Chapter 8

What is one of the criticisms of ERP systems?

Can lead to the commoditization of business processes, meaning that every company that uses an ERP system will perform business processes the same way.

What is business process management? What role does it play in allowing a company to differentiate itself?

(BPM): an intentional effort to plan, document, implement, and distribute an organization's business processes with the support of information technology. Differentiation through built-in reporting, and by empowering employees, enforcing best practices, and enforcing consistency.

Why did BPR get a bad name?

BPR became an excuse to lay off employees and try to complete the same amount of work using fewer employees.

What does the term business process mean?

A of tasks that are completed in order to accomplish a goal. A business process is a process that is focused on achieving a goal for a business.

What is an ERP system?

A software application with a centralized database that is implemented across the entire organization.

What is the value in documenting a business process?

It allows for better control of the process, and for standardization.

What is business process reengineering? How is it different from incrementally improving a process?

Occurs when a business process is redesigned from the ground up. It is different from incrementally improving a process in that it does not simply take the existing process and modify it.

What does ISO certification signify?

Shows that you know what you do, do what you say, and have documented your processes.

How does an ERP system enforce best practices for an organization?

Through the business processes embedded in the software.

List the guidelines for redesigning a business process.

i. Organize around outcomes, not tasks. ii. Have those who use the outcomes of the process perform the process. iii. Subsume information-processing work into the real work that produces the information. Treat geographically dispersed resources as though they were centralized. iv. Link parallel activities instead of integrating their results. v. Put the decision points where the work is performed, and build controls into the process. vi. Capture information once, at the source.