Assessment of the Process Flow and Data Management within Engineering Departments: The Case of Huawei Technologies Ghana

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to assess the process flow and data management within engineering departments of Huawei Technologies. The problem solved in this project was the challenge associated with product data management system within the engineering departments of Huawei Technologies. The methods adopted to address the problem were; the use of the mixed research approach (i.e; both qualitative and quantitative) for data gathering and analyses. Also, 100 employees were the main targeted respondents and this served as the sample size for the study. The random sampling technique was used in gathering data. The main source of data included primary and secondary data. The results obtained at the end of this study indicated that the engineering departments of Huawei Technologies had challenges with process flow and data management. The study found that due to the challenges with the data management and process flow, data from engineering departments had somewhat ended up with staffs of other departments within the company which should ideally not be the case. The conclusion was that engineering departments of Huawei Technologies should have allocated and trained personnel who have the required qualification and experience to organize and administer all the activities that are concerned with data management functions.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION…………………………………………………………………………….i DEDICATION………………………………………………………………………………ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT………………………………………………………………….iii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS…………………………………..…………...………………iv ABSTRACT………………………………………………………………………………….v

CHAPTER ONE:

INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………….……….1

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY……………………….…….…………….……1-4

1.1.1 RESEARCH MOTIVATION.……...….………….…………….…………4-6

1.2 PROBLEM DISCUSSION……………………………………………….………….6-8

1.3 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES..…………………………………….…………………8

1.3.1 PRIME OBEJECTIVE………………………………………….……………8

1.3.2 DETAILED OBJECTIVES…………………………….…………………….8

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS……………………………………...………..…………...9

1.4.1 MAIN RESEARCH QUESTIONS …………………………...…………...…..9

1.4.2 DETAILED RESEARCH QUESTIONS……………………...…………...….9

1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY…………………………………………………9-10

1.6 BRIEF METHODOLOGY…………………………………..……….……………..10-11

1.7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY……………………………………………….…………...11

1.8 EXPECTED RESEARCH OUTCOME…………………………………….………11

1.9 ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY……………………...………………….……..11-12

CHAPTER TWO:

LITERATURE REVIEW…….…………………………………...………….……..……....13

2.1 OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE…………………….……………………...…..…....13-14

2.2 CURRENT AND CONTENTIOUS ISSUES ON DATA MANAGEMENT...…...…14

2.2.1 DATA MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (DMS)………….…..……….….…………15-19

2.2.2 INFORMATION SYSTEM AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY…....19-23

2.3 REVIEW OF EXISTING AND RELATED STUDIES.……………………..……..23

2.3.1 Customer Data Management (Mahdis Sehat & René Pavez Flores, 2012)…..…...…23-32

2.3.2 Management Information System Implementation Challenges, Success Key Issues, Effects and Consequences (Artit Kornkaew,2012) ......…....…......…..32-36

2.4 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK……………………………….…………………..36-39

2.5 SUMMARY………….………………………….……..…………………........………39-40

CHAPTER THREE:

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY…………………………...…………………………...……...41

3.1 OVERVIEW………………………………...………………………………………….41

3.2 RESEARCH DESIGN……...………………...……….……………………………….41-42

3.3 RESEARCHAPPROACH ……………………………………………………………42-44

3.3.1 Case-Study…………………………………………………………….………..45-46

3.3.2 Data Gathering Tools & Procedure………………………………..………….46-48

3.3.3 Data Analysis Tools & Procedure……………………………….…………..…49

3.4 RESEARCH METHODOLOGICAL ISSUES………..…………..…….……………50

3.4.1 Research Ethics…………………………………………………………………50

3.4.2 Research Validity……………………………………………………………….50-51

3.4.2.1 Dependability of the Study………………….…………………………..51

3.4.2.2 Reliability……………………………………………………….………..51

3.4.3 Research Limitations…………………………………………………………....52

CHAPTER FOUR:

PRESENTATION & ANALYSIS OF DATA ……………...…....……………………………...53

4.1 OVERVIEW……………………………………………………………………………..53

4.2 TYPES AND SOURCES OF DATA THAT WERE ANALYZED……………………53-54

4.3 DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS……………………………………………54

4.3.1 Presentation & Analysis of Secondary Data In Relation To Research Question ( i ) & Objective ( i )………………………………………….……54-55

4.3.2 Presentation & Analysis of Secondary Data In Relation To Research Question (ii ) & Objective ( ii )……………………………………………...55

4.4 ANALYSIS OF RESEARCH RESULTS…………………………….……………….56

4.4.1 Analysis of Research Results in Respect of Research Question ( i ) & Objective ( i )……………………………………………...56

4.4.2 Analysis of Research Results in Respect of Research Question ( ii ) & Objective ( ii )………………………….………………….56-57

4.5 RESEARCH FINDINGS………………………………………………………………57

4.5.1 Discussions of Research Findings with Regards to Research Question (i) & Objective (i)………………………….………………….57

4.5.2 Discussions of Research Findings Regarding Research Question ( ii ) & Objective ( ii )…………………………………………….57-58

4.6 RESEARCH OUTCOME………………………...….…………………..…………..58

CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS……………………...……………………….62

5.1 OVERVIEW………………………………………………..…………...………….....62

5.2 CONCLUSIONS………………………………………………...…………………....62-64

5.3 RESEARCH LIMITATIONS………………………...……………………………....65

5.4 RECOMMENDATIONS…………………………………………………………….65-66

REFERENCE…………..…………………………………………….…………………..........67-73 APPENDICES…………………………………………………………………………………74

APPENDIX A: Sampled Copies of Data Collection Questionaire……………………74-75

APPENDIX B: Sampled Copies of Returned Scripts from Research Respondents…76-77