An experiential learning pedagogical framework for enterprise systems education in business schools

Abstract

Enterprise Systems (also known as Enterprise Resource Planning or ERP systems) have experienced mainstream adoption across various industries as a comprehensive solution for cross-functional integration and end-to-end business process management. In the post-modern ERP era, these technologies continue to grow in use as companies of all sizes digitize their business processes through flexible multi-vendor sourced enterprise systems. To meet the needs of the industry and train a competent workforce, business schools are under constant pressure to develop and deliver courses related to enterprise systems strategy, implementation, and use. In order to be effective with providing enterprise systems training, faculty members require a deep understanding of different pedagogical practices that can help in teaching ERP systems by taking into consideration the myriad of learning styles of students and the variety of instructional resources and techniques that can facilitate student learning. This paper provides an overview of current ERP curriculum design and teaching practices from the extant literature, and proposes a pedagogical framework for enterprise systems courses in business schools by drawing upon principles and postulates of experiential learning theory. The proposed framework outlines the use of (i) lectures and seminars; (ii) case discussions; (iii) system demos and screencast tutorials; (iv) simulations and interactive assessments; (v) workshops and walkthrough assignments; and (vi) capstone projects. Various benefits of these teaching practices are discussed, and possible ways of integrating them into a coherent enterprise systems program offering are suggested. Lastly, aligned with the proposed framework, the paper offers several actionable guidelines for pedagogical design based on the author's own experience with teaching enterprise systems courses over several years. Overall, the proposed pedagogical framework aims to offer a viable means to facilitate effective ERP course offerings aimed at helping students perceive and process the uses, benefits, functions and applications of enterprise systems in a business environment.