Academic literature on the topic 'Redesign process of the business process structure'

Purpose – Business process implementation has been primarily seen as a redesign of the workflow with the consequent organizational change assumed to be taking place automatically or through a process of “muddling through”. Although evidence suggests that 70 per cent of business process reengineering programmes have failed due to lack of alignment with corporate change strategy, the question of alignment of workflow redesign with the organizational change process has not received adequate attention. The purpose of this paper is to provide a framework for managing organizational change in a structured manner during workflow redesign, a perspective missing in the literature on business process management (BPM) implementation. Design/methodology/approach – This paper attempts to integrate the 8-S dimensions of Higgins model across the different phases of workflow redesign to develop a process framework of managing organizational change during BPM workflow redesign. As an exploratory study the paper draws on existing literature on BPM and change alignment to conceptualize an alignment framework of associated managerial activities involved during different phases of BPM workflow redesign. The framework is evaluated against two case studies of business process implementation to substantiate how lack of alignment leads to failure in BPM implementation. Findings – The paper provides a conceptual framework of how organizational change should be managed during BPM implementation. The model suggests the sequence of alignment of the 8-S dimensions (Higgins, 2005) with the different phases of the workflow redesign and identifies the role of the managerial levels in the organization in managing the alignment of the 8-S dimensions during business process change. Practical implications – This framework would provide managers with an execution template of how to achieve alignment of the workflow redesign with the 8-S dimensions thus facilitating effective organizational change during business process implementation. Originality/value – This paper proposes a process model of how organizational elements should be aligned with the workflow redesign during business process change implementation. No such model is available in BPM literature proposing alignment between hard and soft factors.

PurposeDespite widespread adoption of business process reengineering (BPR) for better delivery efficiency of public services, a structured approach continues to elude the most value-adding phase of BPR: business process redesign. From another viewpoint, the rising currency of Whole-of-Government (WoG) and “shared services” initiatives signal an unmissable trend toward resource reuse across public service agencies (PSAs) through business process standardization (BPS). This research invokes BPS into process redesign to produce a process redesign framework (PRF) and deploys the same to build a standard process model (SPM) for services of the government of Albania (GoA).Design/methodology/approachThe methodology follows the design science research (DSR) paradigm, wherein best practices extracted from literature are synthesized with stakeholder inputs to design the PRF and SPM, both of which are then evaluated with case study research.FindingsAdoption of PRF/SPM on a WoG basis will not only reduce service lead time but also enable a variety of public services to share the same process, thereby further saving costs for GoA. The research outputs will accelerate reengineering and subsequent digitalization of public service operations.Research limitations/implicationsImplementing SPM will maximize resource reuse and help offer uniform and integrated public services to GoA's customers. It will also enable demand-driven staff mobilization across GoA agencies. The proposed PRF/SPM have limitations in that they consider only flow aspects of service processes with aspects of conversion being ignored.Originality/valueThis research fulfills the need for a systematic approach to process redesign and prepares GoA for a WoG treatment to its BPR efforts.

This paper describes a Case Study in which a “macroergonomic” approach (Hendrick and Kleiner, 2001) was used to redesign the process and implement technology in support of the process of implementing office space. A project involving a 25,000-square-foot renovation of existing space, with 120 workstations and 100 employees was used as the basis to test the redesigned process and technology implementation. We concurrently redesigned the personnel and technology subsystems (see DeGreene, 1973), as opposed to having a pre-defined technology application drive the solution (Hendrick, 1995). Using a participatory ergonomics approach, we involved the employees who would be affected by changes to their work process to understand and contribute to the re-design. Through structured interviews, interactive discussions and observations, we redesigned the process from; design and layout of workstations through installation of furniture. Using business process modeling and simulation software, we modeled the “before” and “after” processes, and collected detailed measures of time and cost improvements. We found significant process performance improvements in Wait Time, Re-Work of Errors, and Cost reductions.

The Internet of Things system of enterprise is formed by RFID recognition system, middleware system and Internet system. The development of Internet of Things make the structure of logistics service horizontal and vertical flow changed; the Internet of Things technology application promote the logistics business system reconstruction, and also the business layer redesign condition; Aim at traditional logistics business processes, proposed warehousing, distribution, transport business process optimization and reengineering design based on Internet of Things technologies.

Purpose – Business process management (BPM) is still mostly associated with methods and software tools for process modeling, automation and redesign/performance analysis, with limited effort toward building and applying interdisciplinary approaches which capture the real complexity of business processes. The purpose of this paper is to elaborate a system view of BPM and presents an actionable body of knowledge to enhance process-related decisions and actions within organizations. Design/methodology/approach – A design science approach is used to build a conceptual contribution based on extended process management literature and a multi-year author experience in the area of business process engineering in both research and education contexts. Findings – A business process management system includes strategy, model, execution and performance dimensions whereas the management of a process involves activities related to scope, structure, resource, systems, dependency, exception, performance and external integration. Research limitations/implications – The frameworks and related definitions need further theoretical development and refinement in terms of the components and reciprocal relations among system and activity elements. In this vein, the study would also benefit from real-life applications and empirical analysis. Practical implications – The paper can support process implementation, maturity assessment and competence development efforts within organizations as well as be a foundational work to advance the creation of a global body of knowledge on process management. Originality/value – The paper proposes a holistic perspective on BPM as a system of components and a bundle of activities, thus providing a twofold strategic and operational tool for process analysts and managers at different levels.

The Office of Civilian Personnel at the Defense Distribution Region East has been able to achieve dramatic personnel and cost reductions using an agressive program of process reengineering coupled with a radical redesign of its business processes. This innovative program, which can save the U.S. Government $8 million by the year 2001, required changing the attitudes of managers and employees about the way the organization was structured, their roles in the new scheme, and the need to deal with continual change and process improvement.

Sustainable development of a domestic enterprise depends on the rational use of all types of resources, which necessitates the transition to an optimal cost management system. The urgency and significance of the cost management problem necessitates a thorough research and the determination of the optimal cost structure. The article proposes a modeling procedure for improvement of accounting and cost management. The article highlights the features of the management and cost optimization procedure based on functional modeling and re-designing of business processes in the context of the process approach chosen by the majority of enterprises. In order to improve cost management and the activity of the machine-building enterprise, the article proposed the use of the IDEF0 (Integration Definition for Function Modeling business process) modeling methodologies, which reflects the process approach to the formation and identification of business processes of the enterprise.The article proposes to apply a modeling and redesign process for business processes to find reserves for cost reduction and improvement of cost management system, and presents models of cost management and business processes of freight transport of a structural unit of a machine-building plant. To optimize the costs of the enterprise proposed the use of functional-cost analysis. The content is determined, application of modeling and redesign of business processes is grounded in order to find the reserves of cost reduction. The procedure of using modeling and re-designing of business processes at Ukrainian enterprises is determined. The practical significance of the results obtained is to improve the accounting and cost management systems, the results of which can be simulated, which will allow planning, forecasting and cost modeling across the entire business processes chain, developing measures for obtaining the desired results for individual operations and, in general, for functional activities, etc. Keywords costs, cost management, cost optimization, functional modeling, business process, modeling and re-designing of business processes.

When organizations analyze and significantly change their business processes with latest information and communication technology (ICT) in mind, they can reduce process time and cost, as well as increase efficiency and output quality. This study elaborates an ICT-enabled reengineering project in the Agency for audio and audiovisual media services in the Republic of Macedonia for the program monitoring process. It aims to investigate the motivation to use ICT as a way to shape the process redesign and find associations among ICT adaptation, process reengineering, organizational growth and efficiency. Hence, the new process structure can help the agency deliver greater public value while meeting its strategic goals to protect citizens' interests in the area of audio and audiovisual media services. It provides an example of a case study that surpasses standard industrial report to an article that contains valuable information that companies, especially in the public sector, can use in replicating experiences while undertaking similar BPR initiatives.

Дисертація на здобуття наукового ступеня доктора філософії за спеціальністю 122 "Комп’ютерні науки". – Національний технічний університет "Харківський політехнічний інститут", Харків, 2020. Об’єктом дослідження є процес синтезу структури та реструктуризації бізнес-процесів складних систем. Предметом дослідження є моделі та інформаційна технологія аналізу та підвищення якості структури бізнес-процесів на основі використання різних нотацій моделювання. Дисертацію присвячено вирішенню науково-практичної задачі – розробці моделей та інформаційної технології аналізу та підвищення якості структури бізнес-процесів складних систем. У вступі обґрунтовано актуальність теми дисертаційної роботи, зазначено зв’язок роботи з науковими темами, сформульовано мету і задачі дослідження, визначено об’єкт, предмет та методи дослідження, показано наукову новизну та практичне значення отриманих результатів, наведено інформацію про практичне використання, особистий внесок здобувача, апробацію результатів дослідження та їх висвітлення у публікаціях. Приводяться відомості щодо структури та обсягу дисертаційної роботи. У першому розділі проведено аналіз процесу синтезу структури та реструктуризації бізнес-процесів складних систем як об’єкта дослідження. Виділені проблеми, які в даний момент ще не вирішені і є актуальними з точки зору аналізу та підвищення якості структури бізнес-процесів. Детально розглянуті найбільш популярні та поширені нотації опису структури бізнес- процесів (BPMN, EPC, IDEF0 та DFD); сучасні підходи щодо накопичення та аналізу колекцій моделей бізнес-процесів з метою їх повторного використання; формати представлення структури бізнес-процесів (XPDL, AML, BPMN 2.0). Розглянуто існуючі методи та засоби аналізу та підвищення якості структури бізнес-процесів. В результаті здійсненого огляду було визначено, що у розглянутих літературних джерелах не представлені формальні методи, які б дозволили виявити порушення правил побудови структури бізнес-процесів, представлених за допомогою різних нотацій моделювання, та сформувати рекомендації щодо їх усунення. Сформульовано постановку задачі дослідження проблем, які було виявлено під час аналізу процесу синтезу структури та реструктуризації бізнес-процесів складних систем в ролі об’єкта дослідження. Основними з даних проблем є: формалізація правил побудови моделей бізнес-процесів на основі різних нотацій моделювання; розробка узагальненого критерію якості моделей бізнес-процесів; формування методу аналізу та вдосконалення структури бізнес-процесів; розробка моделей, призначених для формування рекомендацій щодо усунення виявлених порушень правил побудови моделей бізнес-процесів; розробка інформаційної технології аналізу та підвищення якості структури бізнес-процесів. У другому розділі сформовано теоретичні основи аналізу та підвищення якості структури бізнес-процесів. На основі рекомендацій щодо побудови моделей бізнес-процесів визначено та формалізовано правила побудови моделей бізнес-процесів з використанням різних нотацій моделювання. Сформовано окремі критерії та розроблено узагальнений критерій якості моделей бізнес-процесів на основі методу адитивної згортки критеріїв. На основі виконаних досліджень отримали подальший розвиток: – метод кількісного аналізу структури бізнес-процесів за рахунок формування коефіцієнтів збалансованості, які, на відміну від існуючого, враховують різні елементи структури бізнес-процесу та особливості їх з’єднання, що дозволяє застосувати сформовані коефіцієнти для аналізу моделей бізнес-процесів у різних нотаціях з метою визначення їх відповідності правилам побудови; – метод оцінки якості моделей бізнес-процесів за рахунок формалізації правил побудови та формування узагальненого критерію якості замість окремих метрик якості моделей бізнес-процесів у певних нотаціях, що дозволяє оцінити якість моделі бізнес-процесу на основі єдиного кількісного показника. Третій розділ присвячено розробці моделей аналізу та підвищення якості структури бізнес-процесів. Було розглянуто метод аналізу та вдосконалення структури бізнес-процесів, який дозволяє виявити та усунути порушення правил побудови моделей бізнес-процесів при використанні різних нотацій моделювання, та відповідні моделі, призначені для формування рекомендацій щодо усунення виявлених порушень правил побудови моделей бізнес-процесів (необхідні зміни у кількості відповідних елементів структури бізнес-процесу та зв’язків між ними), що дозволяє підвищити їхню якість. Оптимізаційні задачі вирішуються на основі використання методу градієнтного спуску. Метод аналізу та вдосконалення структури бізнес-процесів базується на людино- машинній процедурі прийняття рішень, тому було запропоновано процедуру формування зрозумілих людині рекомендацій у вигляді текстових вказівок щодо вдосконалення структури бізнес-процесів на основі результатів вирішення оптимізаційних задач. З метою повторного використання досвіду щодо підвищення якості моделей бізнес-процесів було розроблено процедуру їх групування за подібністю щодо відповідності правилам побудови структури бізнес-процесу. В результаті виконаних досліджень було вперше: – розроблено метод аналізу та вдосконалення структури бізнес-процесів, що дозволяє виявити та усунути порушення правил побудови моделей бізнес-процесів при використанні різних нотацій моделювання; – розроблено моделі, призначені для формування рекомендацій щодо усунення виявлених порушень правил побудови моделей бізнес-процесів, що дозволяє підвищити якість структури бізнес-процесів. У четвертому розділі на основі опису процесу аналізу та підвищення якості структури бізнес-процесів були визначені функціональні можливості та сформульовані вимоги до інформаційної технології. Архітектура інформаційної технології базується на використанні сучасних технологій вилучення, обробки та збереження інформації про структуру бізнес-процесів. Робота користувача з отриманими результатами може здійснюватися як через веб-інтерфейс, так і на основі використання аналітичної приладової панелі, яка демонструє узагальнені результати аналізу та забезпечує підтримку прийняття рішень щодо підвищення якості структури бізнес-процесів. Працездатність розробленої інформаційної технології було перевірено на заздалегідь підготовлених моделях бізнес-процесів у різних нотаціях, в яких було навмисно допущено структурні помилки, які порушують правила побудови структури бізнес-процесів у нотаціях BPMN, EPC, IDEF0 та DFD, а також на повнорозмірній вихідній інформації щодо структури бізнес-процесів у різних нотаціях та різної галузевої приналежності. В результаті було удосконалено інформаційну технологію аналізу та підвищення якості структури бізнес-процесів, яка базується на використанні розроблених методу та моделей замість існуючих рішень, що дозволяє автоматизувати виявлення та усунення порушень правил побудови моделей бізнес-процесів при використанні різних нотацій моделювання. Аналіз отриманих результатів дослідження показав, що розроблений метод та моделі, на яких базується інформаційна технологія, на відміну від існуючих формальних методів та засобів, дозволяють не лише більш точно виявити помилки у структурі бізнес-процесів, поданих у нотаціях BPMN, EPC, IDEF0 та DFD, а й оцінити якість структури бізнес-процесу на основі єдиного кількісного показника та отримати рекомендації щодо її підвищення шляхом внесення необхідних змін у кількості відповідних елементів структури бізнес- процесу та зв’язків між ними. Наведено результати впровадження дисертаційного дослідження у ТОВ "Науковий Парк НТУ "ХПІ" (м. Харків), у Інституті монокристалів НАН України (м. Харків), у науково-дослідних роботах та навчальному процесі кафедри програмної інженерії та інформаційних технологій управління Національного технічного університету "ХПІ".
Thesis for obtaining the philosophy doctor scientific degree on the specialty 122 “Computer sciences”. – National Technical University “Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute”, Kharkiv, 2020. Object of research is the process of synthesis and redesign of the business process structure of complex systems. Subject of research includes models and information technology of analysis and quality improvement of the business process structure based on the using of various modeling notations. The dissertation is devoted to the solution of the scientific and practical problem – development of the models and information technology of analysis and quality improvement of the business process structure of complex systems. The introduction substantiates the relevance of the topic of the dissertation, indicates the relationship with scientific topics, the purpose and objectives of the study are formulated, the object, subject and methods of research are identified, the scientific novelty and practical significance of the obtained results is shown, the information on practical use, personal contribution of the applicant, validation of the research results and their coverage in publications are provided. Information about the structure and scope of the dissertation is given. The first section analyzes the process of synthesis and redesign of the business processes structure of complex systems as a research object. Issues that have not yet been resolved and are relevant in terms of analysis and improvement of the quality of business processes are denoted. The most popular and widely used notations (BPMN, EPC, IDEF0, and DFD) that serve to describe business process structure, modern approaches to storing and analyzing business process model collections for their further reuse, business process structure representation formats (XPDL, AML, BPMN 2.0) are discussed in detail. Existing methods and tools of analysis and improvement of quality of business process structure are considered. As a result of the review, it was determined that the reviewed literature sources are not present formal methods that would allow to identify violations of the rules of structure of business processes, represented by various notations of modeling, and to generate recommendations in order to their elimination. The research problem related to those issues, which were revealed during the analysis of the process of synthesis and restructuring of the structure of business processes of complex systems as a research object, is formulated. The main of these problems are: formalization of rules of business process model design based on different modeling notations; development of the generalized quality criterion for business process models; formation of the method of analysis and improvement of a business process structure; development of the models, which are intended to form recommendations for elimination of revealed violations of business process model design rules; development of the information technology of analysis and quality improvement of the business process structure. The second section describes the theoretical foundations of the analysis and improvement of the quality of the structure of business processes. Based on the recommendations of business process model design, the rules of business process model design using different modeling notations are defined and formalized. Individual criteria have been formed, as well as the generalized quality criterion for business process models has been developed, which is based on the multi-criteria decision making method. The research presented in the second section has allowed elaborating: – the method of quantitative analysis of the business process structure is elaborated through the formation of balance coefficients, which, unlike the existing one, take into account different elements of the business process structure and features of their interrelations, which allows to apply the formed coefficients for the analysis of business process models in different notations in order to determine their compliance with the design rules; – the method of business process model quality assessment is elaborated by formalizing the design rules and generating a generic quality criterion instead of individual business process model metrics for certain notations, which allows to evaluate the business process model quality using a single quantitative metric. The third section is devoted to the development of models of analysis and improvement of the business process structure. There were considered the method of analysis and improvement of the business process structure, which allows detecting and eliminating violations of business process model design rules when using different modeling notations, and the models used to form recommendations for elimination of detected violations of business process model design rules (necessary changes in the number of certain elements of the business process structure and connections between them), which allows to improve the business process structure quality. The corresponding optimization problems are solved using the gradient descent method. The method of analyzing and improving the business process structure is based on the human-machine decision-making process, so it was proposed the procedure for formulating recommendations in the form of understandable text instructions for improving the business process structure based on the results of optimization problem solutions. In order to reuse the experience of improving the business process model quality, the procedure for grouping them by similarity in the context of fulfillment to the rules of business process structure design was developed. As the result of research, for the first time were obtained: – the method of analysis and improvement of the business process structure, which allows identifying and eliminating violations of the rules of building business models when using different modeling notations; – the models designed to formulate recommendations for eliminating identified violations of business process model design rules, which can improve the quality of the business process structure. In the fourth section on the basis of a detailed description of the process of analysis and improvement of the business process structure quality, functional capabilities and requirements for the information technology were defined. The information technology architecture is based on the use of modern technologies for extracting, processing and storing information about the business process structure. User work with the obtained results can be performed either through the web interface or through the analytical dashboard, which demonstrates generalized analysis results and provides decision support for improving the quality of the business process structure. The information technology was validated using prepared business process models provided in various notations, in which structural errors that violate certain business process structure design rules of BPMN, EPC, IDEF0, and DFD notations were intentionally injected; and using the full scale input information on the business process structure provided in different notations and domains. As the result there were improved the information technology of analysis and improvement of quality of business process structure, which is based on the developed method and models instead of existing solutions, which further allows automating detection and elimination of violations of business process models design in various notations. The analysis of the research results has shown that the formed method and the developed models, on which the information technology is based, unlike the existing formal methods and tools, allow not only to more accurately detect errors in the business process structure described using BPMN, EPC, IDEF0, and DFD notations, but also to evaluate the quality of the business process structure on the basis of a single quantitative indicator and obtain recommendations for its improvement by making necessary changes in the number of certain elements of the business process structure and the relations between them. Thesis research results were implemented at the “Scientific Park of NTU “KhPI” LLC (Kharkiv), state scientific institution “Institute for Single Crystals” of National Academy of Science of Ukraine (Kharkiv), in scientific research works and educational process of the Department of Software Engineering and Management Information Technologies of National Technical University “KhPI”.

Thesis (M.S. in Information Technology Management) Naval Postgraduate School, September 1993.
Thesis advisor(s): Haga, William James ; Euske, Kenneth J. "September 1993." Bibliography: p. 142-144. Also available online.

PONTIFÍCIA UNIVERSIDADE CATÓLICA DO RIO DE JANEIRO
COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DO PESSOAL DE ENSINO SUPERIOR
PROGRAMA DE SUPORTE À PÓS-GRADUAÇÃO DE INSTS. DE ENSINO
A melhoria dos processos de negócios é considerada importante para o suporte da competitividade e sustentabilidade das companhias, ganhando assim, destaque na comunidade acadêmica. Neste sentido, a obtenção de melhorias nos processos organizacionais pode ser obtida por meio do (re)desenho dos processos de negócios, o qual é considerado a etapa de maior valor agregado dos projetos de gestão de processos de negócios. Contudo, apesar da existência de uma literatura ampla a respeito da temática de (re)desenho de processos de negócios, as metodologias ou procedimentos estruturados que visam garantir o entendimento da transformação dos processos atuais as-is para futuros to-be ainda são escassos. Neste contexto, visando preencher esta lacuna presente na literatura, este estudo apresenta os achados empíricos e as lições apreendidas durante a realização de uma pesquisa ação com o objetivo de (re)desenhar os processos logísticos de uma empresa de produção cultural. O estudo empírico teve duração de nove meses. Um modelo conceitual de síntese de (re)desenho de processos de negócios organizacionais foi proposto a partir da literatura. Este modelo incorporou três camadas (i.e., organização, processos de negócios e implementação) e guiou a condução do estudo empírico. Diferentes fatores críticos de sucesso e barreiras foram identificados e analisados com foco nas dimensões organizacionais, sociais e técnicas, resultando em contribuições para pesquisadores da academia e para os especialistas da indústria em abordagens de (re)desenho de processos de negócios.
The improvement of business processes is considered important to support companies competitiveness and sustainability, therefore, being highlighted in the academic community. In this way, the improvement of the organizational processes can be achieved through the business processes redesign, which is considered the most value-added phase in a business process management (BPM) project. However, despite the existence of an extensive literature on the subject of business processes redesign, methodologies or structured procedures that aim to understand the transformation from the as-is to the desired to-be processes are still scarce. Within this context, in order to fill this gap in the literature, this study presents the empirical findings and the lessons learnt from an action research with the objective of redesigning the logistic processes of a cultural production enterprise. The empirical study lasted nine months. A synthesis conceptual model for redesigning organizational business processes was proposed based on the literature. This model incorporated three tiers (i.e., organization, business processes and implementation) and provided guidance for conducting the empirical study. Different critical success factors and barriers have been identified and analyzed with a focus on organizational, social, and technical dimensions, resulting in contributions to scholars and to practitioners in redesigning business process approaches.

Thesis (M.S. in Information Technology Management)--Naval Postgraduate School, June 2000.
Thesis advisor(s): Dolk, Daniel R. ; Nissen, Mark E. "June 2000." Includes bibliographical references (p. 145). Also available online.

The main goal of this work is to create some kind of simple methodology that can help to improve effectiveness of public organizations. There're a lot of theories and methodologies focused on this topic and there is a good chance many new ones will be presented in the future. These came mainly from management field and sometimes from other fields as well. This work focuses mainly on Business Process Reengineering and combines it with other methodologies hoping, it will help in a process improvements in the public sector. Focus is on Czech Republic but this work should be useful to other countries as well, if necessary changes are made in order to shape things that are different between the countries. In this work, a whole project cycle of the public organization processes improvement project can be found, but some project phases will be explained in more detail then the other. Focus is on the analytic parts of the project (strategy creation, use of UML, BSC and other models and methodologies like that) rather than the project management parts of the project. All the practical examples are from public sector organization -- namely the administrative office of one of the city districts of Prague. After reading this work, reader should have moderate understanding of the application of a BPR methodology in the public sector and how it can be supported by other methodologies. There is also big portion of models and diagrams in this work showing pieces of reality from chosen public organization. Their meaning is to show what is usually done in this kind of project and how to understand the models. This works goal isn't creation of a guideline to UML or any other modeling principles.

The research investigates the past, present and potential future role of Information Specialists (ISps) in process oriented companies. It tests the proposition that ISps in companies that have undertaken formal process reengineering exercises are likely to become more proactive and more business oriented (as opposed to technically oriented) than they had previously been when their organisations were organised along traditional, functional lines. A review of existing literature in the area of Business Process Reengineering and Information Management reveals a lack of consensus amongst researchers concerning the appropriate role for ISps during and after BPR. Opinion is divided as to whether IS professionals should reactively support BPR or whether IT/IS developments should be driving these initiatives. A questionnaire based ‘Descriptive Survey’ with 60 respondents is used as a first stage of primary data gathering. This is followed by follow-up interviews with 20 of the participating organisations to gather further information on their experiences. The final stage of data collection consists of further in-depth interview with four case study companies to provide an even richer picture of their experiences. The results of the questionnaire are analysed and displayed in the form of simple means, frequencies and bar graphs. The ‘NU-DIST’ computer based discourse analysis package was tried in relation to summarising the interview findings, but this proved cumbersome and a visual collation method is preferred. Overall, the researcher contends that the supposition outlined above is proven, and she concludes the research by suggesting the implications of these findings. In particular she offers a ‘Framework for Understanding and Action’ which is deemed to be relevant to both practitioners and future researchers.

Thesis (M.S. in Information Technology Management) Naval Postgraduate School, Sept. 2001.
Thesis advisos: Kamel, Magdi N. ; Eitelberg, Mark J. "September 2001." Includes bibliographical references (p. 103-105). Also Available online.

Many relationship-based studies focus on how businesses are maintained and developed. However, little attention focused on individuals as business initiators and the consequent processes. This study will bridge this gap. A theoretical model with two cases will answer two questions    -How individuals initiate business through personal network? -What is the consequent process?   The studies demonstrate that individual do play a very important role when initiating a new business and they set in motion relationship-building processes that change the network structure.   The contribution for research and management is clear. The netentrepruer is a new ‘actor’ and can be useful in future studies of business networks. Management can usefully become conscious of the possibilities they have in studying their network contacts before initiating new businesses. Managers should utilize managing individual’s networks as new competition strategies. This will modify the view of management strategy and also contribute to theory building.

Historically, products have been developed following the “we design it, you build it” approach. Design and production belonged to two independent entities, with no feedback from downstream activities to upstream activities. In order to avoid redesign costs caused by the lack of feedback, pioneer organisations began to apply methodologies such as ‘Design for Assembly’ or ‘Design for Manufacture’ on a daily basis. Over the years, further research has been carried out to refine these generic methodologies adding previously unconsidered perspectives, such as quality, reliability, environmental, etc. which evolved into a concept called ‘Design-for-X’ (DfX). However, existing methodologies have largely focused on simply reducing product’s structural costs, without taking into consideration other important aspects of more complex assembly processes common in the aerospace industry. The complex assembly process that this paper focuses on is the systems’ installation process within the aerospace business. The installation of fuel, electrical and other systems must follow strict aerospace regulations, intra-organisational design rules, safety policies and many more restrictions, which are not considered as key factors in current methodologies. In this paper, we endeavour to provide an extensive analysis of existing DfX methodologies and support our conclusion that there is an opportunity to develop a new methodology which will ease the aerospace systems’ installation process for the shop-floor operator.