Abstract This paper examines how information technology is considered an integral part of a business process management (BPM) improvement program and how, for BPM to be successful, it must embrace standards that complement overall organizational structure and standards within each department, including the information technology department. It looks at how the utilization of information technology as an essential component of business process management can result in negative outcomes and explores the disadvantages of information technology in BPM.
From the Paper "For business management processes to work directly with information technology at each step of the process a culture and system that fosters intense cooperation and collaboration is absolutely essential. One disadvantage at this point is a lack of technological "know-how" among top management. For support and collaboration to occur at each level of process management, it would be necessary to have managers that are well versed in operational as well as technical or technological matters."
Abstract This paper defines a series of recommendations for introducing and implementing a new system throughout an organization. It focuses specifically on the human factors of introducing a new system and analyzes theories of change management. The paper makes recommendations specifically for using business process management (BPM) for accomplishing lasting change throughout any organization implementing a new system.
Table of Contents:
Summary
Change Management Forms The Foundation of Lasting System Performance
Selecting a Change Management Model
Creating a Change Management Plan
Measure, Monitor and Modify Change Management Strategies
Contingency Strategies Impact Project, Implementation and Training Programs
Conclusion
From the Paper "Implementing significant change is a massive undertaking from a cultural perspective for many companies. When one considers how many IT projects never achieve critical mass and become business strategies, the role of change management becomes central to any development effort. As many researchers have shown, infusing ownership in programs and initiatives is critical to their success. That is the essence of turning projects into strategies.
Change management strategies need to form the foundation of project plans, implementation plans, training plans, and support strategies. Infusing each of these plans with the Voice of the Customer (VoC) through the use of Advisory Councils will ensure that the users who will make or break the new systems' success are actively involved in its development. Project plans need to include milestones where the direction of the project is evaluated and if necessary, re-focused to the needs of users. The same is true of implementation and training plans as well. The needs of users and the use of change management strategies as defined in this paper need to define which information is shared. The critical requirements of training plans and support strategies, also predicated on the needs of users, also needs to form the foundation for change if the system being implemented will succeed."
Abstract This paper provides a project plan to apply lean manufacturing principles to automotive refurbishment and service lifecycle management processes. The paper defines the fundamentals of lean process flows taken from a manufacturing context, defines a project plan framework for ascertaining the extent to which dominant processes are lean or not within the organization, and defines a plan for the acceleration of growth of the organization.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
Intent of this Proposal
Process-Centric Lean Best Practices Starts With Lean
Overcoming the Barriers to Accomplishing Lean Process Improvement and Optimisation
Evolution of the Lean Enterprise
A Framework For Evaluating Lean Process Maturity
Recommendations for Driving Lean Process Transformation
Customer Facing Processes need to be Lean First
Roadmap to Lean Best Practices Starts with Business Process Management (BPM) and Business Process Re-engineering (BPR)
Summary
From the Paper "The implications of pursuing lean process improvement and setting the objective of attaining best practices in customer-facing processes can deliver exceptionally strong operations-based and financially-based measures of performance. The aligning of these processes to the requirements and unmet needs of customers on the one hand, while also looking to synchronize demand and fulfillment through manufacturing on the other is critical. This proposal looks to customer-facing processes and their specific contribution to augmenting higher levels of operational and financial performance over time specifically in the automotive refurbishing and service lifecycle management strategy areas. By first redefining these core processes and then working to create a plan to re-align them to make them more efficient, a firm could attain higher levels of revenue growth over time by accurately shipping complex products on time in addition to creating long-term customer relationships based on the ability to consistently deliver exceptional operational results."
Presents a research proposal to measure the dynamics of how radio frequency identification (RFID) implementations impact the ability of companies to compete with streamlined supply chains.
Abstract This research paper focuses on how the emerging technology of radio frequency identification (RFID) can make a lasting and significant contribution to supply chain performance. Any study of supply chains also needs to include an assessment of how processes can be made more efficient as well. As a result of this requirement of the study of supply chains, an overview of the concepts of business process management (BPM) is also included. BPM makes it possible to streamline supply chains and make them more efficient. The paper includes numerous tables and figures.
Table of Contents:
Table of Tables
Table of Figures
Introduction
Literature Survey
Types of RFID Tags
Active RFID Tags
Active Backscatter Tags
Passive Backscatter Tags
Table: The Benefits of RFID Benefits for Supply Chain Partners
Table: Comparing Bar Coding and RFID Technologies
Using RFID to Track Shipments and see how Supply Chains are Performing
Figure: How the DoD is reorganizing its Supply Chain with RFID
Figure: How the DoD made their supply chain more process-based
How the DoD and Wal-Mart Measure Their Supply Chain's Performance
Table: How Market Leaders Measure Supply Chain Performance
Table: Financial Measures of Supply Chain Performance
Figure: How RFID can contribute to total shareholder value
Research Problem Definition for measuring the impact of RFID on Supply Chain Performance
Introducing the RFID Maturity Model
Hypothesis Definition
Figure 4: Proposed RFID Maturity Model
Research Design and Methodology
Supply Chain Research Anticipated Findings
Expected Conclusions
Contributions of Knowledge
Research Limitations
Summary of Proposal
From the Paper "The DoD, Wal-Mart and many other organizations attaining high levels of supply chain performance as a result of implementing RFID share the common characteristic of measuring results early and often. In fact their entire company cultures are centered on measuring performance, as is the case with General Electric (GE). What's been happening in many of these organizations is the decision to use supply chain-based measures of performance or metrics to quantify the contribution of RFID to their organizations."
Abstract This paper explains that, within the world of health and fitness, heart rate, which defines the number of contractions of the human heart in one minute, at rest for the male adult human heart, beats approximately 70 beats per minute; whereas, female hearts tend to beat faster at around 75 beats per minute. The author points out that physical exercise causes a normal person's heart rate to increase above the resting heart rate; as the physical activity becomes more vigorous, the heart rate increases, reaching maximum heart rate with very vigorous exercise. The paper concludes that heart rate monitoring helps to ensure a safe and effective aerobic workout and allows the exerciser to track changes, which are taking place in his or her cardiovascular system as he or she develops an exercise regimen and seeks aerobic fitness.
From the Paper "Another type of heart rate is the working heart rate. One challenge in raising the heart rate is that the more conditioned that a heart becomes, the more difficult it is to elevate. If a heart's rate is too high during exercise, it can be lowered in the next workout by exercising less vigorously and minimizing arm movements. Conversely, if the heart rate is too low, exercise can become more vigorous to increase it. This heart rate is measured by taking the working heart rate for 6 seconds after each aerobic routine and then multiplying this number by 10 to determine the number of beats per minute."
This paper is a comparative and quantitative masters thesis proposal studying radio frequency identification distribution (RFID) strategies based on supply chain performance.
Abstract This thesis proposal focuses on the implications of introducing radio frequency identification distribution (RFID) to supply chain processes and the resulting financial and logistical benefits. The proposal looks to quantify the contribution of RFID to increasing supply chain performance across several industries, specifically studying the best practices of leading companies in each industry studied. As a result, this proposal concentrates on the concepts of business process management (BPM) as they relate to streamlining and making supply chain processes more efficient as well as the intensive use of analytics to quantify supply chain performance gains based on the use of RFID.
Outline:
Introduction
List of Abbreviations
Literature Survey
Problem Definition
Research Design and Methodology
Anticipating Findings
Summary of Proposal
Bibliography
From the Paper "In defining the Return on Investment (ROI) that RFID contributes to as part of streamlining supply chains, the benefits to each member of a supply chain first need to be defined, followed by the key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics of performance that quantify them. RFID's contributions have been quantified to the pallet level and in the case of mixed-pallet level of shipments as they move through warehouses and distribution centers. Strategies for quantifying the Return on Investment (ROI) of RFID needs to begin with an assessment of the potential benefits of using this technology by specific members of the supply chain. Table 1, RFID Benefits for Supply Chain Partners, provides an overview of the key benefits by supply chain participant (Baird and Company 11). . The following table provides insights into which process areas manufacturers, logistics providers, and retailers are concentrating on relative to RFID implementations. The work completed by AMR Research (2004) serves as the foundation for many organizations that are creating dashboards to quantify the contribution of RFID to their process reengineering efforts organization-wide."
Tags: supply chain, industry management performance, business process management, analytics
Abstract This paper provides insights into how aerospace manufacturers are tackling the task of transforming lean production lessons learned into lean enterprise strategies and instituting lasting change at the process level. The paper discusses the steps that aerospace manufacturing companies are taking to overcome the challenges of making lean enterprise strategies become part of their permanent sourcing, manufacturing and fulfillment strategies. The paper also illustrates how measures of supply chain, manufacturing and fulfillment can be effective in measuring the progress of aerospace companies in becoming leaner. The paper contains tables and charts.
Table of Contents:
Abstract
Table of Figures
List of Tables
Defining Lean Best Practices in the Aerospace Industry
Evolution of the Lean Enterprise in Aerospace
Taking a Process-Centric View of Lean Transformation
Roadmap to Lean Best Practices Starts with Business Process Management (BPM) and Business Process Re-engineering (BPR)
Barriers Aerospace Manufacturers Face in Becoming Lean
Measuring Progress towards Being Lean in the Aerospace Industry
Recommendations for Attaining Lean Transformation
Appendices
From the Paper "Aerospace manufacturers are continually under pressure to reduce costs and increase product quality, while at the same time better aligning their production processes with demand in the form of product and service requirements from customers. This is the essence of their lean manufacturing vision. The pressure to continually increase the return on invested capital (ROIC) while better serving their more demanding customers, and increasingly responding to their unique and often customized product and service requests requires a complete re-alignment of the manufacturing, service, and support processes that encompass a manufacturing operation. To accomplish the strategic objectives of being more customer-centric in both aerospace manufacturing and services processes, being able to respond to the customers' highly specialized needs for products while at the same time making aerospace operations more efficient is at the heart of the lean manufacturing philosophy pervading global manufacturers today. Simply put, lean manufacturing focuses on the elimination of all forms of waste, continuous improvement, and simplification of business processes. Through constant stream of Kaizen (continuous improvement) events, manufacturers systematically attack waste, streamline processes, and improve operational flexibility. Core to the Lean philosophy is the notion that operations and processes have become too complex to be self-correcting in their alignment to the rapidly changing demands of customers (Philip Beaumont 2002). Lean manufacturing supports the simplification of production processes to ensure a higher level of visibility through better metrics of performance and the use of dashboards and key performance indicators and hence control of their operations and processes. Lean's original roots were in the Toyota Production System and focused on improving automotive manufacturing. Lean is firmly rooted in the automotive supply base and similar industrial markets where operating margins are tight and management of working capital is critical to survival. However, as the success of lean has become more widely known, it is being adopted by many industries and is spreading into many other areas of the value chain. For those manufacturers successfully adopting lean, the motives are clear -- provide superior value to the customer while at the same time improve profitability."
Abstract This paper examines business process reengineering (BPR) and redesign techniques, which help companies to re-align resources and re-evaluate how they can organize their business processes to improve customer services and cut down on operational costs enabling them to emerge as one of the dominant competitors in the region. The author emphasizes how companies need to organize their business processes and procedures to match defined and emerging best practices in sell-side e-commerce, to reduce costs through more effective use of business process management and to develop processes and applications to better attract, sell and serve customers on a global scale. The paper describes completely the methodology and results of the research. Includes illustrations.
Table of Contents:
Executive Summary
Introduction
Overview of the Company (Profile)
How this Guide was Developed
Reengineering and Information Technology
Managerial Issues and Comments
Knowledge Management and Aging ABC Products Workforce
Advantages and Disadvantages of Decentralized IT Systems
Globalization
Change Management
Objectives of this Research
Current Issues and their Impact on the Company.
Important of Issues
Objective
Benefits Derived from New System
Literature Review
Definitions
Consumer Value
Buyers Decision Process
Value Chain Analysis
Supply Chain Management
Service Oriented Architectures
Customer Satisfaction
Marketing Mix Factors Affecting Consumer Satisfaction
The Role of Products in the Marketing Mix
Approaches to New Product Development
New Products: Blue Ocean or Red Ocean Strategy?
The Power of Pricing
Promotional Strategies as part of the Marketing Mix
Distribution (Place) as part of the Marketing Mix
Methodology
Method-1: Literature Search in Library and Internet
Method-2: Expert Panel Discussion
Method-3: Find Literature Support for New Variables
Method-4: Generate Sample Questionnaire for Expert Panel
Method-5: Modify the Sample Questionnaire.
Method-6: Distribute Questionnaire To Respondents.
Method-7: Analysis of the Responses to the Questionnaires.
Results
Result of Method-1: Literature Search in Library and Internet
Result of Method-2: Expert Panel Discussion.
Result of Method-3: Find Literature Support for New Variables
Result of Method-4: Generate Sample Questionnaire
Result of Method-5: Test Sample with an Expert Panel
Result of Method-6: Modify the Sample Questionnaire
Result of Method-7: Distribute Questionnaire to Respondents
Result of Method-8: Analysis of the Return of Questionnaires
Recommendations
Use Smaller Teams to Encourage Higher Levels of Process Ownership
Create Multiple Perspectives of the Complex Process
Maintain a Centralized Unit for Communication
Reduce the Number of Inputs into a Process
Maintain Ethical Culture in the Company
Pursue The Development of an SOA Platform
Use Distributed Order Management Systems to Synchronize Demand for ABC Products
Use Analytics to Measure Progress towards BPM and BPR Objectives
Conclusions
Reflections
Appendix Abbreviations
Appendix-Customer satisfaction
Appendix-Questionnaire Result
Appendix-Questionnaire Result
From the Paper "In accessing the adoption of SOA platforms into manufacturing companies, using SAP's NetWeaver as the barometer of early adopter success, the emerging role of SOAs as a point of key differentiation over and above just being a strategy for ERP consolidation begins to emerge. SOAs form the foundation of Web Services and Event Driven Architectures (EDAs) throughout the manufacturing companies who have already passed through the experimentation with Web Services as part of their SOA architectural plans and moved directly to piloting Web Services for such mission critical tasks."
Tags: food functionality, enterprise content management, data sharing, intel
Abstract The paper discusses how updated information systems are reforming the most dominant aspects of the accounting profession, which have increasingly become the processes related to auditing and compliance. The paper explains that the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) has led to the development of technologies for better management of financial data including service oriented architectures (SOA) and the emergence of business process management (BPM) and business process reengineering (BPR).
Outline:
Executive Summary
The IT Requirements of Governance, Risk and Compliance
The Role of Service Oriented Architectures (SOA)
Business Process Management and Process Re-Engineering
Summary
From the Paper "The most significant change to occur within the area of how new technologies are influencing accounting is in the area of redefining processes by which financial data is capture, analyzed and reported to both shareholders and the government. The attainment of compliance to the SOX requirements has led to a reengineering of financial reporting processes within all publicly-traded companies in the U.S., and has also led to a more consistent approach to reporting financial results (Gordon, 2006) Compliance to SOX standards requires many organizations to significantly re-define how they capture orders from customers, track them, and input them into their Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems for manufacturing and fulfillment."
Abstract The paper explores how radio frequency identification (RFID) contributes to increasing process performance through the efficient use of information that provides greater visibility throughout any given supply chain. The paper examines a proposed RFID maturity model and RFID equilibrium model. The paper concludes that RFID piloting strategies are highly efficient at both redefining business process workflows using business process management (BPM) techniques, and at attaining measurable process performance gains once they are automated through the use of RFID. The paper includes many color diagrams and tables.
Outline:
Abstract
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2
Literature Review
Chapter 3
Research Methodology and Design
Chapter 4
Data Collection
Chapter 5
Analysis of Results
Chapter 6
Conclusions and Recommendations
From the Paper "Supply chains have become, in majority industries and for nearly every manufacturer, distributor or member of a distribution channel, the most significant competitive differentiator and also the process area most fertile for process improvements. Gaining slight percentage increases in performance in any given supply chain process on the critical path of fulfilling customer demand can have direct financial contributions to the profitability of the company. AMR Research, a leading supply chain consultancy, estimates that a 1% gain in Perfect Order performance (Barrett, et.al) will lead to a 3% increase in profitability."
Tags: maturity, model, equilibrium, model, piloting, strategies, bar, code, replacement
Abstract This paper goes into great detail about how to successfully implement an Information Security Management Systems (ISMS) initiative into an organization, with the aim to increase internal process performance, create strong sustainability and to significantly strengthen security. Specifically, this paper looks at a number of ISMS standards and necessary audit processes. Furthermore, the paper explains the ISMS implementation cycle, which is comprised of seven steps including the initiation of the project, definition of the ISMS which encompasses defining the system architecture and system integration strategies, risk assessment, risk treatment, training and awareness, audit preparation, and audit. Additionally, the paper asserts that due to the fact that ISMS implementations provide long-term change to organizational cultures, theories and a recommendation of using business process management (BPM) as the catalyst for change management are provided. Throughout the paper, the author provides a number of detailed graphs and figures to illustrate the papers points. Finally, the paper aims to conclude that beyond compliance for audit-ability, ISMS implementations are becoming long-term competitive advantages in highly regulated, highly competitive industries.
Outline:
Introduction
Complying with ISMS Standards
The Catalyst of a Successful ISMS Implementation is Change Management
Using the DICE Model in ISMS Implementations
Using Lewin's Model in ISMS Implementations
Using the Speed of Change Model in ISMS Implementations
Using Theories E and O in ISMS Implementations
Using Business Process Re-engineering in ISMS Implementations
Defining an Information Security Management System (ISMS)
Revising and Augmenting an Information Systems Architecture
Audit Preparation and Auditing
Conclusion
From the Paper "Organizations implementing ISMS are relying on Service-Oriented Architectures (SOA) to integrate them into the accounting, customer, and financial systems throughout an organization. The defining of an information systems architecture that is capable of integrating with business processes from accounting, customer-based and financial data is critical for the most sensitive organization data is to be secured. To concentrate only on the most critical IT systems, whether than be only the Accounts Payable, MRP, or Accounts Receivable systems and secure them is to be too myopic and lose the point of what an integrated ISMS implementation can deliver organization-wide. The point has been made that in the initial planning stages of an ISMS, the greater the number of system integration points in the system the faster Return on Investment (ROI) is attained (Hong, Chi, Chao, Tang, 2003). This finding is further substantiated by the eleven separate domains that comprise the ISO/IEC 27001 standard. The previous approaches to create silo-like and highly controllable ISMS implementations, which easily accomplished technologically (Doughty, 2003) are archaic and actually lack the necessary process integration points to make a strategic contribution to the organizations they are implemented in.
"Arguably given how complex and interconnected processes are, made more complicated through sporadic systems integration practices the original design objectives of an ISMS Implementation are often not achieved. When the phases of an ISMS Implementation methodology are taken into account the role of an SOA becomes even more imperative as an enterprise information systems platform. The need for keeping the scope, boundaries and ISMS policies coordinated through enterprise content management (ECM) systems to ensure a high level of security and adaptability is accomplished in Phase 1 of an implementation. The second phase of an SOA development cycle aligns with the third and fourth phases of the ISMS Implementation methodology focusing on risk assessment and risk treatment. Identifying risks, analyzing and evaluating risks and selecting control objectives and controls are the essence of any successful ISMS implementation strategy. Risk assessments need to be designed to allow for ISO 17799 compliance. There is also the critical need of integrating risk assessment and treatment strategies across business processes that tie their results back to the ISMS policy and strategy on the one hand and the management authorization in the subsequent phases of the implementation roadmap."
Abstract The paper focuses on how the BestResults.com online company needs to consider key developments in the broader area of information technologies. The paper discusses the aligning of IT systems to strategic plans, the development of service oriented architectures (SOA), software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications, business process management (BPM) and enterprise content management (ECM). The paper also discusses how BestResults must set objectives in each of the areas defined and work to create an ECM-based portal strategy to ensure high levels of responsiveness to their customers while at the same time sustaining and growing accounting and financial reporting in their organization. It is noted in the paper that the integration of content systems is critical for the company's long-term growth.
Outline:
Introduction
Analysis
Recommendations and Conclusion
From the Paper "Marcel DuBois, CEO of BestResults.com and CIO Jordan Huff have successfully grown their online business into a trusted source of travel and entertainment advice, packages and tickets, in addition to providing financial services, sports and general news. As a result, BestResults.com has grown into a trusted advisor on the Internet for consumers looking for information in these areas. Growing from 15 to 450 employees with an exponential jump in the number and variety of reports needed to manage the business, CEO DuBois and CIO Huff must focus on creating an information management strategy if the business is to be effectively managed for the long-term."
