Information systems, business processes and knowledge management

Having covered most of the key points (at least, in outline form) in session 1, session 2 and session 3 we will now move on and apply some of these ideas to different levels in an organization. In this session we will look at what happens within a company, in the next session we will look at what happens between companies and in the Final session we will look at the level of a whole economy and/or market sector. The idea behind this approach is to encourage you to think more deeply about some of the issues we only touched on previously.

This session will focus on the contribution that information systems can make to the way a business operates internally. The aim of the session is to give you an understanding of the strength and weaknesses of the 'classic' view of MIS, i.e. the means by which an organization fine-tunes its competitive position.

By the end of this session you should have:

• an understanding of ways in which information systems can be used within organizations to improve their performance internally

• an appreciation of how technology can be used to improve the efficiency of business processes

• an appreciation of the social and ethical implications for employees of using IS / IT in this way

We will briefly return to the categorization of information systems we looked in session 2 and consider some of the new forms of information systems that are used at the enterprise level. We will then consider two approaches to the use of Information systems as part of a strategy to gain competitive advantage: Business Process Re-engineering and Knowledge Management.

We will conclude by looking at some case studies of the implementation of these approaches in real businesses in order to get a better picture of the complexities of the 'real life' application of these ideas and the issues that they raise.

Additional reading / background information for session 4

Some examples of Enterprise Level Information Systems

These are an extension to the 'classic' categorization of information systems that we saw in first session. As with the classic IS, the focus of these systems in essentially on what goes on inside the organization.

• Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems
  ERP software from SAP - SAP are probably the best know vendor of ERP software

• Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems
  An example of CRM software from a Microsoft

• Supply Chain Management (SCM) systems
  A page from Oracle about their SCM suite of software

Business Process Re-engineering

• Business Process Re engineering
  A summary of Don't Automate, Obliterate by Michael Hammer, Harvard Business Review, Jul/Aug 90

• The Fad That Forgot People
  One of re-engineering's creators explains the 'iron triangle' that turned a modest idea into a destructive fad.

• Business Re-Engineering: Three Steps to Success
  Gives a good overview of the ideas behind BPR and develops them into a philosophy of "Business Re-Engineering". Also available as a .pdf version.

Some examples of the use of BPR

• Is Re-engineering Possible in the Public Sector? A Brazilian Case Study
  This paper describes an attempt to implement BPR in a large public organization in Brazil. As a result of the re-engineering attempt, the organization had its IT infrastructure significantly improved but no radical changes in the organization's business processes occurred, despite the US$ 8 million that had been invested.

• Strategic aspects of business process re-engineering (BPR) - UK experiences
  Three case studies from the UK + a summary of BPR

• Uptake of BPR in the UK
  This working paper was written as part of a larger study and contains extracts from interviews with consultants and policy makers involved with the implementation of BPR in a corporate context.

Knowledge Management

• What is Knowledge Management? (Sveiby Knowledge Management)
  "Concepts are best defined from how people use them". Karl Sveiby defines Knowledge Management by looking at what "the people in this field" are doing - i.e. vendors (consultants and researchers) and users".

• The Nonsense of Knowledge Management
  According to the rhetoric of 'knowledge management' ... the accountant's dream of people-free production, distribution and sales has been realized ... 'knowledge' is now in the database, recoverable at any time.

• Information Management for the Intelligent Organization
  Organizational learning depends on a cycle of processes that support the organization's activities: identifying information needs, acquiring information, organizing and storing information, developing information products and services, distributing information, and using information.

Some examples of the use of KM

• Knowledge Management at EDF: Ten Years On
  Traces the development and use of Knowledge Management in Electricité de France

• Knowledge Management at Whirlpool
  Traces how Knowledge Management evolved in the Whirlpool Corporation

• Nationwide Building Society
  Nationwide is the UK's largest building society - a mutual organization that focuses on savings and loans - and one of the UK's largest mortgage lenders. This article presents a case study of the use of KM in their Property Services Department.

Reading

As with the previous session, I have chosen some reading for you to do in addition to that in the text books. I have selected two articles from the Harvard Business review; the link to these (with a short summary of each) can be found below:

• Required reading for session 4

You may also find the following of use:

• Nonaka, I. and von Krogh, G. Tacit Knowledge and Knowledge Conversion: Controversy and Advancement in Organizational Knowledge Creation Theory

• I. Bourdon and C. Kimble. An Analysis of Key Factors for the Success of the Communal Management of Knowledge

For private study

Self Assessment

There is a set of self assessment questions to go with this session. The goal of this session was to understand the contribution that IS and IT can make from the viewpoint of the internal processes of a business. The objective of these self assessment questions is to make you to think about some of the issues that were raised during this session. There are no right and wrong answers, the questions are there for you, not as part of a formal assessment.

The notes for this session are available as a presentation (in pdf format) - lecture notes for session 4