" The move to a process enterprise should be connected with an overarching strategic initiative" Assess this statement in light of current developments in Information Systems.

Essay by sdg8481University, Bachelor'sB, February 2003

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Assessment: Essay

The essay title that I have chosen to discuss is as follows;

" The move to a process enterprise should be connected with an overarching strategic initiative"

Assess this statement in light of current developments in Information Systems.

Recent advancements and changes in many industries and markets have undoubtedly been due to the greater use of technology and especially that of information systems with-in the organisation. Also, due to the use of the Internet and improved communication networks new work flow systems have emerged, no more so then that of establishing new processes and the re-engineering of the company in an attempt to create a complete process enterprise. But what exactly is a process enterprise and how does it differ from the traditional structure?

There are many different theorists who have produced work on processes and Business Process Re-engineering (BPR), Davenport, Hammer and Champy to name but a few.

Many of these theorists I will discuss later, however I feel that it is important for a clear definition of a process enterprise to be given. There are many definitions of a process, but I feel that the following is the most explanatory and conclusive.

"A process is a structured and measured set of activities designed to produce a specified output for a particular customer or market. It implies a strong emphasis on how work is done within an organisation"

(Davenport, 1993 p. 5)

Therefore a process enterprise is a company that encompasses different processes to make the collective unit, in order to serve the needs of the customers. It must be identified though that the organisation itself is not a process, instead a group of cross-functional processes are said make an organisation. For example, Martyn Ould identifies handling orders for goods, recruiting staff, NPD & making investment decisions,