a systemic approach to change management

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This article was downloaded by: [Cornell University Library] On: 12 November 2014, At: 01:51 Publisher: Taylor & Francis Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK Information Systems Management Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/uism20 A Systemic Approach to Change Management Yannis A. Pollalis Published online: 24 Oct 2007. To cite this article: Yannis A. Pollalis (1996) A Systemic Approach to Change Management, Information Systems Management, 13:2, 19-25, DOI: 10.1080/10580539608906983 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10580539608906983 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of the Content. This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http:// www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions

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Page 1: A Systemic Approach to Change Management

This article was downloaded by: [Cornell University Library]On: 12 November 2014, At: 01:51Publisher: Taylor & FrancisInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House,37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK

Information Systems ManagementPublication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information:http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/uism20

A Systemic Approach to Change ManagementYannis A. PollalisPublished online: 24 Oct 2007.

To cite this article: Yannis A. Pollalis (1996) A Systemic Approach to Change Management, Information Systems Management,13:2, 19-25, DOI: 10.1080/10580539608906983

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10580539608906983

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) containedin the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make norepresentations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of theContent. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, andare not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon andshould be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable forany losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoeveror howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use ofthe Content.

This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematicreproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in anyform to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions

Page 2: A Systemic Approach to Change Management

I3USINI<SS A N D 'I'ISCI-INICAI, CHAI,I,I<NGES

A SYSTEMIC APPROACH TO CHANGE MANAGEMENT 1:ntegrat:ing IS Planning, BPR, and. TQM

Yannis A. Pollalis

As a proactive process emphasizing IT-based process change, IS planning shares several objectives with business process reengineering and total quality manaaement. This article discusses how IS ~lannina can form the ~latform for an integrated approach to change management, provides steps f i r achieving the integration, and suggests how IS managers can foster the IS function's supportive role in an integrated effort toward organizational change.

USINESS PROCESS KEENCINEEKING (HI'K) h:~s lxcomc onc nf this decade's most citcd management issr~cs in tlic m:~nagerid, academic, and tradc press. It

has alsu Ikcn listcd ;IS ;I tirp priority I,y most surveys of corpor:~tc cxccuti\~cs, busincss plan- ners. and managcmcnt consultants. T h e RI'K concept was introduced during thc late 1980s ~prirnarily Ily a few iiiflucntial consult:~nts and academics. BPR uscs information technology (IT) to r:~dically cIi:mge (or redesign) the busi- ness Ixoccsscs within organizations to dramnti- call! iiicrcasc tlicir cfficicncg and effectiveness. ,\ltliough some of tlic concepts and methods of previous managclncnt prxticcs arc similar to those of BI'R (c.g., total qudi ty ma~lagcmcnt and activity valuc analysis). BPI< is still pcr- ccivcd by some ;~dvocatcs as a different wag of m;~nagcmcnt thinking, Thus many of tlic mis- tz~kcs committed \\fit11 HI'K's predecessor con- cepts ; ~ n d metliods have Ixcn repeated.'

Furtl~crmorc, cvidcncc indic:~tes that :I great perccnt:~gc of RPR efforts I w e failed. Kesearcli

on these failures produced a list of criticd fail- ure f:~ctors that incluclc lack of nlanagcnicnt c o m m i t m e n t a n d leadcrship. rcsistancc t o change, unclear specifications, inadequate resources, teclinocentricistii, a lack of uscrlcus- tomcr in\dvcmcnt, and failure to :~ddrcss tlic l i um;~~i aspect of iplanncd change.'

/\ltliough BPR reflects n rclativcly ncaz \\.:I). of thinking about process climgc, similar cffurts have already takcn place in the arcas of informa- tion systems planning (ISI') and total qu;~lity mnn:lgcmcnt (TQM). Thus, integrating BI'R, ISP, m d TQM into a holistic modcl capitalizes on tlie lessons learncd from ISI' and TQh4 cfforts and avoids repetition of p s t mist;~kcs.

ISP AS PLATFORM FOR INTEGRATING BPR AND TQM TQhl 's main goal is to improvc the proccsscs within an organization and the org:~nization's ability to mcct tlie nccds of tlic customcr Iby emphasizing continuous quality i~iipro\~emcnt

I N F O R M A T I O N S Y S T E M S M A N A O E M E N T

S P F I I N O 1 8 8 8 19

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EXHIBIT 1 IS Planning as a Platform for Integrating BPR and TOM Efforts

Technological Improvement ("m - I Process lmprovement I 0- Strategic Improvement

I I IS Planning Platform

Organlretlonal Organizational Change > Performance

: I I I~ ~ C S ~ ~ I I S ~ ~ C I I C S S t o custol t lcr ~ C I ~ I ~ I I I ~ S .

Ovcrall . TQh,l act iv i t ics in \w lve improv ing I ~ u s i ~ ~ c s s proccsscs and implement ing incre-

111c1ttal c l ~ a l ~ g c I I ~

U I ~ ( ~ c u s i l ~ g (III s:~tisfying custmlcr needs.

U A~t:lly/,il~g I~IS~IICSS proccsscs c o ~ ~ t i n u ~ u s l y to i~~crcasc cfficicncy ; ~ n d c u s t ~ m e r service.

U l ? n ~ p l ~ ; ~ s i z i n g teamwork a n d cmp loycc

crnlx~".cr~t tc~~t across imd within the f i rm to cnsurc t l lc previous t w i ~ :~ctivitics. ISI'ncti\~itics includc:

U Identifying i n f o m i a t i o ~ ~ resources that sup- port or rcclcfinc t l ic gu:~ls of t l ic f i rm :lnd t11c I S org;lniz:~tion.

U Identifying nppor tun i t i cs t o use IT rind in~provc the f i r~ i t 's co111pctiti\,c advi~nti~gc.

U 1111plemcnting proccss changc h l r o ~ ~ g l t 1'1'. U R'lccting the systems rccluircmcnts ( ~ f intcr-

n:~l :and cstcn1:11 uscrs.

Mort spccific;~ll!~, ISl' ;lims to rcducc thc unccrtninty :~ssociatcd \\sit11 the internal and

cstcrnal lx is i~~css c n v i r ~ ~ l t ~ ~ ~ c ~ ~ t s . U n c c r k ~ i ~ ~ t y i n the intcrn;l l c ~ t v i r o ~ ~ ~ ~ l c ~ ~ t is g c ~ ~ c r i ~ t c d b y

process CC:III~CS i n an org: l~t iz:~t io~~. Its SUCCCSS-

ful rcsulution dcpcnds on tltc hi l i t ! . of IS nlan- :~gcmcnt to understand tl lc i~~terrcIationsltil,s :Imong thc wrious organizatio~~al functions and proccsscs ":II~ lit inimizc rcdund:tl~cy :III~ i~ lc f f i - cicltcics. 'l'his typc nf unccrtsinty rcquircs t11at

1.51' considcr process q u d i t y improvements :110ng wit11 user satisfaction gods.

Unccrt :~inty in thc cstcrnal envirnnntcnt results f r m ~ ~ IT dc\~clopmcnts and cnmpctitivc

m:~rkct prcssurcs. ISP's r d c in this arcn:I is to identify opportunities and t l~rcats i n the en\+

ronmcnt and successfully intcgratc them wit11 t l ic I S organization's goals.'

' l ' l~us, ISP can be def ined as a proactive proccss tha t cmph;~sizes IT-11ascd proccss c11:mgc to improvc an urganizatiun's ability to:

U llcspond succcssfull~ to cstcrnal thrcats and opportunitics.

0 Strategically :~pply i ts own cap:~ldit ies and compctcncics t l t rougl~ information resourccs.

I h s c d on th is def in i t ion , ISI' focuses o n three :lrcas common to both III'R and TQM:

0 'l'echrrologicul i n~pro~ 'emcr~ t - \ v l~ i c l~ rcflccts t11c 1'1' f o c ~ u f III'll's proccss rcdcsign and inno\ution cffurts.

0 Process i r r ~ p r o ~ ~ c r r ~ e r ~ t - \ r ~ l ~ i c l ~ c ~ ~ ~ p h n s i z c s Imth thc rcdcsign o f csisting nrgnnizat io~~al ~prnccs~es and thc crnploycc cmpo\vcrmcnt concclksuscd i n TQh'l's cross-fu~~ct io~tal a d co~rd inat ion activities.

Cl Strotcgic iri~pro%~eri~errt-\\.hicli concentrates on I3I'K's and '1'Qh.l'~ alignmcnt \\.it11 corpo- rate objecti\cs.

'l'l~us, as illustr:~tcd i n Ex l t i l~ i t 1. IS planning c m act ;IS a platfnrm that integrates an organim tion's I3I'Il and TQhl proccss chnngc efforts.

COMMON DIMENSIONS OF ISP, BPR, AND TQM I S planning has four major components that o\,crlap wi th thc o1,jcctivcs o f I3I'Il and TQM

Alignment of Corporate and IS Coals 111 IS planning, information resourccs arc uscd t o support husincss goals (usuallg efficiency,

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cffccti\wvss. :IIICI cumpetitivc uniquc~~css) , ;IS

\wll :IS to lead corporate str:~tcgic efforts ti, c;ipitalize on cxtcr11;11 opportunities and intcr- 11a1 c n ~ n p c t ~ ~ ~ c i c s derived from 1'1'. For exam- ple. \\'al-Mart's integrated distribution nct- r i c l Uni t ed Scrviccs / \ u t o m o l ~ i l e Assi~ci:~tion's (USA,\) state-of-the-art docn- mcnt-handling systelu represent two such 1.1'- Inset-1 distinctiw coinpetencics. 'l'hcse cot~ipc- tcncics were :~ligiicd with corpc~rate str:itcgics iind l~rought competitive adwntagc to tlic t \ \ r ~ coi~il~anies.

Customer Focus The ultini:itc glr:~l of IS1' should not bc to use 1.1' to itnplcmcnt irrg:mization;iI cliangc fur the sake of tcch~~al i rgy 's potential capaldi t ics . I<:~hicr. IS1' sliiruld address v:irious conccrns of qu:ility and customer needs, : ~ n d in~provc :ilid smst:lin linkages Ixtween the irrganiz;~tio~i : I I I ~

its internal and external custoillers. 111 gcticr:il, 1.1' s!.stems tIi:it help the customer to order. choosc a m o n g :~lternati \ .cs. and purc1l:isc p r i ~ d ~ ~ c t s a n d scr\.ices contribute t o l)~rtli UI'R's radic;~l cli:i~ige and '1'Qh.l'~ continuous i r n p r u \ . e ~ ~ ~ c ~ ~ t e f fo r t s . I 'lius. IS p lann ing I ~ c c o ~ ~ ~ c s the 11ub for a v:~luc-;idded network that i~icludcs linkages to lx~ t l i cxtcri~al cus- tomers (c.g., suppliers, l~uycrs, iind c o ~ i ~ p c t i - tors) and ii~tcrixil customers (c.g.. function:~l departments and divisions).

For examplc . the 1egend:lry systems of American ~\irlincs' SABRE. /\merican I-lnsl,it:~l Supply's /\SAI', : I I K I ~ I C K ~ S S O I I ' S ECONOMOSI' have helped to l~uild strong tics with c x t c r ~ ~ a l custn~ners (i.e.. tr;i\d agents. l~ospitals, and drug- stores, respcctivcly) owing to their user fricntlli- i~css , convcniencc, and w l w - d d e d scrviccs offered wit11 the total pack:~gc.

Simi1:irly. ISI' can facilitate relations : ~ n d linkages amung all organization's internal cus- h m c r s (e.g.. accounting, purch;~sing_ produc- timi, ; I I I ~ 111;1dxti11g) 11y i~iipr~rving tlie c111;iIity :ind efficic~icy of IS services. E Y ~ I I I ~ ~ I C S of such cases include Charles S c h \ \ ~ l ~ ' s integr:it- cd :~ccount environment (c:illcd cashiering). which allon~s f:~stcr and niorc reliable rctricval of custorncr/in\~cstor :iccount information by the various Sclnvnl> hrokcrs;' and Citicorp's work-group comput ing c ~ ~ v i r o n m e n t , \\~hicll integrates the lx~siness divisions of leasing. rct;iil lha~~king, institution:~l lhnhing, capital ~ ~ u r k c t s , and rc:d estate lo:iils t11 lxomotc rcli- :iblc information and ovcr;ill organizational cffcctiaeness.

IT-Based Process Change I3y changing, updating, or replacing existing information systems and proccsscs within a firm. ISI' facilitates r c s t ruc tu r i~~g of :I firm's business proccsscs. I 'rcrequisitcs of such planned 17'-bascd chmgc include n~ ;~~~: igcmcnt support. strong II'leadcrship, i n \ , ~ r l \ ~ n c n t of IS executi\fcs in corporate planning. a i ~ d s!~ste~i~s thinking. 'l'llc efforts of Pacific Hell. Scros, a l ~ d Texas 111stru1nents in this area ;,re discussed in the section iln successful i~itcgr:~tions.

Organizational Learning By forcing its pa r t i c i lx i~~ t s t o understand a firm's wrluus proccsscs, their critic:il success factors. :i~id the \\.:I!' l r l ' C:III i ~ n p r o ~ c tlic111. the ISI' functiun becomes :I facilit;~tur for 1c;lrning a l ~ o u t rrrga~iizatiunal prircesses. \'arious tech- niques, such as sccnaril~-based l p l a n ~ i i n ~ and simul:~ti~rns of intcr~i;il or cxtcrn:~l crises. pro- mote such lcarning a ~ i d prevent uncspccted disastcrs. Among the classic csamplcs of such efforts toward org:i~~iz:~tional learning tlirougli strategic lhnn ing is Slicll's crisis in;ln:igcnlciit siinuI;~tiirns. in n41icl1 \ali:~t-if exercises rcsultcd in inaiirr rcdesign :ind proccss c l~angcs tIl;it helped the company ;inticipatc : ~ n d p r e \ ~ ~ ~ t market- and technology-based disasters.

Eshilit 2 depicts the ii~tcgration uf ;in orga- n i z a t i m ' s IBI'R : ~ n d '1'Qh.l process change efforts with IS pli~~ining.

INTEGRATED PROCESS CHANCE MANAGEMENT Kecent research :~nd c ; ~ studies confirm the similarities b e t \ \ w n ISI'. RPR, ;ind '1'Qh.l.'-' Organizations that cng;lge in unco~rrdinated and somctimcs colicurrcllt efforts fur ISI', BPI<, and T Q M engender the fr~llo\vi~ig prtrl~lems and conccrlls:

O Diffcrcnt organizational mcnllxrs ;~dvocatc and lnrt icipate in often simi1;lr ISI', BPI<, and 'I'QR'I change initiatives. s h i c l ~ results in redund:~ncy, incfficicncy, and i~~consistcncy in org:~nizational projccts and g o : k

O Some i~rganizntional members 11articip:itc in more than one of the three initi:~tivcs, rcsult- ing in confusion : I I I ~ inability to define clcnr and consistent goals across tllc orgmiz;ition In :~ddition. because p;~rticipants in ISP and T Q M :~ctivities oftcn fear tliat the rcengi- nccrs will eli~ninatc or igl~orc their cfforts in the eagerness to start wit11 a clc:in slate, they arc reluctant to commit needed resources to ISP and '1'Qh.l activities.

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EXHIBIT 2 Integrating BPA and TOM with IS Planning

Major Components of IS Planning

Strategic Alignment Dynamic relation­ship between corporate and IS goals;focus on capitalizing on externalopportunities and internal capabilitiesand competencies derived from IT.

Customer Focus: Introduction oradoption of IT to increase customersatisfaction and create value-addedservices.

Process Change; Changing.updating,or replacing existing IT­based processes to improveorganizationaleffectiveness andefficiency (i.e.. change managementand systems planning).

Organizational Learning. Understandingthe firm's critical success factors, therelationships among its cross-functionalprocesses, and its capacity to preventcrises and disasters (i.e.• scenario­basedplanning).

Interrelated ePR Efforts

Reengineering efforts begin withthe corporate objectives and aimto realign operational capabilitieswith corporate strategic goals.

Reengineering is driven bycustomer demands and is takingadvantage of the marketopportunities derived fromcustomer needs.

BPR asks whether organizationalprocesses can be redesignedto increase their effectivenessand looks at the interrelationshipsamong the organizationalprocesses affected by IT.

Reengineering examines thepossibility of changing organiza­tional members' business mentalmodels by challenging manage­ment's existing assumptions andlearning both from past failures andsuccesses and from new ITdevelopments.

Interrelated TaM Efforts

TaM's efforts includealignment with the IS organi­zation's goals to improve ISoperations (e.g., introducenew software tools andpromote acceptance byorganizational users).

TOM is focusing on bothinternal customers (e.g.,business divisions) and exter­nal customers (e.g .. buyers.suppliers. competitors,support institutions).

TOM emphasizes ooordinationamong IS professionals andthe rest of the organizationalfunctions and continuousimprovement of the proc:essesacross the organization'Svalue chain.

raM focuses on incrementalchanges similar to prototypingsystems developmentmethodology and teaming bycompleting small steps inimplementing change. usingwork groups, and sharinginformation across functionalareas.

o Because of the confusion nnd lack of trustamong the participnnts in the preceding twoscenarios, very few lSI>, BPR, and TQiVI pro­jects can he :-iuccessfullyimplemented.

oThere arc no clear and compatible measuresor criteria of success for lSI', BpR. and TQMprojects, resulting in inadequate evaluation ofefforts to implement organization<l] change.Furthermore, although HPI~ advocates mightview organizational change as strategic, TQ~IIand ISP advocates might regard it as simplyoperational. thus making it almost impossibleto set priorities for projects and coordinatechange efforts across a firm.

Success StoriesCompanies such as P;lcific Bell. Xerox, and TexasInstruments ('1'1) arc among the few firms that,under the concept of process management, haveintegrated traditional TQ;"I procedures with ISprocess-modeling and BPR techniques." In theseorganiz<ltions. in contrast to what MichaelHammer and 1;:II11cs Champ)' preached illHecllgillcerillg the Corporatiofl (New York: HarperBusiness Press, IlJ(3), BPR and TQivl arc viewedas two sides of the smuc coin and IS planning is

integrated with their efforts toward processchange management. For example, Pacific Belland '1'1 created central-process-managementteams responsible for providing tools and meth­ods to concurrent BPR efforts and for ensuringthat IS, TQM, and BpR teams ore coordinatedand learn from each other's successes and failures.

Mere :-ipecifically, at Pacific Bell. process man­ngcrncnt efforts include IS projects responsiblefor aligning systems development strategics andtools with the current needs of BPR projects? AtTexas Instruments, various process-capture toolsallow continuous improvement methods to beintegrated with BPR and IS development process­es; similarly, Xerox has created the concept ofprocess owners who decide what kind of changeneeds to be perfonned in a broad business process(c.g., tweaking versus a major overhaul) and howIS, TQI"I, and BI'R groups can work together toprovide the necessary tools and methodologics.

In contrast to these integrated environments,some companies continue to view BPR as a rad­icallv different type of activity for IT planningand TQ!\1. Such companies take a more top­down approach that allows BPR consultants toidentify specific projects and procedures and

22 INFORMATION SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT

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EXHIBIT 3 ISP. TOM, and BPR as Complementary Efforts of Process Change Management

Strategic Alignment

Organizational Learning

Planning :: I

Customer Satisfaction

ignorc any organizational learning accrued bcforc ihc i r i n v o l v c ~ n c ~ ~ t . 'l'hc prol l lcm wi th uncoordinated approaches, lio\rrever, can be tnccd back to TQM efforts that attclnptcd t o delivcr cr~mpctit ivc ;~dvant;lgc without considcr- ing kc? cstcr~ial ;ind organiz:iti~~nal factors ( ic., technolog! dc\dopments. market conditions. and corporate strategy) and focusing instcad on

intcrn:~l improvcmcnts and pmccss cl~angcs. HI'I< is not al l cntirely new :lctivity, diffcrcnt

from ISI' and TQM. As Eshibit 3 illustcitcs. all thrcc arc comp lcmcn ta r~ clcmcnts of cfforts toward process c h n g c man;lgcmcnt. A l t l~ough ISI'. BI'R. and TQh4 should hc coordinated wi th in :in organization. ccrt:~in activities are uniquc to each of them. 'l'licsc activities arc sho~vll :IS the nonoi~cr lappi~lg :Irc:ls i n E x l ~ i l ~ i t 3 and include the fdlowing:

[I TQM usually i ~ i \ d v e s bottom-up. incrcmcn- ta l dcsign changcs focus ing o n spcc i f ic proccsscs.

0 BI'R usuallr iwol\,es a top-do\\w orientation. focusi~lg on innovation and radical changc.

0 ISI' c:m bc both top-donil (i.c., strategic) and bot tom-up (tactical) t o ident i fy corporate

stratcgics as \ r d l as IS implementation prob-

Process Change -

Icms. Successful ISI' ~practicc i ~ ~ \ d \ ~ c s both top-down ;~nd I x ) t tn~ i~ -up nriciltati,rns to antic-

ipate short-term orgalli?.ntional cli:~ngcs and lung-tern1 tec l~no lop dc\~c lop l~~cnts and mar-

kct forccs t11:it could affect co rp~mtc goals.

STEPS FOR INTEGRATING ISP, BPR, AND TQM . . I hc following stcps form the b x i s for proccss cll;lnge iuan:~gcmcnt and wi l l hc lp IS profcs- sionals intcgratc ISP, BI'R, and I'Qh.1.

Detemiining priorifies orid orgoni;ufio~~ol goofs

for euch inifiofi,~c. I'or cs:~~nplc, tlocs proccss ch:~nge mcan thc samc for ISI', BPR. and TQM groups? Org:~nizational lpriorities can bc cst:~l>-

lishcd through h lc tccl l~ l iqucs o f critical suc-

ccss factors (CSFs) i ~ n d I ) c ~ ~ c l i ~ i i a r k i ~ i g . or Ix Ix~scd on t l ~ c orga~lization's distinctive compc-

tcncics (IT-lnscd or othcrwisc) ISP, BPR, and 'l'Qh.1 task forccs should col la lxmtc wi th top m:magcn~cnt in this stage.

Drirlging purl icipmts from euch in i l io l i rc logcllr- cr 10 discuss their projecfs und idet~lify similuri-

ties u n d differences among them 'l'llc s lurcd

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d i ~ ~ ~ c n s i ~ m s of tlic three initi:~tivcs as dclinc;~tcd in Exhibit I sliould be used in this stcp.

13sfablishi11g collaborative rt~eefings or groups lo discliss orgu~~i;ofionul leurrlirlg issues neer the course o/lSI', IWR, und 7'QM eff~rls. Such groups discuss \ \ h t tlic organiz ;~t i~r h;u lc;~r~icd'from c:lcIi initi;~tivc so far to m:~kc use of successful pr~~ccsscs sand wid rcpctitim of past mistakes.

Avoidilrg redtrndmf uctivifies. Scheduling rcgu- I:lr inform;~tivc meetings : ~ t which teams dis- close their findings helps ensure that activitics ;Ire complciiiclik~ry ratllcr ~ I I : I I I r c d u ~ d ~ n t .

Selling syrlchronous and clear goals. This step is :~ccomplislled Iby having tc:lms agrcc on nlca- suremcnt critcri;~ or particip;~tc in onc otlicr's c \du ;~ t ion pr~~ccdurcs.

ROLE OF IS MANAGEMENT 'l'hc import;mcc of IT rcsourccs in any BI'II and TQh4 effort givcs IS man:lgcmcnt a centr:ll m d sc~lsitivc r d c in tlic intcgr:ltion iproccss. By con- veying thc f~dowing key conccpts to tlic BI'R and TQh4 gruups, IS nianagcrs clarify t h e ncccssity of integration as \ \ d l as the IS func- tion's supportive role in thc effort tow;lrd orga- ~liz:ltion;~l cli;~ligc.

Shared Resources and 13xpertise. l'hc whole orga11iz:ltion [benefits whcn t e a m s sha re rcsourccs ;lnd cspcrtisc \\diilc working toward I X I I ~ C S S i~ili~~v:itioli (BPII), c ~ ~ n t i n u n u s proccss i m p r o v c ~ ~ ~ c n t (TQh'l), :lnd IT-based str:~tcgic :~dvantage (ISP). Stressing the common goals among the tlirce initintivcs (e.g., aligllmcnt, customcr s:ltisf;~ction, process improve~~lcn t , :11id o rg i~ l l i z i~ t io~~ i~ l learning) helps clarify this ct~ncept. IS mmagers can ;IISII play tlic role of thc outsidc 1'1' consultant for both BI'R and TQh.1 initi:~tivcs.

Alignment of 'l'echnology with Corpnrate and Customer Nccds. l'cam\vork ; ~ n d inclusion of IS manager s in BI'R a n d TQhsl dccis ion proccsscs and projects incrc:lscs the likelihood t h t tllc systcms dclivcrcd Iby IS will IIC digncd with cor1111r:lte goals, as well as \\,it11 customer ( i n t c r m l a n d cs tcrn; l l ) speci f ica t ions . I'urthern~orc, senior csccuti\rs arc morc likely to accept :lnd support r c c o m m e n d a t i o ~ ~ s for org;~nizationd changc wllcn participants from all tlirce initi;ltives arc in\dved in and :~ccount- :111le for f ind process changc results.

Con ln~ i tmen t and r\ccountal~ility. Integrating ISI', BI'II, and l'Qh.1 efforts is not ahout giving more control to tlic IS organization and man- agcmcnt. It is almut commitment and account- ability-lmth a t thc individu;ll ;lnd group Icv- cls-tn l~u i ld :I pl:~tform for sl1;lrcd cspertisc and organizational goals.

Strategic Advantage. The ISP-13I'R-TQM think tank pron~otes cnmpctency-based strategies and crc:ltcs processcs :lnd systems t h t optimizc the urganization's uniquc cnpabilitics and rcsourccs.

Prototyping for Success. I'rototyping procc- durcs in \vliich pilot systems and processcs :Ire tested before full-sc:~lc i r n p l c ~ ~ ~ c n t : ~ t i o n and full commi tmen t of rcsourccs increase t h e succcss rate for thc perspcctivc change and enhance tlic lcarning capacity of t h e ISI'. HI'R, and TQh4 groups.

C o m m o n Measurement Criteria. Consistent ~ncasurcment criteria across all tlirec initiatives cascs the transition from inclcpcndcncc and r c d u n h c y to intcgr:ltim and sharing. Common critcria among BI'R, ISI', and T Q N include proccs quality, product quality, S ~ S ~ C I I I quality, customcr satisfaction, cost reduction, faster dclivcn.. and ~aluc-:~ddcd scrvicc to customers.

hleasureme~it should not be based o n a bot- tom-line approach that continuously monitors costs and benefits. Such an approach eventually rcsults in micro savings and dcm~~ralization of t h e IS['-BI'R-'I'QM :~ l l i ancc . h,le:~suremcnt should bc flcxiblc, l~ccausc thcrc is no guaran- teed way to includc or predict ;dl benefits ;lnd costs from a system or process, and allow for i n n ~ ~ v : ~ t i o n a n d gu ided risk t ak ing , T h i s :~pproach givcs pnrticipants a ccrtain degree of respunsiiblity for dccision making and brings better results in thc long run. In summary, mca- surcmcnt should be a l~ le to see both the forest :lnd tlic trees in regard to the short- :lnd long- rangc goals of a RI'R. ISI', and TQM alliance.

CONCLUSION Organizations t h a t quickly jump from one managcmcnt trcnd t o m o t h e r without first learning from past cxpcrience h;~vc high failure ratcs in their efforts toward proccss change managcment. In contrast, organizations that havc a universal m a n a g e m e n t philosophy cml~cddcd in all activities rclatcd to improvc- mcnt 2nd changc compete succcssfully. In an age when global competition and continuous

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technology d e \ ~ c l o p m e n t s a r e t h e n o r m , t h c 1SI'-BPK-'I'QiVI h d i s t i c tnodel capitalizes o n a~icl i n t e p t c s t h e learning t h a t occurs in IS pl :~~mii ip. I N I S ~ I I C S S process reengineering, : ~ n d total quality man:~gcmcnt. I

Acknowledgments l 'hc : ~ u t l ~ o r th:mks h,lur;~li \ 'enk;~tesh fur his useful co i i imcnts o n a n c:~rl ier d r a f t of th i s p q x r a n d the s tudents of his gr ;~dunte coursc "Strategic Planning for I'I"' (Spring 19%) for their i n \ d u : ~ l ~ l c suggestions.

Notes 1. I). R i ~ l y . "'l'hc Secrct Ilistory of I'mccss

Ikc~~gilicering." I'lonning Rcview (X.l:trcli-,\pril

Recommended Reading Ilcan. I.\\'., and Brlwcn. Il.li. " h ~ l ; i n : ~ g c ~ ~ ~ c ~ i t 'I'hcory

:mdTutal Qu:dit, Improving Rcscarch ;and Practicc l'hnmgh l 'hauy I~cvclq,mcnt." /\codcrrzy oft\,lorrugement Review 19. n o 3 ( I W t ) .

dc Geuss, t\.P. "I'lanning :IS Imrni~ig." I lanord Rusiwss Rwicw 66. no. ? (19%).

I'ollalis. Y.. and C:r;int. J.II. " l ~ ~ i o r n ~ n l i o t ~ IKcsmrces and Corpontc Stratcgy Ilcvclqxncnt." Inforrrtutio~~ Sfrolcgy: 'l'hc E.rccu1i1.c'~ \ntrrrzal l I , no. I (199.1).

Spc~iccr. B.I\. "M~dcIs of 0rgoni;ations o i ~ d I'QM r\ Coutpurison orzd Criticd l<rd~mtiorr." ,\c;~dcmy of h.l:in:~gcrncnt Keviua. 19. nn. 3 (IW.1).

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