains Dynamics was available on Pervasive SQL and Ctree platform, where Crystal Reports had limitations, due to the restrictions to ODBC drivers. Besides the great ability of Microsoft Dynamics GP 10.0 Report Writer, Crystal Report joins the team to offer great tool to create financial reports that are made on Dynamics GP. Data for these reports come from GP modules like Payroll, HR, A/P, A/R, and General Ledger. GP Reports Viewer helps us to integrate Crystal Reports into Dynamics GP. Dexterity is a development tool integrated with Microsoft Dynamics GP 10.0 to create or modify large-volume, transaction- based client/server applications.
12:45 – 1:15pm	Track I: Business Decision Making (Cottonwood A)	Microsoft Dynamics Partner Experiences from the Front Lines Mike Canniff, Faculty, University of the Pacific, Stockton, CA, USA; Theresa Brown, Project Manager and Customer Account Manager for Microsoft Dynamics GP, Armanino McKenna, San Ramon, CA, USA
1:20 – 1:45pm	Track I: Business Decision Making (Cottonwood A)	Dynamics as a Learning and Tool: The First Step--Restructure the AIS Course! Richard Banham, Associate Professor, Tennessee State University, Nashville, TN, USA The nature of the practice of accounting continues to evolve as technology evolves. From a historical prospective, the development of Enterprise Resource Planning, ERP, systems and the addition of analysis and documentation tools is similar to the process whereby spreadsheet software slowly transitioned from practice to the classroom. Spreadsheets had completely replaced the calculator in accounting practice by the late 1980’s. However, it was not until after 2000 that accounting texts started including spreadsheet problems and even today, accounting programs encourage but do not require students to do their homework in Excel. The challenge facing accounting faculty, whose goal is to increase the technological skills of accounting graduates, is how to incorporate ERP systems across accounting courses. Given the history of Excel, a more practical approach would be to exploit the full potential of ERP software in accounting systems courses first as a model for other accounting courses. The objective of this paper is to initiate a dialog about leveraging Dynamics ERP software as a teaching and learning tool in accounting systems courses to serve as a model for other accounting courses, the obstacles that must be overcome to achieving full exploitation, and the methodology that might be used in overcoming these obstacles.
	Track II: Technology Decision Making (Cottonwood B)	A Model for Integrating Enterprise Systems into the Curriculum Bonnie Klamm, Professor; Joseph Latimer, MIS Instructor; & Tyler Russell, Intern, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, USA We developed a model that facilitates the integration of enterprise systems in to the college curriculum.  During our presentation, we will discuss the model's three main parts:  support, core, and outcomes.  We will also share the outcomes, which provide (1) evidence of the model's success and (2) issues in need of refinement.
1:55 – 2:20pm	Track I: Business Decision Making (Cottonwood A)	Tips and Tricks for Teaching Dynamics GP as an Online Course Using Computer Accounting and Computer Accounting Essentials by Yacht, Crosson, and Segovia Textbooks David Thomas, Faculty, Tulsa Community College, Tulsa, OK, USA This paper is intended for those who are preparing to teach an online accounting software course for the first time. Whereas this paper uses Dynamics GP version 10 and is specific to its features and design, many of the concepts can be applied to any accounting software application. Included are prerequisites, sample course schedule with an optional Class (Group) Project, and tips and tricks to help make the experience go smoothly. The assignments could be considered the minimum and can be added to as needed.
	Track II: Technology Decision Making (Cottonwood B)	A Curriculum for Business Intelligence Joseph Latimer, MIS Instructor, & Alexander Leach, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, USA The presentation will outline the courses that will comprise a minor/certificate program in Business Intelligence with an emphasis on the new courses created for this program. Courses include Applied Business Intelligence for an end user audience and Business Intelligence Engineering for an IT professional audience.

Day Two: Sunday, April 25, 2010

Omni Hotel at CNN Center

Rooms: Cottonwood A&B

100 CNN Center

Atlanta, GA, USA

Time	Location	Paper Abstract	PowerPoint Link	Full Paper Link
9:00 – 9:45am		Microsoft Dynamics Sure Step Aditya Mohan, Director, Microsoft Dynamics Partner Product Management, Microsoft, Redmond, WA, USA
9:50 – 10:15am	Track I: Business Decision Making (Cottonwood A)	ERP & Financial Statement Rending with a Hyperbolic Browser Zane Swanson, Professor, University of Central Oklahoma, Edmond, OK, USA This study demonstrates the integration of accounting systems and hyperbolic browsers. The combination facilitates education and management of enterprise resource planning (ERP). Auditors also can benefit through a means of tracing activity within an information system as opposed to auditing around one. ERP software product implementation teams could use the hyperbolic browser to display the value chain organization and then transform it into a financial statement reporting format making firm processes easily visible and traceable.
	Track II: Technology Decision Making (Cottonwood B)	Identity Management in Implementing Microsoft Dynamics GP Kuo Lane Chen, Associate Professor, University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS, USA; Tim Wu, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI, USA; & Cheng-Chi Shing, Radford University, USA Major ERP systems are associated with a security component known as identity management. The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of identity management in implementing Microsoft Dynamics GP. This paper also attempts to compare SAP Neteaver and Microsoft Dynamics GP.
10:25 – 10:50am	Track I: Business Decision Making (Cottonwood A)	Using Microsoft Dynamics in the Supply Chain Management Curriculum Kuo Lane Chen, Associate Professor, University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS, USA; Huei Lee, Professor, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI, USA; & Jiaqin Yang, Professor, Georgia College & State University, Milledgeville, GA, USA Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Supply Chain Management (SCM) are popular topics for business majors. The purpose of this paper is to discuss how to integrate Microsoft Dynamics into the supply chain management curriculum. An example will be used to show how to use Dynamics GP and CRM in an SCM course.
	Track II: Technology Decision Making (Cottonwood B)	Economics of Cloud Computing Joseph Latimer, MIS Instructor; Bonnie Klamm, Professor, & Limin Zhang, Student, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, USA Cloud computing may provide an alternative approach to assembling a large number of servers.  This presentation will compare the costs associated with owning and operating the hardware to support a server farm learning environment with the cost of moving the server farm into the cloud.
11:00 – 11:25am	Track I: Business Decision Making (Cottonwood A)	Research for Using Dynamics AX in Wholesale Distribution Scott Hamilton, Author, St. Paul, MN, USA The research focused on how an integrated ERP system – and the conceptual models embedded in the system – can support the unique business practices of wholesale distribution firms. In particular, it focused on how Microsoft Dynamics AX 20091 and supplemental MBS Dev2 functionality provide an integrated ERP system for these firms.
	Track II: Technology Decision Making (Cottonwood B)	Romanian-American University—Microsoft Innovation Center Dynamics Experience George Carutasu, Professor; Cezar Botezatu; & Alin Cristian Joita, Faculty, Romanian-American University, Bucharest, Romania This paper presents activities of Microsoft Innovation Center set inside of Romanian-American University (MIC-RAU) and the implementation of Dynamics Program in student activities and curricula. Romanian-American University is the most known private university from Romania, Bucharest, having more the 15 000 student, being organized in six faculties, where fifth has economic profile and one being specialized in law. In this case the challenges of Dynamics Programs implementation was to elaborate courses suitable for various groups of student with different background, but in the same time to keep the core knowledge needed to understand and operate with Microsoft Dynamics products. The learning process was completed with practice experience in internships organized in collaboration with Microsoft partners’ network from Bucharest. The last stage of Dynamics implementation consists in a series of researches made by graduate students on Master program, in their Dissertations
1:30 – 2:15pm		Bridging the Gap between Business and Information Systems ERP-based Curricula to Achieve Improved Business Process Learning Outcomes John Grandzol, Professor of Management, Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, Bloomsburg, PA, USA University administrators and faculty continue to struggle to respond to dynamic structural changes in business environments. Global marketplaces and supply chains extend management of internal cross-functional interactions and relationships to their external equivalents. Critical throughout is the flow of accurate, reliable, and timely data. Concurrently, the evolution of Enterprise System software has challenged university faculty: to what degree should such software be integrated into their curricula? In the world of information systems, information management, knowledge management, etc., the answer is to a significant degree. The conclusion is not as clear when the frame of reference is a business discipline: accounting, finance, human resources, management, marketing, or operations. We explore these two primary issues by reviewing the factors that drive curriculum integration, ERP integration work to date, and the challenges to faculty and ERP developers. Inherent in using ERP to facilitate curriculum integration are accreditation and assessment requirements, organizational structural issues, technical support, faculty needs and rewards, business demands, and employment market realities. Achieving success demands challenging the status quo, stimulating inquiry, collaborating with software developers, and accepting disruptive change in higher education.

Presentations in blue were chosen through the call for papers and presentations process.