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DOC650 Technology and Business Process Improvement

Discussion: How important are business processes to an organization?

Part A. If business processes are so important:

1. Why don’t organizations document them and make them part of their “way of doing business,” or do they? if so, what do they call them?
2. Can an organization exist without processes?
3. Does it make sense to automate every process in an organization? Which ones might you automate? Which ones might you not automate? Justify your answers with references.

Business merger impacts.

Part B: What happens to business processes when two large companies integrate (via merger) into one? How should they determine what to do with respect to business processes and associated information technology? Who are the participants in this determination?

Module 1 – Background

Organizations, business processes, and IT systems relationships.

Search Terms:

1. Definition of an Organization
2. Definition of Business Process,
3. Matrix Functional Divisional Organization.

Required Reading

1. Merton, R. K. (1957). Bureaucratic structure and personality. Social Theory and Social Structure; Read the first 2 sections of the article. New York, Free Press, retrieved July 4, 2017 from:
   http://www.sociosite.net/topics/texts/merton_burea…
2. Ouchi, W. G. (1980). Markets, Bureaucracies, and Clans. Administrative Science Quarterly, 25(1), 129-141.

   Specifically read the section labeled “The Nature of Organization” starting on page 129. You are NOT required to read the rest of the paper.

3. Jensen, M. C. (1983). Organization Theory and Methodology. Accounting Review, 58(2), 319-339.
   Specifically, read section IV.A, Dimension of Organizations and V The Nexus of Contracts View of Organizations. You are NOT required to read the rest of the paper.
4. Kribikova, P. (2016). Organizational structure and performance. Aktual’Ni Problemy Ekonomiky = Actual Problems in Economics, (175), 109-118.
5. Moldovan-Borsos, R., & Matei, C. (2016). Organizational structure in impasse. Electrotehnica, Electronica, Automatica, 64(2), 165-169.
6. Jones, G. R. (n.d.). Organizational Theory, Design, and Change (Sixth Edition). PowerPoint briefing available through slide share.
   Accessed on 15 July 2017 from: https://www.slideshare.net/anky123/ch01-6808832
7. Pinto, J. K., & Morris, P. G. (2007). The Wiley Guide to Project Technology, Supply Chain, and Procurement Management. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley. Read Chapter 4 (There is a way to down-load only this chapter).

   You may want to keep this file for future reference.

8. Davenport and Short. (1990). The New Industrial Engineering: Information Technology and Business Process Redesign. Specifically read the section on page 12, Definition of a Business Process. You are NOT required to read the rest of the paper.

   You may want to keep this file for future reference.

9. Dickson, P. (2003). The pigeon breeders’ cup: a selection on selection theory of economic evolution. Journal of Evolutionary Economics, 13(3), 259-280. Specifically, read the section titled “Vertical and horizontal organization of systems of processes,” pages 264 through 268, and figures 3a-e. You are NOT required to read the rest of the paper.

   You may want to keep this file for future reference.

10. Kalpic, B. & Bernus, P. (2006). Business process modeling through the knowledge of management perspective. Journal of Knowledge Management, 10(2), 40-46. Specifically read the section called Business processes and business process modeling, starting on page 42. You are NOT required to read the rest of the paper.
11. Davenport, T. H. (1993). Process Innovation, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, Specifically, read the definition of a process starting on page 5. Retrieved July 15, 2017 from:
    https://books.google.de/books?id=kLlIOMGaKnsC&prin…
12. Venkatesh; V. and Bala, H. (2007). Adoption of Inter-organizational Business Process Standards in Business-to-Business. Systèmes d’Information et Management; 12(2); 53

    Specifically, read the section defining a business process, starting on the 2nd paragraph of page 57. You are NOT required to read the rest of the paper

13. Harris, M., & Raviv, A. (2002). Organization design. Management Science, 48(7), 852-865. Specifically, read the introduction, from page 852 to 855, and review the figures on page 853. You are NOT required to read the rest of the paper.
14. Miles, R. E., & Snow, C. C. (1992). Causes of failure in network organizations. California Management Review, 34(4), 53. Specifically, read the section labeled “The Evolution of the Network Firm” starting on page 54 and ending on page 57.
15. Business & Entrepreneurship. (n.d.). Functional vs. divisional organizational structure. Accessed on 15 July 2017 from http://yourbusiness.azcentral.com/functional-vs-di…
16. Thornton, S. (n.d.). Organizational Structure of a Business. Accessed on 15 July 2017 from http://www.ehow.com/about_5387149_organizational-s…

Optional Reading

1. SlideShare. (2010, April 29). Introduction to business process management. Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/alanmcsweeney/introducti…
2. Sparx Systems UML Tutorials. (2004). The business process model. Accessed on 15 July 2017 from: http://www.sparxsystems.com/downloads/whitepapers/…