Models for Change Business Process Reengineering Essay Example for Free

Models for Change Business Process Reengineering Essay Assess Business Strategy Like many other approaches, BPR claims to align organisation change (and IT development) with business strategy. This is important because BPR concentrates of improving processes which are of primary strategic importance. The assumption is that strategy is already determined, and that it is externally focussed, dealing with customers, products, suppliers and markets. BPR is quite distinct from strategic planning. Select Processes Here we choose those processes on which we will concentrate our reengineering effort. This choice involves a number of steps. Identify Major Processes A process as a structured,measured set of activities designed to produce a specified output for a particular customer or market, process is an interrelated series of activities that convert business inputs into business outputs (by changing the state of relevant business entities). Determine Process Boundaries This is easy to say and hard to do. Some processes, such as product manufacture, are fairly obvious, though there may be doubt whether to include activities such as materials procurement within this process. Sometimes the boundaries between processes which follow one another (eg marketing and sales, delivery and installation) are hard to agree. Processes which involve more than one company can also cause boundary problems. Assess Strategic Relevance Usually reengineering will concentrate on a small number of processes. This may seem suboptimal, but provided the processes chosen are complete (not parts of processes) and the reengineering is thorough, a flow-on effect will probably mean that unsatisfactory neighbouring processes will soon become candidates for redesign. So we should begin with those processes which are most critical to the organisations strategy. At UTS, for instance, the major strategy might be to obtain more money from industry. Processes directly contributing to this strategy would be good candidates for reengineering. Qualify Culture and Politics This step (which is even less quantifiable than the others) assesses the culture and politics of the organisational units performing activities within the process, and how these units are viewed in wider organisational politics and culture. Processes in a medical school, for instance, may be harder to reengineer than those in a business school, both because the medical school places a high value on its independence and because it is highly regarded by the rest of the university (or even society). Since successful reengineering ultimately depends on the cooperation of those performing the process, it is better to deal with processes where the culture and politics are favourable. Creating a Process Vision Creating a strong and sustained linkage between strategy and the way work is done is an enduring challenge in complex organizations. Because business processes define how work is done, we are dealing with the relationship between strategy and processes.In BPR, as in all design work, creating the vision is the crucial stage; and it is also the least structured. In assessing strategy and selecting processes we were trying to understand things which (in theory) already exist. Similarly when we come to assess existing processes and resources. For design and implementation we may be helped by guidelines, methodologies and examples of similar systems. But in creating a vision we are more or less on our own. There are a number of techniques, which are known to help in the creative process. When working on process visions it is also helpful to consider in which areas of the business we wish to redesign processes. Davenport deals with two aspects of vision creation: the search for a vision an d vision characteristics. Vision search Process visons must be related to strategy, so we may look to the organisations strategy for inspiration. This assumes that the strategy is sufficiently specific to give a sense of direction (eg improve quality of service to regular customers rather than improve quality). Thinking about strategy also keeps the vision search at the right level broad but specific. Because much BPR work supports a customer focused strategy, it is important to have customer input to the vision. More generally, the customer is the one receiving the business output, and this includes internal customers; it is important that we know the output is right before we start working out how to produce it. Benchmarking, in the context of creating a project, means seeing how other people do it. This is related to the idea of adopting best practice, though if we want competitive advantage we may have to do better than best; nevertheless, it is good to find out what is best so far. We are looking for ideas, not imitating, so we may look for benchmarks in quite different types of organisation; in fact this may be easier, since our direct competitors may not wish to reveal their best practice to us. Vision objectives and attributes Process visions, like strategies, should be easy to communicate to the organization, no threatening to those who must implement (or who are affected by) them, and as inspirational as measurable targets can be. [Davenport,p119] The process vision shows what we want our new process to do and to a very limited extent how it will do it. These are respectively the process objectives and attributes. The objectives should have a customer or business focus they must truly be concerned with outcome. They must according to all the experts be measurable we must be able to tell how we have done. And they should be simple and non-contradicty we dont want a long list of competing objectives, nor objectives whose measures are only comprehensible to a mathematician, economist or accountant. Typical objectives would be reduce delivery time by 50% or double the number of potential customers contacted per month. The attributes indicate how we intend to achieve the objectives, perhaps in terms of technology or general principles. It is somewhat unusual to develop objectives and means simultaneously but since BPR is aiming for radical objectives it is necessary to have some indication of how they will be achieved before management will be prepared to commit to the design phase. Notice that it is important at this stage to consider a variety of means before the vision is finalised. Adding attributes to our objectives might give reduce delivery time by 50% by outsourcing delivery services or use to internet to double the number of potential customers contacted per month without increasing staff. Davenport points out that radical change will only be achieved by setting ambitious objectives creativity must be encouraged by setting impossible goals. Understand and Improve Existing Processes Some proponents of BPR advocate starting with a clean slate but most (including Davenport) recommend that we spend time studying existing processes. There are a number of reasons for this: †¢People in the organisations (and customers) will use language based on the existing processes. We need to use this language to explain our proposals. †¢When implementing the new processes we will have to plan change from the current situation the existing processes. †¢The existing processes may be causing problems which we could easily repeat if we do not understand them. Existing processes may also contain activities for avoiding problems which we might not anticipate. †¢The existing processes are the base from which we measure improvement. Studying the existing processes includes the following activities: †¢The current process flow is described using any suitable diagramming method. Such a method should indicate the sequence of activities, trigger events, time taken for each activity and any buffering delays. †¢The current process is evaluated against the new objectives and assessed for conformance to the new attributes. †¢Problems with the current process are identified. It is important to remember that reengneering is not meant simply to rationalize existing processes. †¢Short term improvements to the current processes are proposed. It is not advisable to postpone simple improvements until complete reengineering is done. Assess Social and Technical Resources In this step we judge whether we have the resources available to proceed with the project. Social resources refer to the organisation and the people in it. Is the organisation used to change? Are there key supporters of BPR? Does the organisation have a tradition of team work and open discussion? Is there an atmosphere of trust? What skills are available? Are people willing to learn? If social resources appear to be inadequate, they will need to be developed before or during the reengineering project. The same applies to technical resources, though these are easier to judge. Is appropriate technology available to support the new processes? This means hardware, software and skilled people. Limitations particularly occur with network infrastructure. Again, missing capabilities will have to be developed, although in this case (unlike social resources) outsourcing is a possibility. Design and Implement New Processes Design and implementation of the new processes can use any suitable methodology, but a number of points need to be remembered. †¢Since BPR is performance oriented the methodology must be able to predict performance during design. †¢BPR projects are meant to be done quickly the methodology should support this. †¢Stakeholders (both customers and those who will be operating the process) must be involved. †¢We are looking for radical design as well as radical vision so there will be more brainstorming. †¢For any design proposal we must be able to assess feasibility, risk and benefit. †¢It would be difficult to achieve the previous objectives unless the methodology was strongly based on prototyping. 5 stages of reengineering: †¢preparation †¢identification †¢vision †¢design technical, social †¢transformation These stages are very similar to Davenports, although they go into more detail about process modelling. Manganelli pays more attention to improving existing processes and his methodology has more emphasis on entities rather than processes ie it has more of a data base flavour. Davenport (1993) notes that Quality management, often referred to as total quality management (TQM) or continuous improvement, refers to programs and initiatives that emphasize incremental improvement in work processes and outputs over an open-ended period of time. In contrast, Reengineering, also known as business process redesign or process innovation, refers to discrete initiatives that are intended to achieve radically redesigned and improved work processes in a bounded time frame. Contrast between the two is provided by Davenport (1993):

William Butler Yeats Essay examples -- English Literature Essays

William Butler Yeats One of Ireland's finest writers, William Butler Yeats served a long apprenticeship in the arts before his genius was fully developed. He did some of his greatest work after he was fifty. Yeats was born in Dublin, Ireland, on June 13, 1865. His father was a lawyer-turned-Irish painter. In 1867 the family followed him to London and settled in Bedford Park. In 1881 they returned to Dublin, where Yeats studied the Metropolitan School of Art. Yeats spent much time with his grandparents in County Sligo in northwestern Ireland. The scenery and folklore of this region greatly influenced Yeats' work. For a while he studied art, but during the 1890s he became active in London's literary life and helped found the Rhymers' Club. Yeats' early work was not especially Irish. Soon, however, he began to look to the ancient rituals and pagan beliefs of the land for his artistic inspiration. He tried to merge this interest with his aristocratic tastes to create an original Irish poetry and to establish his own identity. In 1896 Yeats met Lady Gregory, an aristocrat and playwright who shared his interest in Ireland's past, especially in its folklore. In 1899 they formed a literary society that was the predecessor of the Abbey Theatre. Among his plays were 'The Countess Cathleen' (1892) and 'Cathleen ni Houlihan' (1902), with Maud Gonne in the title role. In 1899 he proposed to her, but she refused to marry him. As a means of getting closer to Maud, Yeats later... William Butler Yeats Essay examples -- English Literature Essays William Butler Yeats One of Ireland's finest writers, William Butler Yeats served a long apprenticeship in the arts before his genius was fully developed. He did some of his greatest work after he was fifty. Yeats was born in Dublin, Ireland, on June 13, 1865. His father was a lawyer-turned-Irish painter. In 1867 the family followed him to London and settled in Bedford Park. In 1881 they returned to Dublin, where Yeats studied the Metropolitan School of Art. Yeats spent much time with his grandparents in County Sligo in northwestern Ireland. The scenery and folklore of this region greatly influenced Yeats' work. For a while he studied art, but during the 1890s he became active in London's literary life and helped found the Rhymers' Club. Yeats' early work was not especially Irish. Soon, however, he began to look to the ancient rituals and pagan beliefs of the land for his artistic inspiration. He tried to merge this interest with his aristocratic tastes to create an original Irish poetry and to establish his own identity. In 1896 Yeats met Lady Gregory, an aristocrat and playwright who shared his interest in Ireland's past, especially in its folklore. In 1899 they formed a literary society that was the predecessor of the Abbey Theatre. Among his plays were 'The Countess Cathleen' (1892) and 'Cathleen ni Houlihan' (1902), with Maud Gonne in the title role. In 1899 he proposed to her, but she refused to marry him. As a means of getting closer to Maud, Yeats later...

Frankenstein coursework Essay

Frankenstein was written in 1816 by female novelist, Mary Shelley. She was only 18 at the time she had the idea for it. Her, her boyfriend Percy Shelley (whom she later married) and some of her friends were on holiday at the shore of lake Geneva in Switzerland, and at the time it was pouring down outside, so one of them decided that they should have a competition to see who could create the scariest horror story. Each person tried desperately to think of one, so much that they tried eating things that would give them nightmares. Mary had the idea of a creature being brought to life, which then lead to the birth of Frankenstein.  This book is often referred to as ‘the modern Prometheus’, named after a greek god who stole power from heaven to create life from lifeless materials. When this book was first published, it was done so under an anonymous name because in those days women were not supposed to do things like  Write horror stories and therefore would have been outcast.  Summary  This story is based upon an English man called Robert Walton who is writing to his sister back in England. He is seeking to find the North Pole. In doing this, he finds a man called Victor Frankenstein floating on a piece of ice. Walton drags the man aboard and revives him. When Frankenstein is recovered he starts to tell his story.  He begins to tell Walton about his father and how he came to life, and goes on to talk about his childhood. At this time everything seems fine as Frankenstein appears to have had a very happy time as a child with his family, but it is after this that things start to go wrong. Frankenstein tells of how he goes to university to study natural philosophy, otherwise known as chemistry. It is from this that he goes on to make the discovery he so dearly goes to regret – the discovery of giving new life to dead material.  He goes on to say that with this discovery he begins to build a new being. He not only begins to build it, he becomes obsessed with creating new life and even though he becomes ill he continues with it until it is done. He explains how excited he is with what he is doing and how he can’t wait to get it finished. However, when it does spring to life the last emotion Frankenstein feels is joy. He is horrified by his creation, and runs out of his room. He returns later to find, to his extreme delight, the monster to be gone. Frankenstein soon forgets about it and decides to return to Geneva to visit his family who he has not seen for 5 years. He returns to discover some grave news.  His younger brother, William, has been murdered and his adopted sister, Justine, has been accused of the crime. Frankenstein instantly knows who had really performed the act. He knew that it was the monster he created which had done this heinous deed. He knew, however, if he told the court that they would not believe him, so Justine was convicted and executed. This filled Frankenstein with great bitterness and hatred towards the monster. He decides to go for a walk in the Alps to take his mind off things. It is here where he confronts the monster for the second time.  When Frankenstein sees the monster his first instinct is to kill it, but the monster is a lot bigger than stronger than him. The monster then tells Frankenstein to listen to what he says and then judge him. This is where the monster tells his story.  He says that he came into the world with no understanding of anything around him, like a fully-grown baby. After his confrontation with Frankenstein, he walked out into a park, where he found berries to eat and a stream to drink from. He then moved out into the countryside where he had numerous encounters with humans he’d rather forget about. Whenever humans saw him, they either ran away or attacked the monster. This upset him, because he did not wish to harm them. Eventually, he found a small ‘hovel’ (small hut) on a farm. It was here he stayed for a long time. He learnt the names of the people who lived on the farm, and also their history, that they were sent out of France by the government because they were planning to free someone from prison. The monster slowly picked up their language of these people and also how to read from old books they threw out. He helped the family by cutting wood for them at night in the winter at night, and generally became quite attracted to the family. After a year and a bit, the monster decided he would confront the family. This went well at first because firstly he met the old man. This was an advantage to the monster because the old man was blind and couldn’t judge him by his looks. However, when the rest of the family came home they were horrified by the monsters appearance and attacked him. The monster was very upset by this and ran out of the house.  He ran out into the forest, and returned the following morning to discover the family rushing to leave the place from the monster. He was so angered by this that he trashed the farm, destroying everything and burning it all. The monster then set his sights on returning to Geneva. He spent about half a year travelling but eventually got there.  When he got there he discovered Frankenstein’s younger brother, William. The monster grabbed the boy, and he started shouting so he tried to silence him by choking him and ended up killing him. The monster found a pendant round the boy’s neck, and out it round a girl who was sleeping nearby, and then ran. It is here the monster concludes his story.

Political Culture and Good Citizenship

Political culture is a widely shared set of ideas, attitudes, practices, and moral judgments that shape people’s political behavior, as well as how they relate to their government and to one another. In essence, the various elements of a political culture determine the people’s perception of who is and is not a â€Å"good citizen.† To an extent, the government itself can use outreach efforts like education and public commemorations of historical events to shape political culture and public opinion. When taken to excess, such attempts to control the political culture are often characteristic of the actions of totalitarian or fascist forms of government. While they tend to reflect the current character of the government itself, political cultures also embody the history and traditions of that government. For example, while Great Britain still has a monarchy, the queen or king has no real power without the approval of the democratically elected Parliament. Yet, while doing away with the now largely ceremonial monarchy would save the government millions of pounds per year, the British people, proud of their tradition of over 1,200 years of being ruled by royalty, would never stand for it. Today, as always, a â€Å"good† British citizen reveres the Crown. While political cultures vary greatly from nation to nation, state to state, and even region to region, they generally tend to remain relatively stable over time. Political Culture and Good Citizenship To a great degree, political culture implies the characteristics and qualities that make people good citizens. In the context of political culture, the traits of â€Å"good citizenship† transcend the government’s basic legal requirements for attaining citizenship status. As Greek philosopher Aristotle argued in his treatise Politics, simply living in a nation does not necessarily make a person a citizen of that nation. To Aristotle, true citizenship required a level of supportive participation. As we see today, thousands of lawful permanent resident aliens and immigrants live in the United States as â€Å"good citizens† as defined by the political culture without becoming fully naturalized citizens. Traits of Good Citizens Good citizens, in their daily lives, demonstrate most of the qualities considered important by the prevailing political culture. A person who lives an otherwise exemplary life but never works to support or improve the community by taking an active part in public life may be considered a good person but not necessarily a good citizen. In the United States, a good citizen is generally expected to do at least some of these things: Take part in the representative democracy by registering to vote and voting in elections.Run for elected office or volunteer to serve on appointed governing boards.Obey all federal, state, and local laws.Show up for jury duty if called.Be knowledgeable of the basic freedoms, rights, and responsibilities contained in the U.S. Constitution.Pay all applicable federal, state, and local taxes.Remain knowledgeable about political issues and government policy.Volunteer to take part in community improvement programs.Take part in patriotic observances and traditions, like standing for the National Anthem and knowing the Pledge of Allegiance. Even within the United States, the perception of political culture — thus good citizenship — may vary from region to region. As a result, it important to avoid depending on stereotypes when judging a person’s quality of citizenship. For example, people in one region may place more importance in strict observance of patriotic traditions than those in other regions. Political Culture Can Change Though it often takes generations to happen, minds — and thus political culture — can change. For example: Since its colonial period, America has seen periods during which the dominating political culture favored a policy of isolationism from foreign affairs, particularly foreign wars. In each of these cases, threats that foreign wars might directly threaten American lives and freedoms resulted in rapid reversals of the isolationist political culture.As part of President Lyndon Johnson’s sweeping Great Society social reform initiative, Congress enacted the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Passed after generations of post-Civil war racial discrimination, the law authorized the use of federal troops to supervise elections in several Southern states in order to protect the voting rights of black Americans. Forty years later, fearing that the racially-charged political culture in the South might still be a threat to the political freedom of blacks, Congress and President George W. Bush enacted the Voting Rights Extension Act of 2006. Today, multi-racial voting coalitions exist throughout the nation and Black-Americans are commonly elected to federal, state, and local offices. While some political cultures can be changed by the passage of laws, others cannot. In general, elements of a political culture based on deeply-seated beliefs or customs, such as patriotism, religion, or ethnicity are far more resistant to change than those based simply on the government’s policies or practices. Political Culture and US Nation Building While it is always difficult and sometimes dangerous, governments often try to influence the political culture of other nations. For example, the United States is known for its often-controversial foreign policy practice called â€Å"nation-building† — efforts to convert foreign governments to American-style democracies, often through the use of armed forces. In October 2000, President George W. Bush came out against nation-building, stating, â€Å"I dont think our troops ought to be used for whats called nation-building. I think our troops ought to be used to fight and win war.† But just 11 months later, the September 11, 2001 terror attacks changed the president’s perspective. As an outgrowth of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the United States has attempted to establish democracies in those nations. However, political cultures have hindered those U.S. nation-building efforts. In both countries, years of long-standing attitudes toward other ethnic groups, religions, women, and human rights shaped by years of tyrannical rule continue to stand in the way.